Bachelor of Science 4Yr Biology

The Bachelor of Science with a major in Biology is intended to provide students with the opportunity to pursue a program of study in biology with grounding in the other Liberal Arts. Students will master a depth of material and methodology to prepare them for graduate study, while acquiring a breadth of experience to maintain the flexibility of thinking and approach necessary for effective participation in a fluid and progressive society and workforce. Drawing on the existing strength of St. Mary's in the Liberal Arts, students will become broadly educated, grounded, practically-minded thinkers with experience in thinking across and outside disciplinary boundaries. This program will develop students' capacity for independent, critical thinking. A stress on connections between class experience and real-world application, incorporating realistic discovery-based laboratory experiences, will allow graduates of the program to move quickly and effectively into roles as active, productive biologists. As they grow within the program, students will develop the capacity for self-directed learning, culminating in an independent study project in their final year. Such an education serves to well prepare students for a wide array of careers, with roles from agriculture to biomedical laboratory research, from environmental consulting to veterinary medicine. Students will be prepared for further education, whether graduate work in biology, business, education, law, or medicine. The program will challenge students to consider the effect of science on society, and the effect of society on scientific thinking. Part of the development of a "well-educated, free human being" is ensuring that students recognize their responsibility to our community and our world, and this is a vital component of the program. In keeping with this sense of place, the courses comprising this program are informed by the setting of St. Mary's on the edge of Fish Creek Provincial Park, and in the larger landscape of Southern Alberta. Part of any thorough education in the natural sciences must consist of basic grasp of, and appreciation for, the natural resources in which this area is so rich. Students completing a BSc in Biology at St. Mary's will be independent, capable thinkers and doers, with an eye for the natural wealth of Alberta and a sense of responsibility to the people and the world around them.