Our mission is to provide an excellent general biology education in a liberal arts context. We provide ample active learning and research experiences for biology undergraduates and graduate students with quality teaching and facilities. Our goals are achieved by extensive contact with students in small classes and by our faculty's expertise and commitment to advise students in course selection and career development.
What can I do with a degree in Biology?
For undergraduates, we offer two tracks within the Biology major: Organismal/Environmental Biology, and Cellular/Molecular Biology. In addition, we offer the core Biology courses required for students interested in pursuing a Pre-Health/Pre-Medical program of study. We also have two accelerated medical programs with other institutions: 1) the seven-year, dual degree BS/Doctor of Optometry program with the SUNY College of Optometry, and 2) the seven year, dual degree BS/Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program with the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. Students may also minor in Biology. For graduate students, we offer advanced study leading to the MA in Biology or the MAT in Biology.
Research Careers
The biology programs at New Paltz provide students with the background and training they need for research support positions with the baccalaureate. New Paltz graduates have secured lab positions at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Rockefeller University, Genentech, the Mid-Hudson Health Institute's Center for Human Genetic Studies and Child Neurology and the University of California at San Francisco. Opportunities for future graduates look especially promising here in the Hudson Valley, which has become the home to a growing number of biotechnology firms. For those students planning to pursue an advanced degree (MA, PhD), the department offers excellent preparation for graduate study. We have placed biology majors in some of the most prestigious graduate schools and research institutions in the nation, including Harvard University, Yale University, Tufts University, Columbia University, New York University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, University of California at Berkeley, University of California at Davis and University of Chicago. Our students, both undergraduate and graduate students have presented their work at regional, national and international scientific meetings. Each Spring, students present their work at the campus-wide Student Research Symposium.
Teaching Careers
New Paltz has had a long-standing commitment to teacher education, and no where is this more evident than in the Secondary Education-Biology program. Students work with their faculty advisors in the Departments of Biology and Secondary Education to develop an appropriate plan of study that culminates in a B.S. degree and provisional certification to teach in New York State. The requirements include 30 credits in professional education courses, 30-34 credits in biology, and 34-36 credits in cognate courses (chemistry, physics, geology, math). The required biology courses are similar to those in the Organismal/Environmental track. Student teaching is usually done in a public secondary school in the mid-Hudson region.
Health Careers
The Department offers the pre-requisite courses students need in preparation for medical, dental or veterinary school and other post-graduate programs in the allied health fields, all within a liberal arts context. New Paltz graduates have been accepted to numerous medical schools throughout the country, including Albany Med, Albert Einstein, Boston University, Case Western Reserve, Dartmouth, Duke, Iowa State, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, NYU, Ohio State, SUNY Brooklyn, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Syracuse, Tufts, UMDNJ-RWJ, Washington University St. Louis, among others.
For more information about the undergraduate major, including course requirements, go to Undergraduate Programs. For more information about graduate study options and requirements, go to Graduate Programs.
