Biology
The University of Maine at Presque Isle offers an outstanding Biology curriculum with opportunities to pursue various careers in the life sciences, including a B.A. with a Pre-medical, Professional Biology, or Self-Designed Concentration, a B.S. in Secondary Education with a concentration in Biology, as well as an Associate Degree in Medical Laboratory Technology.
Our Biology majors have been accepted into prestigious programs around the country and report that they were well-prepared for graduate work. Several have won academic awards in their graduate programs, including Erika Valtinson, this year's recipient of the University's Recent Alumni Award, who is now practicing medicine as a Physician Assistant. Other alumni have gone on to medical and dental schools or advanced research and laboratory work, such as Kristine Davidshofer, recently awarded a doctoral degree in physiology.
For students interested in professional biology, our curriculum stresses hands on experiences providing essential skills that are an integral part of modern biology. Many courses afford opportunities for working outside studying the local flora and fauna of the region. Faculty teach their own laboratory courses and low student-to-faculty ratios ensure one-on-one learning opportunities. Students are also encouraged to participate in faculty research projects.
In addition to rigorous and varied coursework, Biology majors often enrich their educational experience through off-campus learning opportunities and the National Student Exchange Program. During the past year, two of our majors spent a week in the Washington, D.C. area at the National Human Genome Research Institute, fully funded by the National Institutes of Health. Other students have spent a week at the Mount Desert Island Biology Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, where Alison Kieffer is currently serving as a summer research intern.
Biology faculty are actively engaged in research ranging from wildlife ecology to fungi and our students play active and essential roles in their research projects. Dr. Linda Graves, Professor of Medical Technology and the Program Director, has published two books in her field and Dr. Bonnie Wood, Professor of Biology, is currently writing a book on lecture-free teaching based on the pedagogy she practices in her classes at UMPI.
