Welcome to the UK Department of Biology.
The Department of Biology offers rigorous M.S. and Ph.D. programs that prepare students for successful research, academic and professional careers in the life sciences. Graduate students may study in one of two formal training programs: Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) or Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB). Students may also work with faculty to develop a specially-tailored program that best suits their research interests.
The undergraduate biology program at UK is the most popular major on campus, with more than 1,000 students. Students enrolled in the program benefit from many undergraduate research opportunities, such as working with the Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center, which maintains a large salamander colony for researchers and educators around the world who use salamanders in their work. The department is also home to the Salamander Genome Project, which coordinates work on a comprehensive genome map for the salamander.
Biology offers many outreach and service activities, including our annual summer K-12 teacher workshop, curriculum reform assistance for schools and the development of secondary school science programs to better prepare students for success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the collegiate level.
The department is a leader in the Appalachian Math Science Partnership, which exists to improve resources and training for underserved teachers and students in Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia. The department is also home to the Kentucky Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (KBRIN) and the Kentucky Young Scientist Summer Research Program (KYSS), which provides research opportunities for graduate students from populations that are underrepresented in the life, medical and social sciences.
Regardless of whether you are considering biology at UK as an undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate, we offer all the tools necessary to transform your dreams into reality.
Sheldon Steiner
Professor and Chair
Department of Biology