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Biotechnology
Bachelor of Science

Information for Enrolled Students

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Biotechnology is the application of biological organisms, cells, or molecules to create products or services for the betterment of humans. The bachelor of science degree in biotechnology prepares students to tackle environmental, natural resource, agricultural and medical problems through training in molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, genetic engineering and related biological disciplines. As biotechnology is increasingly used to address such issues, it offers diverse career opportunities. The curriculum emphasizes the basic sciences with a strong foundation in biology, chemistry, calculus, and physics that prepares students for upper-level biology and chemistry courses, but encourages elective breadth in the social sciences, humanities, and environmental studies. The degree program provides sufficient breadth for a student to enter a clinical medical career, or other health profession. Students who complete this major will be qualified to enter the growing biotechnology-related job market or continue their studies in graduate or professional school.

Internships, Independent Research, and Senior Project Synthesis

The biotechnology major features a strong practical experience component. Each student is required to fulfill an internship, which could be in a local, national, or international company, medical unit, or government research laboratory. The objective of this internship is to give students experience working outside a purely academic setting. In addition, each student is required to perform one independent research project in a local, national, or international academic laboratory. The objective of the research requirement is to teach the student to develop and meet a research goal using the scientific method. During the senior year, each student is required to complete a senior project synthesis in which the results from either the internship or independent research—or both—will be organized and presented as a seminar or poster.

Participating Faculty

Gregory L. Boyer; glboyer@esf.edu
BIOCHEMISTRY and ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY, plant and algal biochemistry, chemical ecology and toxins produced by algae. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING, including Buoy and ship-based monitoring systems for water quality
Danilo D. Fernando; fernando@esf.edu
plant reproductive biology, plant structure and development, in vitro fertilization in conifers, pollen transformation, genomics and proteomics of pollen tube development, willow flowering and genomics, genetic diversity, rare and endangered plants, plant reproductive biology, plant development, plant diversity
Jose L. Giner; jlginer@syr.edu
organic and natural products chemistry, sterol synthesis, natural products
Thomas R. Horton; trhorton@esf.edu
mycorrhizal plant ecology, molecular ecology, ecology, fungal communities, mycology, fire ecology
Charles A. Maynard; cmaynard@syr.edu
plant tissue culture, forest ecology, forest health, restoration ecology, silviculture, forest biotech and tree improvement, forest genetics
James P. Nakas; jpnakas@esf.edu
microbiology, transformation and decomposition processes, nutrient cycling, soil and aquatic microbiology, microbial biomass, solvent production, microbial ecology, microbial physiology
Lee Newman; lanewman@esf.edu
phytoremediation and molecular and cellular biology
Christopher T. Nomura; ctnomura@esf.edu
biochemistry, polymer chemistry, biopolymer chemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology, energy, biodegradable plastics, microarray analysis
William A. Powell; wapowell@esf.edu
forest biotechnology, molecular plant-microbe interactions, genetic engineering in plant conservation, antimicrobial peptide design, plant gene design, plant pathology, molecular biology
Gary M. Scott; gscott@esf.edu
biotechnology, bioprocess engineering, paper machine operations, recycling, modeling
Arthur J. Stipanovic; astipano@esf.edu
polymer chemistry, biopolymers, biodegradable polymers, characterization, rheology
Mark A. Teece; mteece@esf.edu
environmental chemistry, food web biochemistry, stable isotope biogeochemistry, coral, stable isotopes, metabolomics, biogeochemistry
Christopher Whipps; cwhipps@esf.edu
fish parasites and diseases, wildlife diseases, parasitology, microbiology, taxonomy, molecular systematics, diagnostics, parasites as biological tags and ecological indicators, epidemiology and control of pathogens of ecological and veterinary importance, evolution and biology of disease causing organisms in animal populations using molecular systematics
William T. Winter; cellulose@esf.edu
polymer structure and characterization, physical and structural biochemistry, structural polymer chemistry, NMR, diffraction, biopolymer and polysaccharide chemistry, computational chemistry

Program Details

Undergraduate Program Requirements (College Catalog)

In addition to ESF courses, below is a list of other courses offered at Syracuse University that can satisfy the directed electives requirement:

BIO215	Bio-Medicine and Human Values	3 cr.
BIO425	Cell and Development Biology	3 cr.
BIO447	Basic Immunology	3 cr.
BIO455	Physiology Lab	3 cr.
BIO501	Biology of Cancer	3 cr.
BIO503	Developmental Biology	3 cr.
BIO518	Endocrinology	3 cr.
CIE 472	Applied Microbiology
CIE 500	Bioremediation (Spring semester odd years)
CIE 500	Biotechnology (Spring semester even years)

Biotechnology Bachelor of Science