Department of Biology

From The Department Head

Biology is the study of life and in the department we are deeply engaged in this study at multiple levels. 

 At UNCG Biology…  

• We teach over 1000 undergraduate majors and have roughly 40 graduate students in our graduate programs. 
• We are involved in community engagement and science outreach with K-12 students and members of the public. 
• Our faculty work closely with undergraduate and graduate students as part of a rigorous and engaged process that includes team work in both the field and the laboratory. 

Our curriculum includes… 

• Courses that introduce majors and non-majors to Biology and its foundational principles including core courses that cover cell biology, genetics, ecology, and evolution. We also offer upper-level and graduate-level courses that are specialized within the discipline of Biology and range from virology, cell cycle and cancer, neurobiology, and microbiology to landscape ecology, sea turtle biology, animal behavior, and the biosphere. 
• Training for undergraduate students in degree programs that include both a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology.
• Within our Bachelor of Science in Biology major there are options for popular concentrations in Human Biology, Environmental Biology, and Biotechnology. 

Our faculty and research labs… 

• Are funded by multiple federal agencies including the NSF, NIH, and USDA as well as NGOs and state agencies.
• Define our graduate programs that include both a Master of Science in Biology and Doctorate of Philosophy in Environmental Health Science.
• Are involved in research that ranges from understanding cell motility, cancer, obesity, and flu, to ecological understanding of urbanization, disease ecology, and the fate of nutrients in streams.
• Are focused on Environmental Health Science, which is reflected in many of our research labs that, for example, investigate effects of environmental chemicals and anthropogenic stressors on animal development, inflammation, nutrient cycling, and disease ecology.  

We are very proud of our alumni and try to keep in touch with all of them. Our undergraduate students are employed locally, and nationally as biologists and many have gone on to professional careers in health and health sciences. Graduates from our graduate programs are employed in the private and public sector as biologists and many have gone on to research careers in Biology. If you are an alum and want to reconnect, please send me an email at  bio@uncg.edu  because I would love to hear from you.  

You can always catch up with us by reading our newsletter and linking to our social media accounts below. Please explore our website to learn more about our department and what we offer. We hope that you find everything you are looking for on these pages and invite you to contact us if you have any questions. 

Sincerely,

Malcolm Schug
Head of the Department of Biology
(336) 334-5391
mdschug@uncg.edu