You are in the official current online General Catalog
for California State University, Fresno.
Department of Biology
College of Science and Mathematics
ALEJANDRO CALDERON-URREA, Chair
Science Building, Room 106
559.278.2001
FAX: 559.278.3963
http://www.fresnostate.edu/biology
B.S. in Biology
B.A. in Natural Sciences Teaching
Credential
Biology Option
Single Subject
Teaching Credential in Science
Preprofessional Advising in
Clinical Lab Science, Dentistry,
Medicine, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine
Faculty
Alejandro Calderón-Urrea, Chair
Mamta Rawat, Graduate Coordinator
Larry Riley, Marine Science Coordinator, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Coordinator
David M. Andrews, Credential Adviser
Fred Schreiber, Undergraduate Coordinator
Steven C. Blumenshine
Jason Bush
Paul R. Crosbie
Karine Gousett
Ethelynda E. Harding
Madhusudan Katti
Ruth A. Kern
Shirley Kovacs
David Lent
Quinn McFrederick
Ulrike Müller
James P. Prince
Mamta Rawat
Larry Riley
Joseph Ross
Brian Tsukimura
Alice D. Wright
Hwan Youn
Faculty expertise spans the range of biology from molecular to ecological,
with a broad representation of taxonomic specialties. Laboratories in upper-division
major courses are taught by faculty, and individualized student/faculty
research participation through independent study is encouraged.
The Department
The Department of Biology offers a diversified undergraduate program that matches the breadth and excitement of modern biology and prepares students for the hundreds of career opportunities that use biology as a foundation. The Bachelor of Science degree is awarded to those students who successfully complete the biology core and additional requirements and electives.
The biology major we offer has three programmatic goals:
- To provide students with a solid foundation in all aspects of modern biology and also the intellectual skills that will serve as the basis for a lifetime of future achievement.
- To provide students with the specialized educational opportunities that will allow them to compete successfully for careers in the biological sciences or for advanced studies in major doctoral programs.
- To provide preprofessional students with the knowledge needed for advanced study in the many fields that build upon a biological foundation.
Our undergraduate biology major is excellent preparation for graduate programs in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, optometry, doctoral programs, and many others.
The department offers a Master of Science in biology for qualified students who wish to explore some part of biology in greater depth. It can be integrated with a postbaccalaureate certificate in biotechnology.
Faculty and Facilities
Faculty expertise spans the range of biology from the molecular to the ecological, with a broad representation of taxonomic specialties. Laboratories in upper-division majors' courses are taught by faculty, and individualized student/faculty research participation through independent study is strongly encouraged.
Faculty members have garnered independent research funding from various agencies including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and National Sea Grant. Faculty and students also participate in collaborative studies on, for example, medical and clinical topics with local physicians and hospitals; agricultural topics with University of California Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center and the U.S.D.A.-Agricultural Research Service San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center in Fresno/Parlier; ecological and environmental topics with California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service and Endangered Species Recovery Project; and science educational topics with regional school districts and state and national credentialing agencies.
The department is housed in a well-equipped, modern science building. Among the specialized equipment and technologies available for students are DNA sequencers; Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) thermocyclers; apparati for conducting molecular and immunological analysis of nucleic acids and proteins; genetic recombination, including use of electroporation and gene guns; a bioinformatics computing laboratory; a proteomics work station; cell and tissue culture facilities; fermenters and bioreactors; fluorescence, confocal and 4-D microscopes; ultracentrifugation; radioactive materials methodologies; and metabolic studies on all types of life forms. Excellent greenhouse and animal care facilities, as well as media/reagent production complexes, support the instructional and research programs.
Fresno's proximity to both the Sierra Nevada and the Pacific coast provides
a natural laboratory with numerous field trip opportunities that are rarely
equaled at other institutions. High Sierra, Mediterranean, desert, foothill,
coastal, and forest environments are all within a three-hour drive of the
campus. The department maintains a wealth of field equipment to observe
and collect wild organisms. A self-contained pond ecosystem offers a unique,
on-campus study resource. The department also maintains extensive collections
of museum specimens of insects, vertebrates and a herbarium. The department
is a member of a consortium that manages and operates the Moss Landing Marine
Laboratory (MLML). Students can study and conduct research at MLML, located
on the Monterey Bay.
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