The Department
of Biology emphasizes several
broad areas of Biology including Cell
and Molecular Biology, Conservation Biology,
Genetics, Ecology,
Evolution, Medical
Entomology, and Physiology.
The Department has approximately 600 majors and 50 graduate students. The active research programs of the Biology faculty offer
both undergraduate
and Master
of Science students the opportunity to learn while making contributions
to research projects of regional, national and international significance.
Georgia Southern Biology graduates are employed by federal and state agencies
like the CDC, USDA, EPA or DNR, and others work in industry, doing biomedical
testing, developing biomedical products, or consulting on ecological/environmental
issues. Many develop careers at universities and colleges, while others
teach in public or private secondary schools. Biology pre-professional programs
in medicine, dentistry, optometry (and other para-medical fields), forestry
and veterinary science offer additional career alternatives.
The Department of Biology
houses a variety of laboratory and field equipment for faculty and
student research including both scanning and transmission electron microscopes,
a greenhouse and herbarium, and a graduate student computer laboratory.
Adding to the available resources on campus are the Botanical Garden, Center for Wildlife Education, and the internationally
recognized Institute
of Arthropodology and Parasitology. Active collaborations with the Skidaway
Oceanographic Institute and the Georgia Marine Extension have also been
developed.
The University's
location in the coastal plain ecosystem provides students
with the opportunity to conduct research in a variety of habitats including
sandhills, forests, marshes, and cypress swamps. Of particular note is the
200 km band of salt marshes which extend along the length of the Georgia
coast from the Savannah River to the St. Mary's. This complex ecosystem
provides a habitat for many of the rare and endangered species of the state.
Some faculty and their students also carry out research projects at other
off-campus sites, including the tropics, coral reefs, and field research
and biological stations across the U.S.