The curriculum in biology offers an
opportunity for students to understand the structures and processes that
characterize life and to appreciate the tremendous diversity of living
organisms.
Course work is balanced among three scales
of biological resolution: cellular, organismal, and ecological. An
important component of the major is independent research that enables
students to become familiar with the process of science by investigating a
specific biological problem in the laboratory or field.
Most courses are extensive rather than
intensive in content, providing students with considerable breadth in the
biological sciences as a whole. Such training may lead to more
specifically focused work in a graduate or professional program, to
employment in government or industry, or to teaching at the secondary or
college level. Biologists who are graduates of liberal arts colleges often
offer employers a broader, more flexible outlook in approaching problems.
The department of biology occupies the
fourth floor of the Haldeman-Thiessen Science Center. In addition to the
comfortable classrooms and well-equipped laboratories that this building
provides, the department has access to the facilities, habitats, and
programs described below.
Ecological Field Station
In 1969, the department of biology established the Monmouth College
Ecological Field Station on the backwaters of the Mississippi River near
Keithsburg, Illinois. Just 30 minutes from campus, this
classroom-laboratory in the field lends particular strength to the
department’s instruction in field-oriented courses. The station is
equipped for year-round use and offers ready access to the river and a
variety of upland and riparian woodlands that invite student and faculty
research.
LeSuer Nature Preserve
A 16.5-acre plot of land within an easy 10-minute walk from campus
provides new opportunities for field research. Rolling hills bisected by a
large stream offer upland grassland, forest, riparian, and aquatic
habitats for study. Restoration of the entire area to pre-settlement
conditions (including several acres of native tall grass prairie) will
provide abundant opportunities for student research. Water quality and
aquatic ecology studies are also possible in the stream.
Spring Grove Prairie
Members of the biology faculty are trustees of Spring Grove Cemetery,
giving Monmouth students access to one of the finest virgin prairie plots
in Illinois. The plants present in the plot remain from pre-settlement
times. The plot offers unique opportunities for research on prairie plants
and soils and on the fauna that inhabit them.
Hamilton Pond
This healthy, freshwater environment was deeded to Monmouth College
for use by the department of biology as a teaching resource. Just one
block from campus, Hamilton Pond is a rich source of invertebrate animals
and aquatic plants for use in laboratories. The pond also offers
opportunities for research in aquatic biology.
Biology Major
The major in Biology consists of: BIOL 111, 112, 200, 202, 204, 307,
350 (to be taken for two credits), 222, 322, 440, 450 and two electives
chosen from BIOL 201, 203, 302, 308, 315, 320, 325, 333, 345, 354 and 355;
CHEM 130, 140, and 220/225 (taken concurrently); MATH 151 and 207; and
PHYS 130. BIOL 440 and 450 may be replaced with an approved off-campus
research experience.
Biology Minor
A minor in Biology consists of BIOL 111, 112, 200, 202, 204, and 307.
Teacher Certification
The Biology major who seeks secondary certification must complete the
major cited above. This work also qualifies the candidate to teach general
science. Other requirements for certification are described in the
Education Department section of the catalog. EDUC 342 must be included
with this work.
Equipment/Facilities
Departmental facilities include: a large, comfortable lecture hall; a
smaller, cozier classroom that seats 15-20, and a small room set up for
seminar or discussion-format classes. There are six labs, one of which is
reserved exclusively for seniors working on research projects. Seniors are
given their own keys to the lab so they can use it at any time.
Additionally, the department has a greenhouse, animal lab, and aquatics
lab, all of which are designed to maintain living organisms that can be
used in courses or in research projects.
The biology laboratories are
well-equipped. The department has recently acquired substantial equipment
to enhance the cell/molecular part of the program, including high-speed
and refrigerated centrifuges, electrophoresis chambers, and a thermal
cycler. Because of our size, students actually use these instruments,
something that is practically unheard of at larger universities.
Off-Campus Program
Numerous internships are available on a competitive basis. Monmouth
students have been involved in summer internships at such institutions as
the University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, the University of
Illinois, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Iowa, the
University of California-San Diego, as well as the United States
Department of Agriculture and the Nature Conservancy.
The program makes use of field trips that
are an integral part of the ecological courses. Occasional weekend
or overnight trips are scheduled to such places as Indiana Dunes National
Lakeshore or Horicon National Wildlife Refuge.
Graduate School Opportunities
Some of the positions held by recent graduates of the biology program
include: medical doctor, doctor of dentistry, Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency staff, secondary school teacher and medical
technologist.
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