Biology Resources

Biology Special Requirements

The Au Sable Institute

Located in an aspen and pine forest on a lake in northern Michigan, the Au Sable Institute offers courses, programs, and activities that promote informed Christian environmental stewardship, ecological awareness, knowledge, and skills. Supported by laboratory and library facilities, Au Sable offers three-week courses during January and May terms as well as five-week summer sessions. Available courses include Ornithology, Woody Plants, Animal Ecology, Aquatic Biology, Field Botany, Limnology, Insect Biology and Ecology, and Winter Stream Biology. Courses in Land Resources, Conservation Biology, Environmental Ethics, and Field Geology are also available. Students can complete certification in Naturalist, Land Resources Analyst, Water Resources Analyst, and Environmental Analyst Certificate programs. Special internship programs in Environmental Education and Environmental Chemistry are available, as well as internships in environmental research and development at the Royal Botanic Gardens Internship in Kew, England, and opportunities in Agricultural Missions, Agroforestry, and World Vision Advocacy and Development.

ACCA

The Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area (ACCA) is a consortium of 14 private liberal arts colleges that promotes college-level education and training in biology by cooperative arrangements between the member colleges and universities and Argonne National Laboratory in the use of staff and facilities. Special seminars (usually on Tuesday evenings) are offered each semester.

Morton Arboretum

Through ACCA, North Park students can benefit from a wide range of botany and environmental courses offered at the Morton Arboretum, a world-class center for native plant conservation and biology in Lisle, Illinois. Courses at the 1000+ acre arboretum, which offers students use of outstanding laboratory and herbarium capabilities, can be an integral part of a botany or environmental science emphasis as part of the North Park Biology major or minor. Recent course opportunities include Medical Botany, Field Ecology, Biology of the Fungi, Woody Plants, and Introductory Entomology. Courses are offered each fall and spring semester and during the summer.

Shedd Aquarium

In affiliation with ACCA and the John G. Shedd Aquarium, North Park offers courses and internship experiences in marine and aquatic biology using the resources and collections of the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Past classes have included a one-week field trip to the Exumas in the Bahamas aboard the Shedd’s research vessel (following a semester of regular classwork on marine biology) and a freshwater ecology courses centering on the aquatic biology of the Mississippi River, including an extended field trip. Aquarium internship opportunities include educational internships, as well as research and curatorial internships.

3+1 and 4+1 Clinical Laboratory Sciences/Medical Technology Programs

Two programs are available to North Park students who choose to major in clinical laboratory sciences or medical technology.

The 3+1 Program involves three years fulfilling GE and major requirements at North Park and one year training in a clinical laboratory at a designated hospital. After completion of the clinical year and the transfer of academic hours back to North Park, the student receives the BSMT degree from North Park.

The 4+1 program involves four years at North Park and results in usually a bachelor of arts in one of the appropriate sciences. The student then spends an additional year in clinical training at a designated hospital and transfers the clinical hours back to North Park, resulting in a second bachelor's degree - the BSMT.

Pre-professional Program

(Pre-Medical, Pre-Veterinary Medicine, Pre-Dentistry, etc.) The Pre-professional program is designed to assist students who are interested in the fields of dentistry, medicine, and veterinary medicine. Through the use of seminars, workshops, resource materials, individual advising sessions, and formal interviews, students are prepared for the requirements and procedures of the different professional schools. The goal of the program is to have the student to become as well prepared as possible for the admission process. The success rate of our applicants for the past 20 years has been 75 percent.

The Theta Mu Chapter of the National Biology Honor Society

The Theta Mu Chapter of Beta, Beta, Beta, the national honorary biological society, was organized on the North Park campus in 1963. Its three primary goals are the stimulation of scholarship, the dissemination of scientific knowledge, and the promotion of biological research. Membership is open to students interested in biology. To be eligible for active membership, a student must have completed at least three semester courses in biological science, of which at least one is not an introductory course, with an average grade of B or its equivalent, and have a cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) of not less than 2.30. Associate membership is granted to those students whose interests include the life sciences in some significant way but who are ineligible for active membership. Chapter activities include regular monthly meetings that feature lectures on current topics by guest speakers, research talks by members, vocational presentations by invited guests, and field trips to nature preserves and parks.

Honors

To be accepted into the biology honors program:

1. The applicant must have received credit for three biology courses above BIOL 1280.
2. The applicant must have received credit for one year of General Chemistry.

To complete the biology honors program students must:

1. Complete 44 sh of biology, which should include BIOL 1250, 1260, 1270, 1280 or BIOL 1270, 1280, 1350, 1360 and 4 sh of BIOL 4020 (seminar) or BIOL 2100 (Topics in Biology), and BIOL 4000. A maximum of 4 sh of BIOL 4000 credit can be counted toward the major.
2. Complete the following supporting courses: one year of Organic Chemistry and one semester of Calculus.
3. Make an oral presentation of their honors project, preferably to an off-campus group such as the Illinois Academy of Science or the ACCA symposium.
4. Take the biology field test exam the second semester of their fourth year.
   
   For general departmental honors requirements and BIOL 4000 course description, see appropriate sections of the online catalog.