WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A DEGREE IN BIOLOGY OR MARINE BIOLOGY?

Each year, about 160 students graduate with degrees in biology or marine biology. A biology degree is not only valuable preparation for advanced studies, it also provides a background for the pursuit of a variety of interesting and rewarding careers in fields such as: allied health services, fisheries biology, forestry, horticulture, land-use planning, Medical and biological research, museum work, pollution control, teaching and wildlife biology. The prospects for well-trained professionals in marine biology are on the rise. A significant proportion of marine biologists work at state or federal marine laboratories doing research on commercially important species of finfish and shellfish, as well as on important marine communities, such as salt marshes, natural and artificial reefs, and commercial fishing grounds. Career opportunities also exist in higher education, aquaculture, and environmental consulting.

Graduate and Professional Programs

Nearly all our recent graduates now enrolled in graduate programs have received assistantships from their new schools. Recent biology or marine biology graduates are enrolled in graduate or professional programs in many schools including:

• Auburn University
• Clemson University
• Duke University
• Indiana University
• Medical University of South Carolina
• Northwestern University
• Penn State University
• Temple University
• Texas A & M University
• Universities of California
• University of Central Florida
• University of Georgia
• University of Illinois
• University of Maryland
• University of North Carolina
• University of Oregon
• University of Rhode Island
• University of South Carolina
• University of Tennessee
• University of Texas
• University of Vermont
• Wake Forest University

Careers

A sample of positions currently held by recent graduates includes:

• Biomedical Researcher, University of Pittsburgh
• Medical Lab Assistant, Trident Hospital, Charleston, S.C.
• Research Specialist, Medical University of South Carolina
• Marine Biology Research Technician, NOAA-National Ocean Services
• Fisheries Biologist, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
• High School Science Teacher, Mechanicsville, Va.
• Database Manager and Researcher, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama
• Veterinary Technician, Columbia, S.C.
• Biologist, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
• Advanced Laboratory Fellow, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga.
• Clinical Assistant in Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital
  

Active Learning Opportunities

Research. Each year, about 75 biology and marine biology majors, typically juniors and seniors, participate in research projects. These students are mentored by about 30 full-time faculty with expertise in many aspects of plant, animal and microbial biology, including oceanography, physiology, behavior, cell and molecular biology, evolution, genetics and ecology. The results of undergraduate projects are presented at the College’s annual poster session and at local, national and international meetings of organizations such as:

• South Carolina Academy of Science
• International Congress of Parasitology
• American Society for Cell Biology
• Animal Behavior Society
• Society for Neuroscience
• Ecological Society of America
• American Society of Ichthyology and Herpetology

Titles of recent student research projects in biology and marine biology:

Funding for student research. The College awards competitive grants ranging from $300 to $5,000. The Fort Johnson Summer Research Fellowship Program funds 10 undergraduates each summer in marine biology research.

Recent student projects.

• How do flies fly? Does projectin function as an elastic band?
• A Drosophila Model of Batten’s Disease
• Role of KCBP proteins in microtubule/microfilament interactions in polarized cell growth
• An investigation of heteroplasmy in Tursiops truncatus and Octocorallia
• The Lethal and Sublethal Effects of the Mosquito Control Agent Scourge on themphipod Leptocheirus plumulosus
• Effects of the Statin Antihyperlipidemic Agent Zocor (Simvastatin) on Grass Shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio

Biology Club.Open to all interested students, the club hosts invited speakers and organizes field trips and other activities that relate to biology.

Alpha Epsilon Delta (national pre-medical honor society). Open to qualified students interested in all health professions, including those students in the allied health fields who have completed the same or equivalent courses as regular pre-medical students.

Health Professions Committee. Helps qualified health professions students gain admittance into professional schools. Many medical schools prefer a committee evaluation rather than (or in addition to) letters of evaluation from individual faculty.

Learning Resources Technology

The science center facilities include lecture rooms, teaching laboratories for general biological, zoological, botanical, cellular, microbiological, molecular, and physiological courses, and faculty offices and research labs. Students work directly with research-level technology in laboratory courses and in faculty research laboratories.

The Grice Marine Laboratory, located at Fort Johnson on James Island, supports teaching and research in marine sciences. Facilities include teaching labs for invertebrate zoology, fish systematics, oceanography, molecular biology and physiology, an aquarium, collection rooms, and faculty offices and research labs. The Molecular Core Facilityprovides DNA-sequencing services.

The Hollings Marine Laboratory(HML), a world-class NOAA research facility, provides science and biotechnology applications to sustain, protect, and restore coastal ecosystems, with emphasis on links between environmental condition and the health of marine organisms and humans.

Other Resources

All biology majors have access to a number of area libraries, including the Medical University of South Carolina Library and the Marine Resources Research Institute Library at Fort Johnson (one of the best in the region).

The College’s Dixie Plantation is an 800-acre field station on the pristine Stono River, just 15 miles from campus. There is a salt marsh and estuarine habitat, maritime forest, and longleaf pine habitat that students use in research and field classes such as botany, ecology and marine biology.

“The wealth of research opportunities and the easy access to professors in the biology department make a tremendous difference in the quality of your education.”

Haley Buff ’06