Biology

Overview

In the collaborative Biology program from Portland State University , students are in frequent contact with faculty. Our weekly seminar series also offers students the opportunity to meet and learn from professionals from outside the PSU environment. Research facilities such as greenhouses, natural history collections (botanical, and both invertebrate and vertebrate), and the Center for Life in Extreme Environments serve as resources for much graduate research.

Faculty receive research funding by high-profile organizations, such as the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Howard Hughes Foundation, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The department maintains close collaborations with a number of local institutions that provide additional research opportunities within easy reach of the PSU campus, including the Portland Zoo, Oregon Health and Science University, and Oregon National Primate Research Center. Faculty at these institutions can serve on graduate student committees.

Career 

A graduate degree in biology offers a solid foundation in the sciences that can provide an avenue to careers in medicine or to a profession as a scientist.

Many of our graduates also pursue careers in wildlife management or conservation. Undergraduate degrees with an emphasis in molecular biology, cell biology and/or microbiology also have the potential to enter fields within the biotechnology sector. And for students of all areas of Biology, an undergraduate degree is a virtual prerequisite for continuing graduate degree programs that then open opportunities at the next level.