Biotechnology
B.S.

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 in EFB

• Dr. William Powell (Biotech Major's Coordinator); wapowell@esf.edu
• Dr. Larry Smart (pre-med & pre-vet specialty advisor); lbsmart@syr.edu
• Dr. Tom Horton (secondary education specialty advisor); trhorton@esf.edu
• Dr. Danilo Fernando; fernando@esf.edu
• Dr. James Nakas; jpnakas@syr.edu
• Dr. Chris Whipps; cwhipps@esf.edu
• Dr. Annette Kretzer; kretzera@esf.edu

Participating Faculty in other departments

• Dr. Charles Maynard (Plant Tissue Culture & Tree Improvement); cmaynard@syr.edu
• Dr. Greg Boyer (Biochemistry); glboyer@esf.edu
• Dr. Chris Nomura (Biochemistry); ctnomura@esf.edu
• Dr. Mark Teece (Environmental Chemistry); mteece@esf.edu
• Dr. William Winter (Polymer Chemistry); wtwinter@syr.edu
• Dr. Art Stipanovic (Polymer Chemistry & AT&S); astipano@esf.edu
• Dr. Jose Giner (Organic Natural Product Chemistry); jlginer@syr.edu
• Dr. Gary Scott (Bioprocess Engineering); gscott@esf.edu

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: