Major in Biology (B.A.)

Home
Academics
Major in Biology (B.A.)

Request Information

Loading…

Why Major in Biology?

Biology is the study of life at all levels: molecular, cellular, individual, ecological, and systemic. Thanks to our hands-on approach to learning, the building blocks of all life — from amoebas to zebras, plants to people — will become your own real-world explorations.

As a biology major pursuing a bachelor of arts degree at Clark University, you’ll learn from some of the leading minds in the field — who will also be your collaborators as you join their research projects in areas such as animal locomotion, cancer biology, cell division, epigenetics, virus-host interactions, gene expression, and more. You’ll see why biology is one of Clark’s most popular majors as you experience life as never before.

Catalog Requirements for:

Major

Minor

Accelerated BA/Master's

Curriculum update

Effective fall 2025, Clark will recognize this course of study by awarding a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Students graduating before then will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts. Contact your academic advisor for details.

Why Study Biology at Clark?

Delve into diverse subfields of biology, including ecology and evolution, molecular and cell biology, marine biology, conservation biology, botany, neuroscience, and animal behavior.
Conduct research in Clark’s LEED Gold-certified Lasry Center for Bioscience, a state-of-the-art, 50,000-square-foot facility, and use specialized biology research equipment normally found only in much larger departments.
Benefit from a wealth of other experiential learning opportunities, from internships in industry labs to summer research fellowships to study abroad programs.
If you’re interested in a health-related career, chart your course with the guidance of our Prehealth Advising Program.

Biology

Featured Courses

BIOL 258

POP

Small-Scale Land Conservation in Massachusetts

Participate in training activities at nearby study sites and engage with local conservation experts to gain insight into the issues and processes that shape small-scale land conservation efforts in Massachusetts.

BIOL 143

Neuroscience

Our nervous system enables us to learn, remember, think, and experience emotion. Explore how these critical systems develop and function—especially in mammals—and their relationship to behavior and disease.

BIOL 233

Animal Locomotion

Why can one kind of lizard run fast on sand but not rock, while it’s the other way around for another type of lizard? Here in our lab you’ll use high-speed video to analyze the mechanics of animal locomotion.

View All Courses

The Biology Path

You’ll begin the major by obtaining a broad foundation in biology before choosing an area of focus (e.g., cell and molecular biology, ecology and evolution, among others), or the pre-health careers track. In consultation with your faculty adviser, you’ll select courses appropriate to your area of specialization. You should include one course that develops research techniques in biology, a seminar course, and a capstone experience, which can be an upper-level research course, internship, or directed research (on or off campus).

In addition to 10 courses in biology, you’re required to complete one or two courses in chemistry, two courses in mathematics, and another two from mathematics, computer science, or the natural sciences.

If you’re considering a career teaching biology at the high school level, we encourage you to check out the Noyce Scholarship program. A robust Prehealth Advising Program is available if you’re interested in pursuing a career in the health professions.

Skills You Learn

Academic Achievement Awards

M. Margaret Comer Memorial Award for Undergraduate Studies in the Biological Sciences
The M. Margaret Comer Award for Undergraduate Research was established by Clark University in memory of Professor Margaret Comer, a member of the Clark faculty from 1976 to 1992. Upon Professor Comer’s unexpected early death, the University decided to recognize her “extraordinary personal commitment to exacting scientific research” by annually supporting an undergraduate who demonstrates achievement or high potential in biology or biochemistry research.

The David Potter Award for Excellence in Biology
The Potter Award was established by Dr. and Mrs. Warren Litsky, AB ’45 in honor of Botany Professor David Potter. This fund is used to provide a prize to an outstanding senior biology major.

Facilities

Honors Program

During your junior year, you might be accepted into the biology honors program. Joining the program means you’ll work closely with a professor to create a thesis on a topic of your choice. Examples of recent honors thesis topics are:

Characterization of British Columbia Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
Identification of the Potential Zinc Finger Motif in Dictyostelium discoideum Ima1 Protein
Investigating the Role of CG4096 in the EGFR Signaling Pathway
Copy Number Variation in the Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus gattii

Diversification of Gene Families Involved in Fruiting Body Development in Agaricomycetes Inferred Using Comparative Genomics

Related Programs

Building your foundation

The Clark Experience

The Clark Core allows students to take courses across diverse disciplines, helping them develop critical thinking skills and respect for other cultures and perspectives. You’ll connect classroom learning with action through world and workplace experiences.

Learn More

At Clark, your education extends beyond the classroom. Visit the Career Connections Center to learn more about internship opportunities that complement your coursework and put your biology knowledge into practice.

The biology major is designed to help you learn outside the classroom. Many students take advantage of internship opportunities during the academic year or over the summer to connect what they’re learning with their professional development. Biology majors who choose to intern at Worcester’s University of Massachusetts Medical Center frequently find that such experiences can lead to summer fellowships or admission to graduate or medical schools.

Other opportunities include:

Study Abroad and Away

Participation in a Study Abroad and Away program is an opportunity to gain world and workplace experience to complement your on-campus experience. Clark approves semester, yearlong, and summer opportunities to earn credit through academic coursework, internships, community-based learning, or research. Explore our Study Abroad and Away page, where you can search programs by academic interest, location, and language. After you’ve identified some appropriate programs, ensure they fit into your four-year plan by talking with your faculty adviser as early as possible.

Student Clubs and Organizations

Internships

Kwiáht Center for the Historical Ecology of the Salish Sea
San Juan Islands, Wash.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Medical School; Boston, Mass.
Elder Services of Worcester
Worcester, Mass.
The Stone Clinic and CrossCart Inc.
San Francisco, Calif.
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Worcester, Mass.

Clark is committed to action-based learning, which means as an undergraduate you can join faculty and graduate students in their research. Our faculty members have research interests in subfields of biology like ecology, evolution, animal behavior, marine biology, genomics, microbiology, and more. Join other biology students — graduate and undergraduate — at weekly seminars, featuring a variety of research topics, sponsored by the Biology Department.

The opportunity to conduct research in an active laboratory can be a defining experience of your undergraduate education. Participation in research shows you real-world applications of classroom knowledge and skills, and provides an invaluable experience — whether you want to pursue a career in industry or go on to medical, veterinary, or graduate school.

You can get involved in research in different ways. You might conduct research as part of a research course or internship, or participate informally in faculty research during your spare time. You can also apply to our summer research program; typically, about a dozen students each receive a stipend of $3,000 – $3,500 to live on campus for 10 weeks while working with a specific Clark faculty member. Another option is to apply for funding to support your own research on a project of your choice during the academic year or during the summer.

Collaborate with Faculty and Present Your Research

Collaborate with faculty

Some students co-author papers with a faculty mentor and/or attend professional conferences where they present their research and network with other biology professionals. Examples include (names of Clark undergrads are indicated by *):

Bergman, P.J., Berk, C.P.*. 2012. The Evolution of Positive Allometry of Weaponry in Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma). Evolutionary Biology 39:311-323.
Drewell, R.A., Bush, E.C., Remnant, E.J., Wong, G.T.*, Beeler, S.M.*, Stringham, J.L.*, Lim, J. and Oldroyd, B.P. 2014. The Dynamic DNA methylation cycle from egg to sperm in the honey bee Apis mellifera. Development 141:2702‐2711
Soghigian, J., Gibbs, K.*, Stanton, A.*, Kaiser, R.* and T. Livdahl. 2014. Sexual harassment and feeding inhibition between two invasive dengue vectors. Environmental Health Insights 8(S2):61-66. DOI: 10.4137/EHI.S16007.
Young, D.A.*, J. Rice, R. Martin, E. Lindquist, A. Lipzen, I. Grigoriev, and D. S. Hibbett. 2015. Degradation of Bunker C fuel oil by white-rot fungi in sawdust cultures suggests potential applications in bioremediation. PLOS One 10(6): e0130381. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130381
Bergmann, PJ, Hare-Drubka, M.*. 2015. Hindlimb muscle anatomical mechanical advantage differs among joints and stride phases in basilisk lizards. Zoology 118: 291-298.

Research involvement at this level provides you with an excellent background for future graduate work in biology, as well as a breadth of experience that will assist you in future work in the allied health fields, teaching, or other science-related fields.

Present your research

Clark’s annual ClarkFEST is an opportunity to share your research or creative work with the Clark community while you hone your presentation skills. Some projects biology students and recent alumni have presented are:

From snake-like to lizard-like: the diet and microhabitat use of burrowing lizards that differ in body shape
Proliferative Potential of Cells Expressing Proneural Genes in the Annelid Capitella teleta
Ecological determinants of trait biogeography in a post-glacial adaptive radiation
The Effect of Iron (Fe) Limitation in Four Species of Marine Diatoms: Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Pseudo-nitzschia australis, Skeletonema costatum, and Thalassiosira pseudonana
The role of Centrin B in the nuclear architecture of Dictyostelium discoideum

You also can submit your research results for publication in our student-run Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal.

At Clark you’ll get more than a great education; you’ll also be prepared for a long, productive career and life of consequence. And once you’ve completed your degree, you can join other Clark alumni who have gone on to work for great organizations and attend some of the best graduate schools in the world.

The biology major prepares you for a variety of exciting next steps. You might go on to graduate school to further your knowledge of the field, enter one of the health professions (medical, dental, or veterinary), or become a public school teacher. Other career paths include biomedical research, biotechnology, environmental science, conservation biology, and forestry.

Graduate School Placement

Graduate schools attended by biology graduates from Clark include:

University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine; D.V.M.
Yale School of Medicine; M.D.
Harvard University School of Dental Medicine; D.M.D.
King’s College, London, England; Ph.D. in Epidemiology
Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi; Ph.D. in Marine Biology

Career Outcomes

St. Vincent Hospital, Worcester, Mass.
physician, internal medicine
Ernst & Young
health care consultant
Pfizer Pharmaceutical
associate scientist
S&D Medical
radiologist
Lake Tahoe Basin
fisheries technician

Faculty and Programs in the Department of Biology

Learn More

Major in Biology (B.A.)

Why Major in Biology?

Why Study Biology at Clark?

Featured Courses

Small-Scale Land Conservation in Massachusetts

Neuroscience

Animal Locomotion

Marine Biology

Ecology of Atlantic Shores

The Genome Project

The Biology Path

Skills You Learn

Academic Achievement Awards

Facilities

Honors Program

Related Programs

The Clark Experience

Study Abroad and Away

Student Clubs and Organizations

Collaborate with Faculty and Present Your Research