Biology (B.S.) with Secondary Teaching Certification

Program Overview

The Biology major provides a strong and broad foundation in biological sciences, from the molecular to the ecological level. Biology majors interested in a teaching career should follow the secondary teaching certification curriculum for biology. This highly recognized curriculum is excellent preparation for teaching biology in grades 7 to 12 and for earning Pennsylvania State Certification.  As with all Biology concentrations, the array of courses in biology, chemistry, and physics equips students with a versatile foundation for teaching biology and life sciences, and education courses provide the tools needed for effective classroom management, curricular planning, and student instruction. The program culminates in a 12-week student teaching experience in a selected public school.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates from Messiah’s Biology program can:

  1. Understand the nature of science, biological molecules, cell structure and function, enzymes, metabolism, and classical and molecular genetics.
  2. Understand the diversity of animal life; comparative aspects of development, physiology, morphology; life history, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary biology of animals.
  3. Understand the diversity of plants; flowering plant anatomy, physiology, reproduction, and ecology; distribution of major plant communities with global climate patterns; biogeochemical cycles.
  4. Understand hereditary mechanisms: linkage, gene interactions and regulation, molecular genetics, mutations, and development.
  5. Understand interactions of organisms at the species, community, and ecosystem levels; evidences for modern evolutionary thought in the context of a Christian world view. 
  6. Appreciate historical, philosophical, and ethical aspects of the natural sciences.
  7. Learn the skills needed to make a professional oral research presentation using PowerPoint or similar software.
  8. Participate in investigative-style laboratory experiences.
  9. Learn to work as teams in conducting laboratory and field research.
  10. Compose lab reports in format appropriate for scientific journals.
  11. Apply and extend of basic laboratory and field skills.
  12. Skill in use of spreadsheet software such as Excel for data analysis and graphing
  13. Demonstrate proficiency in basic laboratory techniques (e.g., microscopy, dissection, slide preparation, pipetting, restriction analysis).
  14. Demonstrate familiarity with essential laboratory and field safety protocols.
  15.  Be familiar with options for employment, voluntary service, and/or graduate education in biology.
  16. Understand the inter-relatedness of living organisms & humanity’s calling to creation stewardship.
  17. Understand various models that relate science and Christian faith.

Major Requirements

Complete the following for your major:

BIOL 170Cellular Foundations of Life

4

BIOL 171Biological Sciences Cornerstone

1

BIOL 172Diversity of Life

4

BIOL 260Genetics

4

BIOL 262Ecology

4

CHEM 105General Chemistry I

4

CHEM 106General Chemistry II

4

CHEM 204Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences

4

GEOL 201Foundations of Geology

4

SCIE 495Natural Sciences Capstone

3

PHIL 101Problems in Philosophy

3

EDSP 207Introduction to Special Education

3

EDSP 307Inclusion Practices

3

EDUC 203Educational Psychology

3

EDUC 208Teaching English Language Learners in K-12 Schools

3

EDUC 331Instructional Design and Assessment for Middle and Secondary Grades

3

EDUC 346Socio-Cultural Perspectives on Education

3

HDFS 311Adolescent Development

3

SCIE 307Teaching Lab Sciences in Secondary Education

1

TEP 210Sophomore Field Experience

0

TEP 310Junior Field Experience

0

ENGL 122-176
General Education literature requirement

3

STAT 269Introductory Statistics

3

TEP 210: May meet ELI requirement; work closely with advisor to confirm.

Ten credits from the following:

BIOL 265Microbiology

4

BIOL 301Healthcare in the Developing World

3

BIOL 302Rocky Mountain Ecosystems

3

BIOL 304Tropical Biology

3

BIOL 325Medicinal Botany

3

BIOL 332Plant Taxonomy and Systematics

4

BIOL 336Restoration Ecology

4

BIOL 348Animal Behavior

3

BIOL 375Developmental Biology

3

BIOL 380Genomics and Disease

4

BIOL 416Cancer and Cell Biology

4

BIOL 418Immunology

3

BIOL 456Ornithology

4

BIOL 458Herpetology

4

BIOL 460Physiology

4

BIOL 465Gross Anatomy

4

BIOL 470Neuroscience

3

A minimum of three laboratory courses, or two laboratory courses and one discipline-specific travel course (BIOL 301, BIOL 302, or BIOL 304) must be taken from the elective groupings.

Three to four credits from the following:

MATH 108Intuitive Calculus with Applications

3

MATH 111Calculus I

4

Four credits from the following:

PHYS 201Introductory Physics I

4

PHYS 202Introductory Physics II

4

PHYS 211General Physics I

4

Professional Semester:

EDUC 420Professional Issues in Education

2

TEP 407Student Teaching Seminar

1

TEP 410Secondary Pre-Student Teaching Experience

0

TEP 435Student Teaching: Secondary

9

General Education Requirements

Experiential Learning requirement   0
General Education requirements   Credits
First Year Seminar IDFY 101/102H  3
Written Communication ENGL 110/110H 3
Oral Communication COMM 105 3
Mathematical and Scientific Ways of Knowing Mathematics (MATH 108 or MATH 111, STAT 269) met/major
Science with Lab (BIOL 170, BIOL 172, CHEM 105, GEOL 201) met/major
Social Scientific Ways of Knowing
Social Science (EDUC 203) met/major
Cultural/Humanistic Ways of Knowing 24GE History 3
Literary & Aesthetic Ways of Knowing
Literature or Arts met/major
Cultural/Humanistic Ways of Knowing
Philosophy (PHIL 101) or Religion met/major
Cultural/Humanistic Ways of Knowing 1st and 2nd Level Language 6
Intercultural Perspectives Intercultural Global (if THEO 223 for Christian Beliefs) or International Cross-cultural or 3rd Level Language Waived
Bible
24GE Bible 3
Christian Beliefs
24GE Christian Beliefs (THEO 223 is required to waive Intercultural Perspectives Global) 3
Holistic Wellness
WELL 1xx 1
Ethics and the Common Good
24GE Ethics and the Common Good 3
Intercultural Perspectives
Intercultural U.S. (EDUC 346) or Domestic Cross-cultural met/major
Common Learning
Experiential Learning (TEP 435)
met/major
General Education requirements   28
Major requirements (inclusive of concentration)   97-96
Free Electives    0
Total credits   124-125