Department of Biological Science

We view biology as a unified field that is best understood by examining how the various levels of organization, from the molecular to ecosystem level, function, interact and evolve. Our faculty strives to excel in their own research and to reach out to other sub-disciplines to obtain a broad perspective. These include integrating molecular biology, development, epigenetics and evolution to better understand the relationship between the genotype and phenotype; the integration of neuroscience and ecology to understand behavior; the integration of genomics, computational biology and phylogenetics to understand the diversity and history of life; and the interaction of physics and chemistry to understand the structure of proteins. We regularly make use of the numerous centers of excellence at FSU including the National High Magnet Field Laboratory, our Molecular and Imaging Core facilities and the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory.

We believe that a deep understanding of the principles of biology provides the best foundation for any career in the life and health sciences. We offer a diverse undergraduate program that can be tailored for careers in biomedical sciences, biotechnology, neuroscience, as well as marine, conservation and environmental biology. We prepare students for a broad spectrum of graduate programs. We offer specialty programs in Computational Biology, Marine Biology and a variety of career tracks including pre-medical science and environmental biology. Professors welcome undergraduates into their laboratories for research opportunities and can provide the opportunity for students to publish scientific papers and present at scientific meetings. We offer a number of departmental scholarships aiding and rewarding undergraduate research and scholarship.

We offer MS and PhD programs in Cell and Molecular Biology, Ecology and Evolution, and Neuroscience. Our graduate students are supported year round by a combination of Research Assistantships, Teaching Assistantships and Fellowships. We offer an annual workshop to provide guidance for applying for fellowships, funds to travel to present at scientific meetings and numerous departmental scholarships for research. Our graduates successfully transition to postdoctoral fellowships, faculty positions at research universities and teaching colleges, and jobs in biotechnology and government agencies.