Students taking water samples out at CERA

Biology and Pre-Med at Grinnell

Think like a biologist.

As a biology major at Grinnell, the world is your laboratory. You’ll join other creative thinkers in an innovative program that encourages you to study multiple disciplines and think like a biologist from day one. You’ll conduct research, design and execute investigations, interpret data, and communicate your findings. As you explore a broad spectrum of sub-disciplines, you’ll enhance your ability to read and write scientific literature, think independently, work collaboratively, and prepare for advanced study or a career in medicine, research, education, environmental science, health, and many other fields.

Thinking about medical school?

Grinnell students are more likely to be accepted to medical school (66% compared to the national average of 40%).

The Biology Major
Pre-Med at Grinnell
The Biological Chemistry Major

Why Study Biology at Grinnell?

  • Student doing research in a field at CERA

    Research-driven

    Benefit from faculty research and create your own study.

    As a biology major at Grinnell, the world is your laboratory. You’ll learn from dedicated faculty who not only offer cutting-edge research experiences, but also incorporate their research into coursework. You’ll conduct your own research — designing and executing investigations, interpreting data, and communicating findings as you explore a broad spectrum of sub-disciplines in biology.

  • Students wade in creek

    Leadership Development

    Gain the skills to not only succeed, but also to lead.

    Through research opportunities and in-class study, you’ll enhance your ability to read and write scientific literature, think independently, work collaboratively, and develop the critical thinking skills and confidence needed to become an effective leader. Your work will prepare you for advanced study or a career in medicine, research, education, environmental science, health, and many other fields.

  • Queenster Nartey ’16 and Shannon Hinsa-Leasure in the lab

    Collaborative Study

    Develop knowledge from diverse perspectives.

    You’ll join other creative thinkers in an innovative program that encourages you to study multiple disciplines and think like a biologist from day one. This collaborative approach means you’ll learn to work effectively in groups, and to lead them as well. You’ll come to understand the importance of diverse voices, ideas, and ways of thinking in biology, and in all aspects of life.

Research

Collage of Africa map, Namib Sand Sea, bunchgrass, and researchers

Grass-Fungal Symbiotic Relationships in the Namib Sand Sea

Fungal Biologist Kathy Jacobson

Jacobson has been studying fungi in the Namib Sand Sea for 30 years, but her recent work focuses on fungi that are given life by the fog.

Collage of Lindgren and students, graphs, and proteins at the neuromuscular junction

Finding the Message Essential to Neuron-Muscle Signal Transmission

Neuroscientist Clark Lindgren

“All you can do is keep trying to disprove [your hypothesis]. … Every time you don’t disprove it, you gain more confidence in your hypothesis.”

Andrew Graham and Seth Van Helten sampling groundwater near a capped pipe and stump

The Surprising Way that the Neurotoxin Methylmercury is Degraded

Environmental Chemist Andrew Graham

"At its worst, high mercury consumption causes Minamata disease, which is characterized by paralysis, tremors, and death."

Biology Career Outcomes

First Destinations

  • 64% Employment
  • 21% Graduate School
  • 6% Post-Graduate Service
  • 3% Fellowships
  • 1% Continuing Education
  • 4% Other

Employment

97%
Positions related to Career Goals

Positions Related to Career Goals

This graph illustrates the extent to which our graduates' first job is aligned with their career goals. It's one thing to find a job; it's an entirely different thing to land the job you want!

Employer

  • Boston Children's Hospital
  • Discovery Biomed
  • Idaho Fish & Game
  • Mayo Clinic
  • Scattergood Friends School
  • Tracy Aviary
  • UnityPoint Health
  • Washington University in St. Louis

Graduate Schools

79%
79% Accepted to 1st- or 2nd- choice programs

Graduate School Acceptance Info

Of those who applied to and were accepted to at least one program, this chart illustrates the percentage of admitted students who were accepted to either their first or second choice program and institution.

Institutions

  • Cornell University
  • Rosalind Franklin University
  • Tufts University
  • University of Colorado
  • University of Illinois
  • Vanderbilt University
Explore More Graduate Outcomes

Learn More

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