I’m planning to major in Microbiology but when I’m researching for colleges, they’ll offer biology instead of microbiology. Is iit the same thing, I’ve seen that CSUN doesn’t give microbiology exactly as a major but gives bio BUT there are concentrations such as microbio. Do you have to go to graduate school? What is the difference of schools with good micro program and those with “ok” microbiology programs? Thanks for the responses!
You may be found microbiology programs offered in several different academic units. Some universities offer a sub-specialty track in microbiology within a general biological sciences department. Other universities have a stand-alone microbiology department. Depending on the particular university, stand-alone microbiology departments usually can be found in its college of arts & sciences, in its medical school, or in its veterinary school. If you’re looking for a stand-alone department, you sometimes really have to search the university’s catalog to determine where the microbiology department is situated. Some stand-alone microbiology departments in medical or veterinary colleges only offer programs for graduate students. Even if they do not offer an undergraduate major, they may still offer courses open to qualified undergraduates from other bioscience departments. A surprising number of them do offer full undergraduate majors, however.
The American Society for Microbiology website indicates recommended curriculum guidelines for undergraduate microbiology majors (https://www.asm.org/index.php/microbelibrary/curriculum-guidelines/29-education/undergraduate-faculty/223-asms-curriculum-recommendations-microbiology-majors-program). These guidelines were from 2002, so I don’t know if there are more recent guidelines. For programs that might interest you, you can use these guidelines as a rough guide to determine the breadth and depth of a program’s requirements and course offerings. (Also check the ASM website to see if there is other information on education and careers in microbiology.)
A biology department that offers a sub-specialty track in microbiology is not necessarily less desirable that a major in a stand-alone department. Keep in mind that no matter what sub-specialty you pursue, bioscience majors often have a common core set of courses in biology and supporting sciences (e.g., general biology, cell/molecular biology, genetics, ecology, evolution, calculus, statistics, general & organic chemistry, and general physics). Also keep in mind that often specializing too early is inadvisable—rather a solid foundation in core biology and supporting sciences is recommended as more important.
Besides curriculum requirements, look at how much and what types of research is being conducted in microbiology. Are there opportunities for undergraduates to participate in research? If you can, talk to undergrad majors about the quality of teaching, advising, research opportunities, etc. If you can, talk to a professor in the program about undergrad research opportunities, labs, graduate school and career pathways followed by graduates of the program, etc. Look at the demographics of the program—number of faculty in microbiology, number of graduates and undergraduates, are most of the undergrads premed/prevet or do they have a a variety of other career interests, etc. Larger and smaller programs each have their distinct advantages. Does the program have a focus that interests you, e.g., if you are interested in industrial micro does the program focus mainly on medical or veterinary aspects? Does the particular university offer programs in related applied areas that might interest you, especially if you don’t plan to go to graduate school or to pursue a terminal MS program, e.g., food science, environmental science, public health/global health, clinical lab technology, biosecurity, etc.?
Except for some jobs as a lab tech, you would need to go to grad school for a doctorate if you want to work as a research scientist.
@zapfino thanks for that informational response!!
To be a Microbiologist, a PhD is required. You do not necessarily need a Microbiology undergrad degree to go to a graduate program in Microbiology, a regular Biology degree would work as well as long as certain requirements were met.
Does taking microbio with concentrations in Micobiology help? and what jobs can I get with a bio degree? Are you a bio degree holder?
Yes, I am a bio degree holder, though I do not work in the field. An undergrad degree in bio by itself is not very useful unless you want to do DNR/Park Ranger type work. The field has a large amount of degree inflation and anything worthwhile requires a PhD.
I’m not sure what you mean by taking microbio with concentrations in microbiology. For a microbiology major, that would just be the default.