- Future Students
- About Mount Allison
- Admissions/Applications
- Academics
- Faculty of Science
- Aviation
- Biology
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Cognitive Science
- Environmental Science
- Master of Science
- Mathematics & Computer Science
- Physics
- Psychology
- Faculty of Arts
- Faculty of Social Science
- Academic Calendar
- Degrees
- Student Research Opportunities
- Study Abroad & Exchange Programs
- Student Life
- Costs & Financial Aid
- Visit Mount Allison
- Request Information
- Life after Mount Allison
- Contact Us
Biology is the scientific study of living things — their form, function, origin, and behaviour.
Programs
An honours Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in biology is offered by the department, as is a BSc with a major in biology. A minor in biology is available to students completing either a BSc or a BA. A graduate degree in biology is also available. Potential graduate students should contact the department prior to applying for admission.
All students completing any of the above undergraduate programs will take introductory biology and cell biology as well as a first-year course in biochemistry, except for students enrolled in a minor in biology. Beyond the introductory course, students can take courses in animal biology, marine biology, plant biology, genetics, evolution, and a host of other fascinating topics.
Careers
A degree in biology from Mount Allison can lead to careers in:
· Research in biological, environmental, and medical sciences
· Medicine, dentistry, and optometry
· Veterinary medicine
· Kinesiology
· Physiotherapy
· Pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry
· Secondary and post-secondary school teaching
Our Research
The faculty in biology maintain active research programs, which are funded primarily by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). Support is also obtained from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Agricultural Canada, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of New Brunswick, and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.
Faculty research interests include animal behaviour with interests in reproductive biology and sex allocation in hermaphroditic molluscs, aquatic microbiology, cardiovascular physiology, evolutionary and development biology, coping strategies of fish to environmental stress, and plant physiology.
Your Research
Students have the opportunity to participate in research in independent summer research projects supervised by faculty members and by contributing to faculty research projects both during the summer and throughout the term. In recent years, approximately 40 per cent of scientific publications produced by the department were coauthored by undergraduate students.
Some recent projects involving undergraduate research include the isolation, characterization, and exploration of the use in neuromuscular therapy of a paralytic peptide found in the saliva of shrews and used to stun their prey, study of the influence of UV-B radiation on proteins responsible for the trapping light energy in blue-green algae, and an assessment of the contribution of algal cells incorporated into the lining of the digestive tracts of some sea slugs to their reproductive success.
Facilities
The biology department is housed in the Flemington Building, which includes a Coastal Wetlands Institute with an adjacent greenhouse, the Sea Lab capable of maintaining freshwater and marine organisms, and the Digital Electron Microscope Facility with a scanning electron microscope located in Centennial Hall.
For more information, visit: mta.ca/faculty/science/bio