About Us…Biological Sciences at Ohio State
University trustees created the College of Biological Sciences in 1966 to play a vital role in leading-edge research and education in the exciting new arena of modern biology.
We have done exactly that: we are recognized as a leader in undergraduate education, graduate training and world-class research in the biological sciences.
Six departments reflect the scope of biology today: Biochemistry; Entomology; Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology; Microbiology; Molecular Genetics; and Plant Cellular and Molecular Biology.
Although existing departments have been reconfigured, renamed and updated and new departments have been created to keep pace with rapid changes; many of these core disciplines have been an important part of the university’s mission since its founding.
One hundred and seventeen faculty members, including four Ohio Eminent Scholars and a National Academy of Sciences’ member, are at the forefront of leading-edge research on globally-important topics, from biofuels to improving food crops to searching for ways to circumvent diseases at the molecular level.
Our students have the advantage of learning from these scholars, who teach and train students at all levels, from entering freshmen to postdoctoral researchers.
We offer an exceptional educational environment for our undergraduates—more than 3,000—who are among the best at the University. Our new Center for Life Sciences Education provides focused, enhanced learning opportunities, including one-on-one tutoring. Our biology courses for non-science majors serve nearly 10,000 Ohio State students annually.
Biological sciences’ students may choose from eight majors, one of which, Biology, is the largest undergraduate major at Ohio State.
We encourage and support individual research and showcase the best of that work at our Annual Undergraduate Research Colloquium, a forum which simulates a professional scientific meeting.
More than 400 graduate students come from around the world to take advantage of 11 departmental and interdisciplinary graduate programs that prepare them to become successful, independent researchers in their chosen fields. Upon completing their degrees, more than half of our doctoral students (67%) find employment with universities, while others choose to work for government and non-government agencies and industry.
We engage in a number of community outreach activities, initiatives, programs and events, among them: the Museum of Biological Diversity’s Annual Public Lecture and Open House; Greenhouse tours for local school classes; Women in Science Day; DNA Fingerprinting workshops for local high school biology classes; the Research Experience for Undergraduates program, funded by the National Science Foundation; Science Olympiad; and our full partnership with Columbus Public Schools’ Metro High School, whose curriculum focuses on math, technology and science.
