Biology at Bates

Visit the full Biology site

The Bates Department of Biology is a vibrant group of teacher-scholars dedicated to instilling in our students a love of biology and respect for the natural world while working to develop a program that delivers an excellent and accessible STEM education.

Our curriculum covers the breadth of biology while enabling students to specialize in their upper-level electives. Through authentic, inquiry-driven research courses, capstone projects, and classes geared to learning a specific skill — including field botany, marine genomics, and more — students gain hands-on experience and receive personalized mentorship.

Contact Us

Thomas Pinette, Academic Administrative Assistant
45 Campus Avenue
Bonney Science Center
Phone: 207-755-5928 tpinette@bates.edu

What You Will Learn

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To explore our place in the natural world and our impacts upon it

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To challenge assumptions

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How to think critically about scientific data

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To develop skills outside of the constraints of the academic term through summer opportunities in the lab and in the field with faculty

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To present the findings of your research at regional and national conferences

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Practical, transferable skills through course-based research opportunities and innovative skills courses

Life After Bates

The challenging curriculum of innovative coursework and research experiences prepares biology students for postgraduate training in a wide variety of professions including health care, health sciences, research, and education.

94%

of 2020-2024 Bates graduates are employed and/or attending graduate school — settled into their next opportunity within 6 months of graduation.

“My time at Bates launched and shaped my career in biotechnology. The curriculum taught me to think critically, learn rapidly, ask the right questions, integrate ideas across disciplines, and collaborate effectively — skills essential to drug development. A deeply supportive alumni network helped me gain an early foothold in the industry and provided mentorship that guided my growth. Together, the Bates community and academic experience prepared me to navigate the complex scientific and regulatory challenges of advancing innovative therapies for patients worldwide.”

— Andrew Slugg ’99

Selected Places of Employment/Service

Massachusetts General Hospital
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Boston Children’s Hospital
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Mass General Brigham
The Jackson Laboratory
Accenture
ScribeAmerica

Selected Graduate Schools

Yale University
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Duke University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
University of Pennsylvania
Tufts University
University of California, San Francisco
New York University

Four students sit around a small plant while identifying tree species in Carnegie Greenhouse.

A student looks through a microscope in Carnegie Hall.

A blue starfish laying on a bed of sea grass and algae.

A student holds up a ziploc bag of soil labeled “CF_B1” while learning about soil contamination at a farm in Freeport.

Five students stand together in a field working to collect soil samples on an organic farm in Freeport.

Students sit around a table writing in notebooks, surrounded by various species and images of leaves.

A group of students and their professor stand in a rocky clearing while inventory monitoring during a site assessment field trip learning about invasive green crabs.

A student stands in front of a projector presenting her Biology thesis research.

→ Students watch as a professor motions to the projector while talking to their class about genetic analysis in Bonnie Science Center.

Why Study Biology at Bates?

In addition to supporting students who plan to use their biology degree in their future careers, we are invested in helping non-science majors see the value of science to society and to their everyday lives. All students participate in scaffolded, hands-on research experiences that are integrated throughout our curriculum, both in the laboratory and in the field.

Featured Courses

Meet the Faculty

The biology faculty is deeply invested in the growth, learning, and continued success of the program’s students. Faculty have received degrees at a variety of renowned institutions in the U.S. and around the world. Over the last five years, their research has been supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The results of faculty- and student-driven research in the biology department have been published in nearly 50 different peer-reviewed journals over the last few years.