The biology graduate program is a thesis/research program for students who wish to continue the study of biology as a scholarly pursuit and who later continue work toward the Ph.D., work for industry or government, or wish to teach, primarily in two-year colleges.
The primary objectives of the program are to enrich the student's subject knowledge and give the student a rigorous experience in research and thesis-writing. Students can also acquire training and experience in teaching. Training in teaching is provided through courses and the mentored teaching of biology laboratories. Thus, students not only gain research experience, they also learn to be effective teachers and communicators.
Currently, the biology department has research strengths in the following areas:
-
Cell Biology and Genetics
-
Comparative and Functional Morphology
-
Developmental Biology
-
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
-
Microbiology
-
Neurobiology
-
Plant Biology
More information regarding faculty research can be found on the biology website
https://www.jmu.edu/grad/programs/snapshots/biology.shtml