Mont. - One of the fastest growing program at Montana State University is the undergraduate degree in biotechnology. The new program has gone from three students when it began in 1995 to 55 students in the 1998-99 school year, says Dave Long, a plant sciences faculty member involved with the program. The popularity of this major may be because the program combines a broad understanding of biotechnology with the lab experience students need to get a biotech job. After that, if they want to continue toward a bachelor of science degree in biotechnology, they declare an option in either animal, plant or microbial systems. The program also is excellent preparation for graduate programs.
Many students find it very exciting and enormously stimulating.
One strength of the program is that it provides an exceptional amount of hands-on realistic lab work, says Michael White, a veterinary microbiologist who helped design the curriculum. The biotech labs are different. In our labs, you have a goal in mind but you don't necessarily know the outcome. Junior students in the program were enthusiastic about the labs. In classes, you learn about all this stuff, but we made antibodies yesterday, and it feels good.