Owned by Goshen College in the Florida Keys, with a laboratory beside coral reefs, mudflats, and seagrass beds. Home to the annual May term course and immersive marine biology semester.
Bachelor of Arts
Biology
Major
Study Biology by Doing It
Here you do biology: track elephants in Kenya, band birds in Indiana, and analyze viruses in a working lab.
The biology major at Goshen College builds a strong foundation in the scientific method and natural sciences while sharpening your critical thinking, data analysis, and problem-solving skills. Over the past years Biology graduates have a large acceptance rate into graduate programs.
A biology degree from Goshen College is a launchpad: into medical school, veterinary school, conservation work, biotech, and teaching. You get there through hands-on learning that starts early, not in your final semester.
What You’ll Study
You build core scientific skills through coursework in the genetic, cellular, molecular, vertebrate, aquatic, and marine areas, with weekly three-hour labs. Then you choose courses toward your interest: ecology, genetics, microbiology, marine biology, botany, biotechnology, wildlife biology, or pre-professional tracks for medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and physical therapy.
As a junior you design, run, and analyze an independent research project that becomes your senior thesis. You can conduct paid, faculty-mentored research through the Maple Scholars Summer Research Program and the Witmer and Miller Endowments, with field study available through the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies. Teacher certification in Life Sciences is available through the education department.
Where You’ll Do the Work
J.N. Roth Marine Biology Station
Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center
A 1,189-acre nature preserve near Wolf Lake, Indiana, 30 miles from campus, with peat bogs, prairie and savanna restorations, and the LEED Platinum-certified Rieth Village for residential research.
Schrock Science Labs & Witmer Woods
Modern genetic, cellular, molecular, and marine research labs, plus Witmer Woods, an 18-acre native arboretum acquired in 1941 within walking distance of campus.
PLACEHOLDER — waiting for quote
Name
Role/Position
What It Costs, and the Aid That Helps
Cost should not be a guessing game. Goshen College financial aid packages average almost $26,000 per student, not including work-study or loans, and scholarships make up a large share of that. Many biology students also earn paid research stipends through the Maple Scholars program and the Witmer and Miller Endowments.
To see your own price after aid, run the net price calculator and talk with a real person in the financial aid office.
Common Questions About the Biology Major
Over the past five years, 90-95% of Goshen biology majors have been accepted to graduate school, and Goshen ranks #2 in Indiana for graduates who go on to earn doctoral degrees. Graduates work in human medicine, veterinary medicine, conservation biology, biotechnology, marine biology, and science education.
Yes. As a junior you design, run, and analyze your own research project, which becomes your senior thesis. You can earn paid, faculty-mentored research through the Maple Scholars, Witmer, and Miller Endowments, and do field work at Merry Lea, the J.N. Roth Marine Biology Station in the Florida Keys, or in Kenya.
91% of classes at Goshen College have fewer than 30 students, so you work directly with professors, not teaching assistants. You join faculty research, weekly three-hour labs, a biology coffee hour, and a science speaker series, and many students from nearby Indiana counties commute from home while staying part of that community.
Yes. Teacher certification in Life Sciences, or in Life Sciences and Chemistry, is available alongside the Biology major. See the education department’s website for licensure requirements. The path is open to first-generation students, transfer students, and international students through Goshen’s holistic admission review.
Ready to get started?
Phil Allman
Professor of Marine Biology
Andy Ammons
Professor of Biology
Luke Kreider
Associate Professor of Religion and Sustainability
Raquel Montanez Gonzalez
Associate Professor of Biology
Jonathon Schramm
Professor of Sustainability and Environmental Education
Department ChairDan Smith
Professor of Chemistry
Department Chair
