The curriculum in biology is designed to prepare students for a variety of occupations, including the health professions, biological research, teaching, agriculture, applied biology, and the environmental sciences. Our curriculum allows a student to pursue particular subjects at an intellectual level approaching that found in courses in professional or graduate schools.
Attention is given to the methodology with which the content of any biological science is acquired.
Cooperative degree programs in forestry, environmental management, nursing, and bioengineering, which combine basic and professional education, are available. Students may elect to transfer academic credits in subjects such as alpine, marine, or tropical biology from other institutions to Wooster as part of the biology major. Such courses coupled with Independent Study research in the same area give students a wide choice of specialization within the biological sciences. A maximum of fifteen courses from the Biology Department may count toward the College's 32-course graduation requirement. Each introductory course in a prerequisite to certain upper level courses, although, when justifiable, a student may be admitted to an upper level course by permission of the instructor without having completed the prerequisite.