Benefits
At Blackburn College biology majors will learn in state-of-the-art facilities while taught by a dedicated and award-winning faculty, and earn an educational foundation to lead to successful careers in the field of biology. Small class sizes and tight-knit student and faculty relationships mean that all biology majors at Blackburn College and provided the tools to thrive during their time at Blackburn and after.
Biology majors will receive ample opportunity to put their learning to practical use, through field work, research, and Work Program positions within the department.
Points of Distinction
- Biology is the largest major on campus.
- The program has placed students in 16 different healthcare careers.
- The acceptance rate for those students that apply to veterinary school, physical therapy school, dental school, optometry school, and medical laboratory science is almost 100%.
- Several environmental projects are managed by students, including the walnut grove, the pollinator project, and the Solomon Creek project.
Why this Major?
Students who want to expand their knowledge of biology will find a rigorous academic program that prepares them for many future endeavors in academia and the work place.
Hands-on Learning
The faculty works side by side with student in the classroom, labs, and outdoor learning environments. Students have opportunities to directly apply the knowledge they are learning through lab experiments and field applications.
Blackburn students have planted more than 10,600 walnut trees as part of the Mahan Forestry Project. Read more about the project here.
Notable Alums
3 Blackburn alumni are members of the National Academy of Sciences
Success
Graduates have an incredibly high acceptance rate to medical school, veterinary school and other health profession graduate programs for the past 8 years
Growth
The Biology Department has benefited from $1,200,000 in equipment upgrades in the past 5 years.
Facilities
The Marvin and Ingrid Mahan Science Laboratory Wing is a state-of-the-art, 28,000 square foot facility with seven teaching laboratories for biology, chemistry, and biochemistry and a water analysis lab. Off the spacious lobby are science faculty offices with a large outer office area for those students who serve as faculty assistants in the Work Program. The Mahan Wing is one of the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rated buildings in central Illinois.
Alumni Hall and the Olin Science Building offer laboratories, a lecture room, an animal room, and three greenhouses. Olin hall also includes a large vivarium, two modern lecture halls, a herbarium, assigned
research rooms, and math and science teaching laboratories.
Faculty
Dedicated, award-winning faculty members are actively involved in the classroom, in research projects and mentoring students so they thrive at Blackburn and after graduation.
