Biology Department Majors and Programs

Biologists solve problems, create new products, and appreciate the mysteries of life, through biology!

The Department of Biology offers an array of bachelor's degrees to fulfill your needs and interests applicable to a variety of careers and post-graduate educational opportunities. Through engaged learning in the classroom, laboratory experiments with state-of-the-art equipment, field trips to local venues of interest, internships at local and national companies, and original research on the Florida Southern College campus and beyond, biology students are provided with ample opportunities to practice what they learn and learn what they practice.

View the file for a quick overview of our special programs offered in conjunction with our majors or go to our biology majors and programs page.

Interested in the health professions? Our faculty and health professions advisor is fully equipped to help you find your path and navigate the requirements so that you can start your journey towards becoming a doctor, a veterinarian, a dentist, a physical therapist, or other health professional! There is not a required major for you to reach your health profession goals, so view our health professions page or schedule an appointment with our health professions advisor so that you can start your path with the knowledge you will need to succeed.

Faculty work one-on-one with students, in areas of academics, research, advising, and planning for the future, to ensure students have the tools necessary to succeed. You'll work with your advisor, to plan a custom program that will help you reach your career goals. At Florida Southern, you'll work alongside faculty in the lab and in the field who have expertise in multiple disciplines and are as passionate about discovery as you are! Many biology graduates go on to professional or graduate school, and most are very successful in the pursuit of their advanced degrees.

Attention First Year Students!

We Are Tardigrade Tough

The Story of Tardigrades: The Official Mascot of the Florida Southern College Biology Department

Tardigrades (literally “slow steppers,” aka water bears or moss piglets) are a phylum of water-dwelling, eight-legged, segmented micro-animals first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773.  They have been found everywhere: from mountaintops to the deep sea and mud volcanoes; from tropical rain forests to the Antarctic. Tardigrades are among the most resilient known animals, with individual species able to survive extreme conditions that would be rapidly fatal to nearly all other known life forms, such as exposure to extreme temperatures, extreme pressures (both high and low), air deprivation, radiation, dehydration, and starvation. Tardigrades have even survived exposure to outer space.  About 1,150 known species form the phylum Tardigrada including fossils dating from 530 million years ago, in the Cambrian period.

Usually, tardigrades are about 0.5 mm long when they are fully grown. They are short and plump, with four pairs of legs, each ending in claws or sucking disks. Tardigrades are prevalent in mosses and lichens and feed on plant cells, algae, and small invertebrates. When collected, they may be viewed under a very low-power microscope, making them accessible to students and amateur scientists.