Amherst Biology?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I don’t know if any of you guys are also biology majors or what, but I was wondering how biology at Amherst is…I know that generally LACs have less cutting edge research. I also read that Williams is generally the science-ier between Amherst and Williams, but how would the biology major experience at Amherst compare in general with most universities/colleges of a similar caliber?</p>

<p>For a number of other schools that are bigger (UCLA, UC Berkeley, as you can tell I’m from CA), they have majors for more specific aspects of biology (i.e. Immunology). I’m actually really interested in immunology and microbiology rather than a general biology deal which would include stuff like ecology, plant biology, etc. I figure the open curriculum can cater to that?</p>

<p>Any insight you guys could offer is much appreciated</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>I’m not a bio major at Amherst, but since I was considering it as a pre-frosh/freshman, I guess I can share a little insight about it with you.</p>

<p>Admittedly, as an LAC, Amherst has its limitations when it comes to the sciences, but you seem to know this already. From my experiences (taken Bio 18/19, currently in Bio 14), the bio dept here is actually surprisingly great. The faculty are incredibly nice and intelligent individuals. Unfortunately, I haven’t taken much upper-level bio yet (I’m a neuro major), but I’m sure they’re just as good, if not better than the intro courses. (Have you looked at the course catalog? Might be a good idea if you haven’t yet.) In any case, you’re absolutely right about the open curriculum: you’ll get to take whatever courses you want, after you’ve taken the prereqs, so you can pursue your specific interests to your heart’s content.</p>

<p>Here’s what I have to say about Amherst in general: if you want a very strong, well-rounded college experience, with open curriculum, great lecturers, student body, the whole caboodle, and you decide to major in bio here at Amherst, you’ll have a great time. Put bluntly, like all of the other depts her, the Amherst bio dept is strong in its own right. But if you want the hard-core science and research, the graduate level courses, a curriculum devoted to Bio, then maybe Amherst is not for you. I mean, I’m planning on taking some grad-level biophysics course my senior year at UMass, but it’s definitely no substitute for a high-powered UC school, chock-full of its National Academy of Sciences members and ridiculously awesome facilities.</p>

<p>Hope I made sense. If you have any specific questions about faculty, courses, or life in general, feel free to shoot me a PM. Otherwise, good luck making decisions (I’m assuming you’re in the midst of deciding among your accepted schools).</p>