Biology
(Printable version)
Biology is the science of life. It includes an array of subdisciplines such as botany, ecology, evolution, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, and zoology. Biological expertise is a vital component of the solutions to many problems facing our civilization from human health and disease to loss of biodiversity and environmental quality.
Hands-on labs
As one of the largest majors on campus, the biology department spans three floors of Phillips Science Hall. Departmental facilities include sixteen teaching laboratories, numerous research labs, three modern greenhouses, an animal care facility, the James Newman Clark Bird Museum and shared access to transmission and scanning electron microscopes and a Geographic Information System lab.
Field study — near and far
The local region is great for field studies due to its proximity to lakes, streams, forests and wildlife areas. Adjacent to the Chippewa River and campus is Putnam Park, a 200-acre scientific natural area. The department is also associated with; Beaver Creek Reserve in Eau Claire County; The Pigeon Lake Field Station; Rocky Mtn. Biological Laboratory (Colorado); the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (Ocean Springs, Mississippi); the Gerace Research Centre (Bahamas); and offers regular course-based trips to Costa Rica, the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galapagos, and the Boundary Water Canoe Area.
For students interested in the human health professions and medical research, the city is near major hospitals and local clinics and within driving distance of Mayo and Marshfield clinics.
Get published
The department prides itself in its faculty-undergraduate student collaborative research program. Students engage in cutting edge research with faculty in the lab and/or field. Students work on projects across the state or country and internationally, conduct independent studies, co-author publications and present results at professional scientific meetings.
Well educated
UW-Eau Claire is a top-ranked nationally as a comprehensive university among comparable university undergraduate biology programs for producing future female Ph.D.s.
Going Pre-Professional
The biology major is an excellent foundation for students planning to attend medical, dental, veterinary, chiropractic, optometry, physical/occupational therapy and physician’s assistant schools.
Multidisciplinary minors
– Environmental Science
– Marine Science
– Teaching
Suggested freshman curriculum
- Ecology and Evolution
- Cell Biology and
Genetics
- General Chemistry
- Mathematics
- College Writing
- General education
electives
More advising information
Broadfield Science Certification program
The teaching minor, when combined with a teaching major in chemistry, physics-mathematics, physical science or physics, leads to a 6-12 certification in middle/secondary education programs.Our graduates
Biology graduates go into a wide array of fields, becoming teachers, technicians, managers or planners for governmental agencies or environmental organizations, and health care professionals to name a few.
More career information
Places you’ll find recent graduates:
- Clinical Technician-
Cytogenetics, Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, MN
- Environmental Scientist,
Cooper E. Engineering Co. in
Rice Lake, WI
- Genotyping Technician,
Marshfield Clinic in
Marshfield, WI
- Wildlife Biologist,
Department of Natural
Resources in
Balsam Lake, WI
- Medical Student,
UW-Madison Medical
School, Madison, WI
Department contact information
Evan Weiher
weiher@uwec.edu
715-836-4166
