Biology (B.S.)
ESU provides the hands-on, personalized instruction essential for graduate program and career success.
The B.S. Biology program at ESU teaches students the fundamental biological principles and techniques for graduates to be successful in the career or graduate program of their choice. Biology faculty have a diverse background of skills and interests, and they mentor students on independent research projects in microbiology, animal and plant biology, pathology, and neuroscience. Our facilities include a microscopy lab including a scanning electron microscope, a research collection of thousands of preserved local animal and plant specimens, a greenhouse, an advanced molecular biotechnology laboratory, and a state-of-the-art marine aquaculture facility.
Our professional affiliations include the Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute (a leading Lyme Disease testing center in Pennsylvania), the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and USDA-APHIS.
What do students learn to do?
The B.S. Biology program at East Stroudsburg University provides students with hands-on, personalized instruction of the fundamental biological principles and techniques for graduates to be successful in the career or program of their choice.
Students will learn the following fundamental and critical skills:
- the ability to reason and think critically
- sterile lab technique
- laboratory safety
- field study techniques
- the proficient use of laboratory equipment including microscopes
- the application of the scientific method
- the ability to synthesize, analyze, interpret, summarize and present scientific data
- recognize and relate the different levels of structure in biology from atoms through the biosphere
- correlate structure with function at multiple levels
- recognize the hierarchy in the diversity of life and identify the characteristics of major lineages of organisms
- understand evolutionary theory
- explain how genetic information is copied and transmitted
- and understand ecological relationships among organisms
Career Opportunities
Graduates of ESU’s Biology (B.S.) program go on to graduate programs and obtain jobs and build successful careers in a variety of disciplines and industries. Graduate schools that have accepted our students include biomedical programs, education programs, dental and medical schools, physical therapy schools, physician assistant schools, research programs in biological sciences, and veterinary schools.
Our alumni earn positions in:
- Biology Technician and Teacher
- Conservation Officer
- Entomologist
- Environmental Educator
- Game Commission Officer
- Histology Technician
- Hospital Lab Scientist
- Laboratory Technician
- Naturalist
- Ornithologist
- Park Ranger
- Research Technician
- Wildlife Biologist
- Zoologist
Internships and Research Opportunities
The Biology program partners with numerous organizations to offer student internships in a variety of fields. The most common organizations that provide internships are hospitals, clinics, and private medical offices; environmental organizations and consulting firms; pharmaceutical companies; and local, state, and federal scientific agencies. With these opportunities, students work closely with lab scientists and field biologists learning specialized techniques and gaining invaluable hands-on experience.
Additionally, many professors in the Biology program mentor student research projects in their disciplines. Students gain invaluable hands-on experience by gathering, analyzing, summarizing, and presenting scientific data and results. Some examples of recent student research projects:
- Entomology: spotted Lanternfly field research
- Mammalogy: monitoring local bat populations
- Neurobiology: decoding complex mixtures of visual signals in the brain
- Botany: plant/insect interactions with aphids and milkweed
- Herpetology: monitoring of timber rattlesnake populations in Pennsylvania
- Environmental studies: monitoring of freshwater invertebrates
- Marine biology: substrate preference of the summer flounder in New Jersey
- Microbiology: prevalence of Powassan virus and Lyme disease in local ticks; a novel aquatic microbacterium species that produces antibiotics; environmental changes that impact growth of a pathogenic fungal species.
- Anatomy & Physiology: examining the tissues of stomachs in small mammals
Learn more about ESU and the Biology major.
Contact Us
Contact Information
- Campus Address
- Moore Biology Hall
- Phone:
- (570) 422-3725
- Fax:
- (570) 422-3724 (Fax)
- Title of Department Leader
- Department Chair
- Name
- Matthew Wallace
- E:
- mwallace@esu.edu
- Phone:
- (570) 422-3720
