Biology (BS/BA)
Study the wonders of life. Prepare for a wonderful career.
Majoring in biology prepares you for careers in a wide range of fields, including healthcare, biotechnology, public health, education, conservation, and wildlife management.
Biology is also an excellent undergraduate major for students looking to attend medical school.
- Time to finish
- 4 years
- Format
- In Person
- Specializations
- Biomedical Science
Science Education - Minor
- Biology Education
Next steps
Why Study Biology at Mary Baldwin?
See biological processes come to life with hands-on learning — from day one.
At Mary Baldwin, majoring in biology is more than gaining scientific knowledge. You’ll also build technical, analytical, and communication skills that will give you a competitive edge for careers and graduate school. Here’s how:
- Conduct your own hypothesis-driven research under faculty mentorship
- Learn how to read closely and write persuasively by creating research proposals and performing literature reviews
- Hone your presentation skills so you can convey research results in a professional, understandable way
- Gain real-world experience through internships or by serving as a lab/research assistant
- Make professional connections through student groups, honor societies, and industry organizations
Our Location: Labs, Facilities & Resources
Whether you’re contributing to faculty research or working on a self-designed project, you’ll have access to labs, equipment, instrumentation, and resources that will help you test your hypotheses and bring your ideas to life in the Pearce Science Center.
Just beyond campus, a living laboratory awaits. Located in the Shenandoah Valley, Mary Baldwin’s location is another major benefit of studying biology here. The surrounding ecosystems, including national parks and forests, provide a larger-than-life laboratory for field studies and independent research. Such close proximity to amazing parks is something just not available at city campuses.
Next steps
What You’ll Learn as a Biology Major
Your specific academic journey will vary based on your chosen degree type and concentration area, but all biology majors share a core curriculum that spans topics such as cell biology, ecology, and genetics.
Students love our courses
Here is just a sample of the types of courses you’ll take as a biology major:
Take a deep dive into the ethical and practical implications of genetic research and the genetic basis of disease. Develop problem-solving abilities and conduct genetic experiments using classical and molecular methods.
We’ll study the interrelationship of living organisms with each other and their environments at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. This will include a research weekend at a marine or mountain research laboratory.
Careers for Biology Majors: Where You Can Go After Graduation
As biology is the foundation of life, it’s no surprise that our graduates directly impact the quality of life itself in myriad ways. Some perform surgeries on cancer patients or tackle health issues overseas. Others work with endangered species conservation or are forensic examiners, veterinarians, elementary and high school science teachers, and soil conservation technicians.
Our alumni started or advanced their careers with positions such as:
- Data scientist
- Medical entomologist
- High school biology teacher
- Computational biologist
- Business development director in biotech
- Clinical research associate
- Firearms forensics examiner
- Project coordinator (pharmaceutical research)
- Special surgery lab assistant (dermatology)
- Health and wellness program manager
- Technical writer (pharmaceuticals)
- Compliance associate
Further, our alumni who pursue graduate and medical degrees are working as physicians, ophthalmologists, veterinarians, and other healthcare providers.
Graduate Schools
Mary Baldwin biology alumni also continue their education at schools and programs such as:
- Johns Hopkins University (MS, biomedical engineering)
- New York University (Master of Public Health, epidemiology)
- North Carolina State University (MS, biochemistry and molecular biology)
- University of Arkansas Little Rock Bowen School of Law (JD)
- University of Michigan (PhD, medicinal chemistry)
- University of Florida (MS, ecological restoration)
Looking ahead to graduate school, Mary Baldwin’s Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences offers several master’s and doctoral programs. MBU undergraduate students are able to take advantage of a guaranteed interview program at Murphy Deming.
Next steps
Cost & Financial Aid
A great education is worth it. Here’s how Mary Baldwin helps you pay for it: Generous financial aid packages, a broad range of scholarships, transferring maximum credit hours from previous coursework or relevant work and life experiences — the list goes on. Our mission is to help you level up and bring your aspirations to life.
MBU helps you fast-track your path to a bachelor’s degree with the opportunity to transfer up to 18 credits (6 courses) through direct course equivalents from the Virginia Community Colleges System.
A bachelor’s degree requires 120 credit hours of study.