A major educational goal of the Biology Department is to introduce undergraduates to the excitement and methods of doing science, more formally the process of science. All of our majors are exposed to modern research techniques in laboratory courses. Courses as diverse as Developmental Biology, Animal Behavior, and Comparative Physiology feature multi week supervised projects that students design and execute with guidance from their instructors. After completing and analyzing their work, the results are often reported to the other members of the class as if it were a scientific meeting.
Many students seek a more thorough grounding in independent research than can be obtained in class or internship. The goal is to assist the student so that she or he eventually works at the same level as would be expected of a graduate student. This sort of experience is especially important for those considering research careers and graduate training at the masters and doctoral levels. Research experiences can be done both at Loyola during the semester (BL 481/482) and during the summer (Hauber Research Fellowship). In addition there are outside research opportunities that typically occur during the summer.