Biology

Anatomy & Physiology lab
Biological Field Station research on Otsego Lake
Dr. Florian Reyda looks through a microscope
Botany class campus tree inventory project

Program Options

SUNY Oneonta biology majors can choose from one general track and three specialized tracks: Liberal Arts-Biology, Ecology & Conservation Biology, Biomedical Sciences and Cell & Molecular Biology. More than 40 courses, taught on a two-year cycle, will allow you to further tailor the program to your interests.

Additional opportunities for students with more specialized career goals are available, including a pre-health professions advisement program, 4-3 cooperative programs in physical and occupational therapy, an early assurance physician assistant program with Albany Medical College, and a five-year combined B.S/M.S. Biology program.

Opportunities

All students who major in biology will be required to gain hands-on experience with an advanced topic, either through independent study, research and service-learning projects, or intense, immersion-style coursework. Sufficient background in related sciences and mathematics is a necessity for the modern biologist, and all four tracks include such courses. 

Facilities

Campus tools and facilities include an anatomy & physiology lab equipped with a life-size virtual dissection table, research laboratories, controlled environment animal rooms, plant growth chambers, greenhouses, an herbarium, a tissue culture room and radiation facilities.  At the college’s Cooperstown Campus, the 2,600-acre Biological Field Station facility on the shores of Otsego Lake has 12 buildings housing laboratories, classrooms and equipment for research support. A well-equipped research vessel, electrofishing boat and several smaller boats provide access to bogs, marshes and ponds for teaching and research in aquatic biology and limnology. An upland forest, old field, conifer plantation, meadow and agricultural lands offer additional opportunities to learn and explore.

Contact
Biology Department
112 Science Building 1
607-436-3703

Profiles
Alexia Smith
Students
Alexia Smith
I chose SUNY Oneonta after sitting in on an Anatomy and Physiology class here. The professor asked a question, and a student raised their hand, and the professor called them by their name. That was a very pivotal moment for me and very different from other schools I was looking at. I knew that, if I came here, I would be more than just a number.
Alyssa Mohammed
Students
Alyssa Mohammed
I’ll remember the fun times I’ve had with my friends. On Fridays, we volunteer at Robynwood, an elderly home downtown, and watch movies with the residents. We’ve been doing it since we were freshmen, so now we’re really attached.
Cheyenne Pommelle
Students
Cheyenne Pommelle
"I’ve always loved animals. I always knew I wanted to be a veterinarian and fell in love with the field pretty early on. I want to work with big, exotic animals in a zoo. But I also have learned here at SUNY Oneonta that I enjoy the research side of things, too, so maybe I’ll do a combination of the two."
Sean Robinson
Faculty and Staff
Sean Robinson
Sean Robinson’s favorite part of his job is being able to witness growth – growth of bryophytes and the many other kinds of plants he studies, and the growth of his students.
Sebastian Godinez
Students
Sebastian Godinez
"I chose Biology as my major because it seemed to fit the best for someone who wants to go into a health profession. My Anatomy and Physiology class really affirmed what I was trying to focus on and pushed me to want to become a PA."