Earlham's biology department offers a balanced program in field and laboratory science. Students learn the principles of a variety of subdisciplines of biology and they acquire skills in scientific problem solving by means of library, laboratory, and field research. A hallmark of biology at Earlham is the close working relationships students develop with professors in the classroom, in the laboratory, and in the field. This interaction may extent to off-campus sites such as Kenya, the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and the American Southwest. More than 90 percent of medical school applicants are accepted.
Many graduates go on to teaching careers at all levels.
Many follow careers in the environmental professions, in business, and in government service. During their education, biology majors are encouraged to study abroad on one of Earlham's foreign study programs or to study off-campus through our affiliation with the GLCA Science Semester program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Tennessee, or with the Field Biology Training Program at Manoment Bird Observatory, Massachusetts. Among the many facilities supporting students first-hand learning in biology at Earlham are a molecular genetics laboratory, a new field research lab, a scanning electron microscope, open access to the campus computer network, outstanding library facilities, greenhouse and animal care areas, herbarium, and extensive natural areas on the back campus for research and ecological study. Many students take an active roles in the department through their work with faculty and staff in lab preparations, the Biology office, and the greenhouse, and through their participation as teaching and research assistants. Students working in Earlham's Joseph Moore Museum of Natural History develop skills in preparing specimens, caring for scientific collections and exhibits, and providing educational programs to the wider regional community.