Ranking biology programs with specific goals

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello forum,</p>

<p>I'm currently searching for colleges with all sorts of things in mind (tuition, dorm policy, etc...), but am really concerned about choosing a college based on the quality of its biology major.</p>

<p>I've convinced myself at this point that I would like my career to end up in some field related to either microbiology/virology, but am careful enough to place myself in a general Biology major so I don't get stuck if I change my mind.</p>

<p>The problem with that being, of course, judging the college biology programs has become a little more difficult. I would like to create my own ranking of colleges based on how well the general Biology program can prepare me for a career in lab work with virology/microbiology, but I don't know where to start.</p>

<p>Can anyone recommend resources that specify what college biology programs I should be looking for that satisfy my goals/ambitions? Can anyone offer their own advice to a want-to-be microbiologist? Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Here are some suggestions. Look at the ASM.org website–American Society of Microbiology. You may find some ideas there. And, look at where the folks that are publishing the most are affiliated. This will lead you to some programs.</p>

<p>Also, I would look for colleges that have a med school affiliation. I bet Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, UCSF, Duke, Cornell, etc all have good programs because of their med school/hospital affiliations. I know Texas has several good schools with microbiology programs. Also, some of the agricultural schools have strong programs in both as plant virology and microbiology are important in crop science, animal husbandry, etc—think Texas A& M, Cal Poly SLO, Cornell, etc.</p>

<p>There are many good state flagships that have strong biology programs that focus on virology and microbiology.</p>