ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of Biology at Whittier College strives to produce graduates that understand the scientific principles that govern living systems. Our students are broadly trained, inquisitive, and able to design creative experiments that allow predictions to be effectively tested. In addition, our students learn to communicate effectively both with other scientists and within an increasingly technological society by presenting their own results and studying the published work of other scientists. Finally, our students understand that the best way to use science is to do science, not just to learn about science. As a result, our students are prepared for a variety of careers, within educational systems or institutions, as capable researchers, within the health professions, or in the business world.

Our students attain these goals through a carefully designed curriculum and through encouraged independent work. Students do science at all levels—virtually all of our courses have a mandatory laboratory component. Students have access to all of the equipment within the department, and frequently make use of it in their own independent studies. We emphasize the effective communication of results and conclusions through careful curricular design and close work with individual faculty members, often resulting in presentations at scientific meetings. We take advantage of our local environment, using the nearby San Gabriel mountains, the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, and the Pacific coast as areas for field studies.