Biology
Through rigorous courses and hands-on research and fieldwork, learn how to study and understand more about the diversity of living things.
Academic Highlights: With its dedicated teachers who have been nominated for, and received, many teaching awards, the Department of Biology offers the biology undergraduate apprenticeships (BUA) program, an online application system that places students in world-class research labs. The department contributes to four interdisciplinary MS/PhD degree programs, and offers BioTAP and BIOS—residential programs developed to advance studies and develop communities within each program. In addition, HHMI Introductory Biology Labs, a new project in combination with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is redesigning introductory labs into inquiry-based labs.
Research Areas: Topics include evolutionary biology, physiology, molecular biology, plant biology, neurobiology, and ecology.
Degrees: BS, MS, PhD
People:
- Tenure-track faculty: 34
- Lecturers: 14
- Research faculty: 2
- Postdoctoral fellows: 24
- Undergraduate majors: 1,736
- Graduate students: 61
Research Awards: $9.5M
Explore our programs
Graduate
In the news
UMass Biologists Lead Broadest-Ever Study of Primate Brains
This first-of-its-kind study investigates the links between gene expression and brain evolution across 18 primate species.
Why Are Fish Getting Smaller as Waters Warm?
A team of scientists led by the UMass Amherst recently found that there is no physiological evidence supporting a leading theory as to why fish are shrinking.
'The Washington Post' Discusses Water Bottles with R. Thomas Zoeller
Zoeller recommends glass or unlined aluminum or steel bottles, which are unlikely to leach chemicals into water.
Contact
Rolf O. Karlstrom
Profesor
Rolf O. Karlstrom is a chairperson and professor in the Department of Biology.
