Welcome to Biology

The recently opened (2008) Department of Biology building houses offices, teaching laboratories, and research laboratories for faculty members, graduate and Honours students, and staff. There are 5 state-of-the-art teaching labs with specialized equipment where most of your biology labs will take place (some labs are in the field). Generous office space is available for graduate students, and shared office space for Honours students allowing for an engaging, connected research experience.

Acadia offers a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree with a biology major, a B.Sc. with Honours in biology, a B.Sc. with a double major (biology plus chemistry, physics, psychology, etc.), and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Biology. Each degree has specific course requirement (see 'Courses' menu), and all have liberal hands-on instruction with small class sizes (10-90 students in most cases), and labs limited at 24 students.

Acadia is fortunate in its geographical location. The local diversity of habitats provides a strong basis for field-oriented course work, enabling the department to offer a good balance of outdoor and indoor laboratory experiences even in winter! Whole organism dissection is prevalent in many labs further enhanced by preserved specimens available from the E.C. Smith Herbarium (over 200,000 specimens including vascular plants, bryophytes, and fungi) and the Wildlife Museum (140,000 specimens with 4,500 mammals & birds and several hundred fish).

The department is fortunate to own property on Brier Island (Digby County) and Hemeon Head (Lunenburg County), and to operate the Richardson Field Station in Biology on Bon Portage Island (Shelburne County). The Richardson Field Station provides accommodations and laboratory facilities for both course work and thesis research.

Biology-based Career Paths

Many career paths are available after obtaining a degree in Biology. Biology provides knowledge, technical expertise, and problem-solving skills that underpin a variety of careers. Our faculty and staff take pride in the various career accomplishments of our former students. About 34% of our past Honours graduates have gone on to obtain non-doctoral post-undergraduate degrees. Of these, the majority (71%) obtained their M.Sc. and 16% a Bachelor of Education. More impressively, 51% of past Honours students have gone on to obtain doctoral degrees; 86% of them as Ph.D. and M.D. (about an equal split) and the remainder spanning Doctor of Dental Surgery to Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine to Doctor of Laws.

Research (Pure or Applied) & Academia

Pure research seeks to understand fundamental principles of organsisms and processes, and is quite varied in scope and focus. Applied research uses accumulated knowledge, often taken from pure research, for a specific goal. The natural world is a wild and wonderful place with many species yet to describe, many ideas yet to explore, many interactions yet to observe, and many uses for the extracts, proteins, and DNA yet to be discovered. Only 1.75 million species have been described (and half of those are insects!), with upwards of 5 million (some estimate 30 million) sharing space on earth. Academics explore the natural world and disseminate their findings far and wide mainly via universities, research institututes, colleges, governments, and non-governmental agencies.

Health Care

Biologists may seek to serve society by providing care to others, pets, or livestock. Health care professionals battle illnesses, prevent the spread of diseases, and care for those who are in need. Veterinarians care for pets and livestock in much the same way as medical doctors care for human patients. Both professions are an important part of all societies and many begin their career as biologists.

Environmental Preservation, Conservation and Management

The management of common resources such as fish and game and their habitats is a complicated task. Conservation and preservation of the natural world and the interactions and processes of its parts is an undertaking for those biologists that like the outdoors and working with stakeholders such as land owners and resource users (citizens). Maintenance of biodiversity is implemented through management plans that conserve the lands, lakes, rivers, and oceans for future generations to enjoy.

Education

Life science educators are an integral source of information and use their skills to teach others about the natural world.  They often take residency at universities and colleges, technical schools, or in the military as professors and instructors; they taught you and your friends in primary and secondary schools; and you see them at zoos, aquariums, and parks, on nature trails, in interpretation centres, and curating science museums. Chances are they were trained as biologists!

Contact

Acadia University
Department of Biology
33 Westwood Avenue
Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Canada, B4P 2R6
Ph. (902) 585-1334
Fax. (902) 585-1059

biology@acadiau.ca