Ample opportunities exist for participation in faculty-initiated research projects. Extensive laboratory experience is a particular strength of the major. Courses in such applied areas as industrial, medical, and food microbiology help prepare students for careers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnical, and agricultural industries.

Microbiology is the study of microscopic organisms and how they interact with other organisms and the environment. Topics in microbiology include how microbes benefit and harm human health, the role of microbes in the environment, and how microbes can be used in medicine, agriculture, and engineering.

Microbiology is the science of the "simple" forms of life and of the response of more complex life forms to their presence and activities. Students in the Microbiology major will

• complete a comprehensive study of life processes at the molecular and cellular level, with particular emphasis on prokaryotes
• perform basic and advanced techniques in laboratory methodology