About the Department
Dr. Joshua Gross, Head
Welcome to the Department of Biological Sciences!
We are the main department on the West campus connecting UC's students to research and careers in life sciences located in the newly-renovated Rieveschl Hall, with modern teaching and research laboratory facilities. Our department is active in research, graduate training, undergraduate education and engaged in community activities. Our goal is to achieve and maintain excellence in each of these essential areas.
Our faculty conduct cutting-edge research that is supported by a broad portfolio of grants from federal and private research foundations. Our research spans the breadth of biology, with two emergent focal research groups in Sensory Biology & Behavior (SBB); Ecology, Evolution & Conservation (EEC); and Molecular Biology, Genetics, & Physiology (MBGP). Our research features collaborations with international researchers and those on UC's East (Medical) Campus, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, the USEPA Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center facility, the nearby Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, and other regional and national research organizations. We are actively engaged in the development of the UC field station located 30 min west of campus - the University of Cincinnati Center for Field Studies – which is an important asset to our research and instruction. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Undergraduates
The biology major is growing rapidly, with the expansion of biology-related careers. In our classrooms, we engage students with multi-media lectures as well as innovative active learning techniques that include having students learn by inquiry and problem solving, even during large lecture classes. We are continually updating and improving our courses to provide a firm foundation for careers in biological research, health professions, education, conservation biology and related areas. Hands on experience carries into our rapidly growing undergraduate research program, where students can work in the labs of our faculty or others (including some at the Medical school and Cincinnati Children's Hospital). Our students learn how research is done, experience the lab environment and its challenges and rewards. They see first-hand how research and discovery unfold - with considerable uncertainty and numerous surprises - experiences that can't be conveyed from a textbook.
Check our course offerings, programs and research opportunities by selecting the Biology Undergraduate tab on the left. Also visit the Bio Majors Blackboard/Canopy Site for announcements and job postings. If you are a UC Bio major, it should appear on your Canopy home page. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Graduate Students
The Department's graduate program offers diverse opportunities for research leading to the M.S. or Ph.D. degree with laboratories focusing on Ecology, Evolution, Behavior, Environmental Biology, Neuroethology, Molecular Genetics, Developmental Biology and Organismal Biology. You will find that we provide a level of individual direction, mentoring and support for graduate research that will rival any other institution. Please have a look at the faculty research interests link to explore faculty lab home pages for research opportunities.
Alumni
Come join us for Homecoming, and see our newly renovated facilities in Rieveschl Hall and our new faciltiies, including our herbarium and greenhouse! You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.