My son is interested in a BS in Microbiology however not many schools offer that. However some schools have concentrations/tracks within Biology such as:
-Microbiology concentration
-Biomedical concentration
-Biological chemistry and molecular biology track
-Biotechnology + Molecular Biology track
-Cell and Molecular Biology Concentration
My question is would these “concentrations” be acceptable to potential employers/grad schools that may be looking for Microbiology majors specifically?
It’s hard to imagine an employer who is specifically looking for a “microbiology major”. If there is such a one, then it’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t be interested in someone with a biology degree who has taken a microbiology track.
^ Actually, I don’t think it’s very hard at all to imagine that an employer would specifically look for a microbiology major, e.g., food companies, labs, etc.
OP, I think a subtrack microbiology concentration within a biology major would be just as acceptable as a freestanding microbiology concentration. The American Society for Microbiology did issue undergraduate curriculum recommendations for microbiology majors. You can compare their recommendations to the requirements of programs that interest your son. http://www.asm.org/index.php/educators/curriculum-guidelines/29-education/undergraduate-faculty/223-asms-curriculum-recommendations-microbiology-majors-program
OP, sometimes, it can be slightly difficult to find the microbiology program at particular schools. Most free standing, department-based undergraduate microbiology majors will be offered in public landgrant universities. Sometimes these departments are located in the college of agriculture (e.g., Nebraska http://bulletin.unl.edu/undergraduate/major/Microbiology+%28CASNR%29), occasionally in the college of veterinary medicine e.g., Colorado State http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/academics/mip/Pages/default.aspx). Sometimes, these majors are offered in a university’s medical school (e.g., U Iowa http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/microbiology/major/). Even though the departments are primarily graduate departments, they sometimes offer an undergraduate major.
I did a search for “Microbiologist” on the Indeed.com job website just now. I randomly picked out four job descriptions. Here’s what they require for education:
“Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology or related field.”
“Bachelor’s Degree in microbiology or Molecular Biology.”
“Bachelor’s degree in microbiology; or biology, chemistry, or basic medical science that included at least 20 semester hours in microbiology and other subjects related to the study of microorganisms, and 20 semester hours in the physical and mathematical sciences combining course work in organic chemistry or biochemistry, physics, and college algebra, or their equivalent from an accredited college and/or university.”
“Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from a four year college or university is required; Science or Biology degree is preferred.”
^And they all say “or related field” (or another more common biology major).
Specialized biology majors at the undergraduate level are usually much more similar than they are different. Take a look at the course requirements, rather than just the name of the degree, and take a look at what courses are offered by the biology department that could be taken as elective courses. If he majored in biology or whatever but took a good number of microbiology courses (perhaps the same amount as a another student with a “microbiology” major would take), then that should satisfy anyone.