Many problems that could be handled in the past only at the descriptive level can now be analyzed at the molecular level, and biological systems are being characterized in molecular terms. This trend is expected to set the direction for future advances in biology. Undergraduate and graduate biology programs at Rensselaer are designed to meet this challenge. All areas of biology require a knowledge of chemistry and physics as well as biology. The undergraduate biology curriculum, therefore, gives students a thorough training in the fundamentals of the life sciences and the chemistry and physics of the life processes, providing the background necessary for professional training in research or medicine.
Options are available to prepare students for careers in applied biology and in industry.