ore than 50,000 students a year receive bachelor's degrees in biology, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics. It is a remarkably diverse group. About 12 percent are members of minority groups underrepresented in the sciences. A little more than half are women — up from about 30 percent in the 1960s. The careers for which these students are preparing are equally diverse. Nationwide, about 10 percent of biology majors go on to graduate school in biology and other sciences, and about 20 percent go on to medical school. A small but significant fraction become teachers in elementary and secondary schools. Others take jobs in industry, government, the nonprofit sector, law, journalism, and many other professions. Beyond the core group of biology majors are millions of other college students who take one or more biology classes each year. They might be satisfying a requirement for their major, fulfilling a distribution requirement, or studying biology to to learn more about themselves and the world around them. Kansas State University has developed a program to support the increasing numbers of older students returning to college to get biology degrees.

A World of Opportunity Biology: A Hot Degree on Campus The Path to a Ph.D. Doing More with Less at the University of Illinois Turning Students into Scientists at Reed College Preparing for Success at CCNY The Baccalaureate Origins of Ph.D. Biologists Helping K-12 Teachers Changes in the Classroom The Laboratory Experience Faculty in the Crossfire Women and Minorities The Many Paths to Success

Bachelor's Degrees in the Biological Sciences

The numbers of biology majors have soared in recent years,
and total enrollments have grown even faster.

Source: U.S. Department of Education