COMING FALL 2023: We have updated our curriculum for all major options and the marine biology major. We are also offering more minors! Stay tuned for these changes to appear in the coming months! We are VERY excited about our fresh curriculum!
The Department of Biology at the University of North Alabama prepares students for careers in biology. Whether you are interested in being a healthcare professional or being a biologist for a company or government agency, we can get you prepared for your dream job. We offer a biology major with professional, environmental, cellular and molecular, and general biology options, and a major in marine biology for a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. We also offer minors in general biology and cellular and molecular biology for other majors as well as a minor in marine science, which can be completed by biology and non-biology majors. We also offer courses and programs applicable to all pre-health professions curricula, and basic coursework applicable to the general education component of all degree programs. Students who want to teach high school biology complete their biology courses in our department. The department also has a prominent role at the Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory, where our marine biology majors take marine-focused courses over the summer months.
The department has access to a scanning electron microscope and each faculty member has his/her own research laboratory for conducting research with interested undergraduate students. If you are interested in learning about how basic research is done, consult a faculty member and ask! Our faculty love to mentor interested students.
We have 15 full-time
faculty members in our department who teach all upper-level undergraduate courses and several adjunct faculty who teach some of our freshman-level classes. All of our classes and laboratories are taught by faculty members. There are approximately 250 students majoring in biology.
Students are advised by our faculty member in the department to assist her/him in planning the undergraduate curriculum and in formulating career goals.
We have two honor societies in the department:
Beta Beta Beta, TriBeta the biological honor society, and
Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-health professions honor society.
Two of our faculty members serve as the main Pre-Health Professions Advisors for students interested in pursuing careers in medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and veterinary medicine. Visit that
webpage for more information.
INCOMING FRESHMEN MAJORS: If you have not taken the ACT, you will automatically be placed in BI 101 your first semester (if you have no prior credit for biology). If you do have an ACT score, then your Science Reasoning score will determine whether you are placed in BI 101 or BI 111.
For more specific information about the programs offered by our department, please contact us via email at
biology@una.edu.