Biology Student Opportunities
Students studying biology at Carthage have many opportunities to enrich their education.
Student organizations
Carthage biology students can get involved in a number of student organizations dedicated to putting what’s learned in the classroom into practice. Join Beta Beta Beta, Biology Club, Pre-Health Club, and more!
See biology student organizations
Molecules, Cells, and Organisms: A Unique Introduction to Biology Course
Molecules, Cells, and Organisms is a lecture/lab combined course that provides first-year biology majors with hands-on original research experience that allows them to contribute to authentic ongoing research in the field early in their Carthage careers. Content includes topics such as molecular structures and characteristics, cellular components and functions, gene expression, energy capture and transformation, homeostasis, repair, reproduction, and processes of evolution at these scales.
Special academic options
Pre-Health
Carthage offers many ways for students to prepare for medical school or graduate programs for the health professions. Carthage serves students who are interested in medicine, dentistry, nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, veterinary, and public health. Pre-health students are assigned a faculty advisor who assists them in determining which courses they should take and which career best suits their interests and ultimate goals.
Learn more about Pre-Health at Carthage
Occupational Therapy 3+2 Program
Carthage offers a 3+2 Occupational Therapy program, in which students complete three years of undergraduate study at Carthage and two years in an occupational therapy graduate program at another school.
Learn more about the 3+2 Occupational Therapy Program at Carthage
J-Term
J-Term is a month-long period of study in January in which all academic departments at Carthage offer innovative courses on campus, as well as study tours around the world. The Biology Department offers many of the College’s most popular J-Term trips, including trips to China, Arizona, Belize, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. During the semi-annual J-Term study tour in Nicaragua, students volunteer in rural medical clinics. They shadow physicians, work with patients, and observe and participate in-patient care. For pre-health students, it’s a rare opportunity to learn what it’s like to work in a medical setting before going to medical school.
SURE: Summer Undergraduate Research Experience
In SURE, students work one-on-one with a faculty mentor on a significant summer research project. A poster session is held during the final week of the program wherein the entire Carthage community is invited to view and discuss the results of the research. In past years, SURE participants have…
- Studied the play vocalizations of white-handed gibbons
- Researched cloning and expression of cellulase in E. coli
- Designed and built biofilm detectors
- Analyzed the characterization of potential endocrine-disrupting compounds in Southeastern Wisconsin water
- Examined the long-term effects of fluoxetine exposure on the third-trimester rats
- Studied characterization of the bacterial Small RNA Goldilocks
- Evaluated acoustic monitoring of local bat activity
Learn more about SURE at Carthage
Paleontology
Carthage students who are interested in paleontology — the study of the history of life on Earth through fossils — have the opportunity to study under Professor Thomas Carr, a renowned vertebrate paleontologist, and get hands-on field experience that is unusual in undergraduate programs.