<p>Hey, i just wanted to know from somone who goes to chicago or somebody who knows how the biological sciences programs are at chicago. don't get me worng i am not asking about pre-med, but the sciences by themselves, like the molecular biology department or genetics program preferably. any one want to shed some light on that for me please, and bring me out of my ignorance.</p>
<p>Biological Sciences
Faculty: 122 </p>
<p>At the forefront of biological research for more than a century, Chicago scientists have furthered efforts to diagnose and treat cancer, discovered a way to preserve blood, and laid the mathematical foundations for the theory of genetic evolution. Today, faculty and students investigate topics ranging from the genetic defects responsible for diabetes to the biomechanics and ecology of marine invertebrates. The department and its substantial resources are housed in the Biological Sciences Learning Center, among the nations most up-to-date facilities of its kind.</p>
<p>After acquiring a broad base in all levels of biological organization, students tailor programs to meet their interests and goals. Among the options: general biology, biological chemistry, cellular and molecular biology, ecology and evolution, immunology, microbiology, and neuroscience. The program encourages individual guided research and offers an honors option.</p>
<pre><code>Quick Links
</code></pre>
<h1>Departmental Link</h1>
<h1>Faculty Listing</h1>
<h1>Course Catalog</h1>
<h1>Opportunities in Biology - A printable PDF of information on Chicago's biology opportunities</h1>
<p>Biological Chemistry
Faculty: 29 </p>
<p>In this interdisciplinary concentration, which draws on the combined resources of Chicagos departments of chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology, students have the opportunity to study the chemistry and physics of macromolecules, mechanisms of actions of enzymes and hormones, molecular and cellular biology, biotechnology, and related fields. The program is designed to prepare students to enter a variety of interdisciplinary fields in biochemical and biophysical sciences.</p>
<p>The program encourages substantive research projects and offers an honors option. Also offered: a combined B.A./M.S. degree in biochemistry and molecular biology.</p>
<p>cut and pasted off website, their science programs are extremely strong but not the highlight of the school</p>
<p>My mother is a product of the U. of C.'s biological sciences department; she majored in it is the 70's. Then again, she was not accepted to their med school, though she did not know at the time that, if she waited a year, she would have automatically been accepted.</p>
<p>I know a current bio major, and she is happy with the program - though she does seem rather stressed due to the heavy workload. She plans not on attending med school but on going to grad school for medical research.</p>
<p>yeah, during my visit a bio-something major was literally freaking out in the middle of the Midway- Unsettling sight.</p>
<p>wow guys the freaking and stressing out stuff was really 'reassuring', any way thanks for giving your first hand experiences, is there a biological science major on this forum than can speak on this issue.....please i am starting to get a bit nervous.</p>
<p>yeah, it was another girl that was on her visit with me and she seen the girl in the court; need less to say that she was a bit scared as well- you're not alone.</p>
<p>I haven't heard from any current bio-sci majors here on CC- I don't think I have- have I?</p>
<p>I suggest posting your question here: <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/uchicago/%5B/url%5D">http://community.livejournal.com/uchicago/</a></p>
<p>Can anyone else elaborate on this? I searched the forum but didn't get much more info than is posted on this thread (my search skills are probably lacking). </p>
<p>I was wondering how strong Chicago's Biology department is. I'm not interested in the professional focus for college, which is why I love Chicago's core. But I got accepted into other schools that have majors for what you can only take as a specialization within the Biology major.</p>
<p>Chicago is the best for evolutionary biology. It's also good in neuroscience and biochemistry, but in that case I'd put your choices in the order of Berkeley, Penn, Cornell, and Chicago.</p>
<p>I disagree with the above poster. I have doubts about Berkeley's undergrad program because it's such a huge school although the faculty is great. (I've heard people who got their doctorate at Berkeley say it wasn't a great place to go for undergrad.)</p>
<p>I know a couple of U. Chicago graduates of the undergrad program in molecular biology. One was offered a faculty position at MIT. Another one recently graduated from MIT and will probably get a faculty position at a top 5 school. (They are in the late 20's so they are relatively recent graduates.)</p>
<p>I don't know what you want to know exactly. Penn and Cornell are both ivy leagues, so in terms of prestige of those schools as a whole it might be better. However, Chicago's classes have a reputation for being as rigorous as anywhere. I've never really heard anything about UPenn and biology. In fact, I've never heard much about it except Wharton. One of my friends went to UPenn and he said he didn't like it because everyone was pre-professional focused. He became a lawyer, but he didn't like the fact that people weren't really passionate about learning for its own sake or going out and changing the world.</p>
<p>I didn't go to University of Chicago, but to me, it really has an intellectual, erudite, studious vibe--like going in an old bookstore. </p>
<p>Cornell has a charming campus and would be a good choice. If I were you I would say Cornell or UChicago, then UPenn, and lastly Berkeley. If you have preferences for region and the feel of the campus, that might enter into your decision too but I don't know what you're looking for.</p>
<p>The highlight of doing biology here--which is our second most popular major, so I don't know how it's not an important part of undergraduate education here--is the research opportunities. There are more research opportunities than there are undergraduates to fill them, so you are assured of getting one in the topic you want.</p>
<p>
Penn's Biological Basis of Behavior is one of the best undergraduate neuroscience programs in the country. Just so you know. :D</p>
<p>
Yep. Chicago comes in fifth in the number of Goldwater Scholars produced, after Princeton, Harvard, Duke, and Kansas State. </p>
<p>
I meant to address that in my last post. In my opinion, that's actually the best route to go. Biology is so incredibly interdisciplinary these days that a solid grounding in all areas of the field is best, along with a concentration in your area of interest.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for this information! I'm probably going to U Chicago and I'd like to major in the biological sciences and dual major with economics (don't ask). :) am I nutty?</p>