Biology
Mission
The Department of Biology offers a Bachelor of Science degree program designed for students who seek awareness of the living world and an understanding of their roles in it. The program provides students with a foundation in biology and emphasis on research methods. Biology majors receive the training they need to pursue professional career programs or graduate studies. Graduates may go directly into careers in biology or related fields. They are prepared to pursue advanced work in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine, or to enter graduate programs in disciplines such as microbiology, genetics, molecular biology, physiology, evolutionary biology, ecology and conservation biology.
Program of Study
The following concentrations are offered: Cell and Molecular Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, General Biology and Biology with Teacher Licensure. Students with their faculty advisors will be able to design an individualized program of study that fits their academic goals. All required and elective courses provide a solid background in biological theory, with an emphasis on laboratory and research methods. Field work is important. Several plant and animal courses take advantage of the 1 million acres of public lands that surround Asheville, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Nantahala and Pisgah national forests. Students may choose a senior research project that will give them the chance to work one-on-one with a faculty mentor to gain valuable, first-hand research experience. The minor in biology is also offered.
For students interested in teaching biology at the high-school level or earning licensure in comprehensive secondary or middle-school science, UNC Asheville offers a teacher licensure program that combines Biology major requirements with professional education courses. The Biology Department also offers preparation for medical, dental and veterinary schools.
Facilities
The department is scheduled to move to the new, state-of-the-art Zeis Science and Multimedia Arts & Sciences Building in 2008. The building is designed to promote discovery-based learning in its 44 labs, classrooms and other spaces. Ramsey Library maintains a fine collection of scientific texts and current journals. The Blue Ridge and Great Smoky mountains surround the campus and offer wonderful natural laboratories for students. The 10-acre Botanical Gardens at Asheville, adjacent to campus, features plants native to the region.
Faculty
The approximately 10 full-time Biology faculty members include specialists in vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, behavior, botany, herpetology, ecology, evolution, anatomy, physiology, cell biology, microbiology, genetics and molecular biology. They have received numerous grants for research projects, many of which involve undergraduates, and regularly publish their scholarship in scientific journals.
Undergraduate Research
Biology students participate in Undergraduate Research and present their senior papers at state or national meetings. Our faculty collaborate with students on their current research or launch new projects that originate with students. Through the Office of Undergraduate Research, grants and stipends for travel and associated costs are available. Recent research projects include these topics:
- Mosquito survey of the UNC Asheville campus.
- Muscle tissue staining and plastination.
- Foraging behavior of Groove-billed Anis in Costa Rica.
- Parasites of howling monkeys in northeast Costa Rica.
- Analysis of the summit flora of Mount Ayanganna, Guyana
- Biogeographical investigation using florulas for seven sites in northern South America.
- Mechanisms of physiological decline in tree seedlings growing under evergreen ericaceous shrubs in the Southern Appalachian mountains.
- Female preferences in three cryptic katydids.
- Zips, clicks and ticks: analyzing the songs of Amblycorypha at Rich Mountain, North Carolina
- The effects of serotonin on auditory thresholds in crickets.
- Hearing sensitivity in the katydid Amblycorypha rotundifolia.
- Mapping of protein interaction regions on Ga12 involved in cancer progression.
- Asymmetry in grip strength and endurance in tennis players.
- Ranavirus (Iridoviridae) transmission in wood frogs: are researchers spreading a deadly virus?
Post-Graduate Opportunities
Students are accepted to graduate schools across the country. They have attended American University, Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, Eastern Kentucky University, East Tennessee State University, Georgia Southern University, N.C. State University and its School of Veterinary Medicine, Tulane University, University of Florida, University of Kentucky, UNC Chapel Hill and its schools of Medicine and Public Health, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, University of Tennessee, University of Texas and Western Carolina University. Biology graduates also attend medical school, dental school, pharmacy school and other preprofessional schools.
Many Biology majors begin careers after graduation. They are employed by private industries and government agencies as field biologists and laboratory technicians, working at the heart of current issues such as water quality control, air pollution abatement and human health.
More Information
Biology Department
137 Robinson Hall, CPO #2440
UNC Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804-8511
828.251.6444