About the Department

The department offers a B.S. or B.A. in Biology, B.S. in Marine Biology, and an M.S. in Marine Biology.

The department excels at promoting undergraduate and graduate research and has long had an excellent reputation for mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, having received a commendation of excellence from the South Carolina Commission of Higher Education in 1998. About 75 Biology and Marine Biology students participate in undergraduate research each year. Many of these students are supported by faculty research grants or by College or departmental funds. Undergraduates present their research at local, state and national meetings and many are co-authors with faculty on publications.

Moreover, our undergraduates have an excellent record of acceptance into allied health professions and medical school. 

Biology faculty are involved in an extraordinarily broad range of research, including the developmental biology of muscle cells and conifer pollen tube elongation, sexual selection and the function of bird song, vertebrate morphology and paleontology, host parasite interactions at the cell and molecular level, insect biology and conservation, microbial, vertebrate, invertebrate and plant ecology, coral reef ecology, marine phytoplankton ecology and biogeochemical cycling, marine invertebrate physiology, the neurophysiology of circadian rhythms, physiological ecology of marine turtles, molecular biology and genetics, molluscan population genetics and plant population genetics and conservation. 

The diversity of these research interests translates into an exciting diversity of information and research opportunities available to College of Charleston students.

For questions about majoring in Biology or Marine Biology or about touring the Grice Marine Lab, contact us here.

For information on Health Professions Advising click here.