Bachelor of Science - Biology (Optional Co-op)

Wilkes Universities rigorous biology program prepares students to work among the most respected professionals in the field. Students are encouraged, as early as freshman year to pursue original research with faculty as volunteers, paid technicians, interns, and independent researchers. Specific faculty research projects currently available to student researchers and interns include wetland mapping, genetic engineering of soybeans, DNA fingerprinting of oaks, effects of nicotine on lung cells, small-mammal communities, threatened vertebrates, the effects of juvenile hormones on invertebrates, identification of plant genes resistant to fungal disease, and ulcer and tumor growth in transgenic mice.

In recent years students have spent summers in educational programs in Spain, India, and Australia, while others have participated in research programs at Penn State University, Albert Einstein Medical Center, The Brookhaven National Labs, and Cornell University. Others have received state and national grants for summer research and many enroll in summer coursework at field and marine biology centers.

Many Biology graduates enroll in medical or professional school; however, others have pursued graduate work at institutions such as Princeton and Stanford Universities. Recent graduates have also accepted positions as research associates at Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard University and the Bode Technology Group Inc., a DNA forensic lab that performs contract work for the FBI.