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Biology

What is Biology?

Biology is the study of life.

Biologists study living organisms such as trees, mushrooms, bacteria, seaweed, and wolves.

They may study the whole organism, evolutionary relationships, ecology, anatomy and physiology, or microscopic molecules and cellular processes.

Biologist work in the lab studying microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, or in the field such as surveying the diversity of plants in a forest.

A professor in Human Physiology helps a student

Who hires biologists?

  • Colleges and universities, technical schools, high schools
  • Governmental agencies
  • Food and agricultural industries and agencies
  • Companies in the biotechnology industry
  • Pharmaceutical companies
  • Health-related industries and departments
  • Water quality and natural resource conservation boards
  • Zoos, aquaria, and museums
  • and more!

 

Course Catalog Description

Click here for course description from Catalog

Goals:

  1. Communicate the current state of knowledge and technology to members of the community so that they may better understand how various aspects of the life sciences impact their lives, as well as local and global communities.
  2. Foster the scientific curiosity of students
  3. Prepare students to achieve academic and professional success.

Student Learning Outcomes

All Biology students will be able to:

  1. Apply core biological concepts that service as the foundation for higher-level science courses. These include theories of evolution, natural selection, processes of scientific inquiry, and proper laboratory techniques, among others.
  2. Evaluate the quality of scientific methodology when it is reported by the popular media.
  3. Describe the relationship between the process of science, human culture and the environment.

Biology Degrees

General Biology

A student in General Microbiology Biology is a natural science that focuses on physical and chemical processes of living organisms. This discipline explores how organisms acquire and use energy to maintain homeostasis, how they reproduce, and how they interact with each other and their environment. Scientific processes are emphasized as a means of answering these biological questions. Biologists rely heavily on a chemistry foundation since living organisms are chemical systems. 

  • Associate of Science Degree: Biology (General Biology Track)
  • Associate in Science in Biology for Transfer Degree

Need more info?

For details on degree requirements see the City College Catalog

For General Biology Track or Biology for Transfer degree questions contact: 
Dr. Heather McGray, Biology Faculty
Phone: 619.388.4412 
Office: S-311E 

Allied Health

The allied health track in the biology program serves students satisfying prerequisites of nursing programs and other allied health fields. In addition to introductory general biology, students in the allied health track focus on human biology. Students in this program explore human body structure and function, from a micro-to-macroscopic level, including its homeostatic states and processes. Students also learn about microbial systems, and their role in nature and impact on humans.

  • Associate of Science Degree: Biology (Allied Health Track)

Need more info?

For details on degree requirements see the City College Catalog

For Allied Health Track questions contact: 
Dr. Kevin Jagnandan, Life Sciences Department Chair
Phone: 619.388.4413 
Office: S-311G 

Scholarship Opportunities for San Diego City College Biology Students

2022 scholarship cycle is closed.

Edward Roach Biology Scholarship

Rober L. Strecker Biology Scholarship

Leboffe-Pierce Microbiology Scholarship