College of Arts and Sciences

Biology and Health Science Program Overview

The Biology and Health Science programs at Aurora University have several distinguishing features. First, both our introductory and upper-division courses are small in size. Introductory courses range from 20 - 40 students. It is not uncommon to have upper-division classes with less than 15 students. Second, in the vast majority of our laboratory classes, faculty members teach the laboratory sections of the course. Third, students receive a large amount of individualized attention from their professors. Because of the small class sizes and the fact that faculty teach the labs, students in our programs develop strong relationships with their professors. Over time, such relationships transform from a student-teacher relationship to one of friendship. Finally, our programs emphasize out-of-class experiences. For example, the Health Science program offers a biogerontology practicum. The Biology program offers a research program on urban bird populations and internships with organizations such as Brookfield Zoo, Friends of the Fox River, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and Wild Bird Centers of America, Inc.

About 30 AU freshmen in biology professor John Lloyd's "It's About Time" class hosted a Halloween party on October 27 at Elmwood Nursing Home in Aurora.

The Biology and Health Science programs of Aurora University are committed to preparing our students for a wide range of career opportunities in biology. We are achieving this goal by combining the efforts of the biology, chemistry, and physics faculty to provide biology areas of concentration with strong chemistry and physics components. Our program emphasizes two main areas of student preparation. These are health science and secondary education. This does not mean that our graduates always choose one of these career paths. In fact, our alumni have successfully pursued a variety of careers, some of them outside of the biological sciences.

In the Biology and Health Science programs we offer three degrees: Biology BA; Biology BS; and Health Science BS. We also offer minors in biology and physiology. The BS degrees stress a broad knowledge of the sciences and include courses in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science as well as biology. The BA degree includes biology courses and an introduction to chemistry.

Biologist David Horn distributes bird feeders and seed to kick off the annual research project by AU students.

On November 19, 2003, the AU Science Club sponsored a baby shower for chemistry professor Chetna Patel (seated in front). A new chemist arrived in her family in December.