<p>Looking at course listings online, Amherst seems to lack a variety of upper-level bio courses. Of course LACs will have less than research Us, but I’m talking about in comparison to schools like Williams, Pomona, etc. Is this an accurate perception? Could someone contest this?</p>
<p>Can't speak to bio directly, but keep in mind when you're looking at the course listings online, you're only looking at what is being offered this semester. In smaller schools they cycle through classes, so there is much more opportunity over the course of four years than looking at one semester's lisiting would suggest. I don't know about how it compares to Williams, Pomona, etc. however.</p>
<p>Amherst science major here, and a pre-med with interests in philosophy. I thought I was going to be an LJST major until I figured out it was the <em>philosophy of law</em> that I liked and subsequently threw myself into the philosophy dept. I was going to do a double major (bio + philosophy) but ended up deciding against it <em>because</em> there were so many science course offerings (specifically, upper-level bio) that I want to take. I'm exceeding the requirements of my major such that I haven't had space in my schedule for all the philosophy/English/LJST classes I wish I could've taken (I'll end up 1 course short of a philosophy major). Some really good bio classes I've taken, am taking, or hope to take in the future include:</p>
<p>-animal behavior
-genetic analysis
-cell and molecular bio of cancer
-neurobiology of disease
-immunology
-genome biology
-molecular genetics
-reproductive bio</p>
<p>Several of these are classes that regularly run every other year, in part b/c a few professors will be away from campus any given semester. Others are one-time-only and seminar-style, and depend on professors' interests. But they are awesome classes (either in my own experience or by reputation), and there's definitely a wider variety than what's in the catalog. I think most of these classes aren't in this year's catalog (which I'm not complaining about; biochem and physics are plenty for one semester, and I need them). Sometimes I wonder if I should cut back on my bio interests--I'll have plenty of time to take immunology in med school--to take more philosophy classes (when will I ever get to seriously discuss philosophy with similarly interested people as an adult?). But I love my bio classes.</p>
<p>There is enough variety. The virtual catalog only shows the classes happening that year or semester. They rotate.</p>
<p>I dont remember where, but I read somewhere that something like only 5% of Amherst students are biology majors. Wouldn't this statistic make the department less strong than Williams?</p>
<p>Again, not sure if the number is accurate.</p>
<p>There are 22 honors (thesis-writing) students in the bio department (class of '09); with a class of ~400, that's about 5%. I would think there are several more who aren't writing theses. And from a cursory look at their website, it looks like Williams includes neuro program students in the bio department.</p>
<p>Also, the bio major at Williams requires 9 total classes; Amherst requires 11. If you're torn between bio and english, and you don't want to double major, this makes a difference. </p>
<p>Again, from a cursory look, it seems that Williams doesn't require chem or physics unless you select a concentration like biochem. The major and the content of advanced courses would be somewhat differently structured from those at Amherst to make this work. </p>
<p>In addition, Amherst bio students have a "senior comprehensive exam". For bio, I believe this involves presenting a paper from PubMed and being grilled about it, and topics (mostly) related to it, by professors, for about an hour. I've heard it's intimidating and stressful :P but it's good for you. It's pretty realistic with what happens at conferences.</p>
<p>So, I think the differences between the majors at Amherst and Williams makes it difficult to compare numbers of majors at these schools and relate them to the strength of their departments. The figure might be more comparable to a combination of the rigor, strength, and accessibility of the bio department relative to other departments at the same school. (By accessibility, I mean how easy it is to fit the major into your schedule, and how quickly that changes from starting bio classes freshman year vs. later, etc.)</p>
<p>Of course, keep in mind that Amherst and Williams are very similar schools, as bitter rivals often are. Location and Williams' theater involvement are probably the biggest differences.</p>