In the Biology Department at Calvin University, we explore all aspects of living things, and we don't mind getting our hands dirty as we explore every nook and cranny of the world God has given us.
Our mission
Our department responds to God's call to investigate the diversity, organization, and functioning of the living world, seeking to provide a Christian model for its study, care, and keeping. Whether it's in the lab doing cell cultures or in a field planting seeds, we do our work with utmost care, knowing what and whom we are working for.
Our commitments
Our department strives to embody Christ's command to love our neighbors as ourselves by embodying kindness, love, and hospitality. We endeavor to provide safe spaces for students, staff, and faculty from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, abilities, interests, perspectives, religious traditions, sexual orientations, and gender identities. We work to be a department where all voices, especially those that have been historically suppressed, can be raised and heard. Just as ecological systems, from microbiomes to forests, are healthiest and most resilient when biological diversity is high, we know that our community will be at its best when we reflect the full diversity of God's good creation.
Our programs
Our department offers a BA and BS in biology, a major in biology with a neuroscience concentration, and a major in environmental health and conservation, along with several minors, education programs, and pre-professional programs. Each program integrates academic study with hands-on work in the laboratory and/or field. There are also many opportunities to study biology outside of the classroom, including working with professors as research assistants, doing internships with outside companies and organizations, and traveling off-campus to study biology in different contexts around the world.
World-class faculty
Our full-time faculty members are dedicated Christians and scholars who:
- make teaching our first priority: an effort consistently recognized for its depth, scope, and innovation
- are active researchers in our fields: contributing scholarly work to journals and other publications, presenting at professional conferences, mentoring our students as research collaborators, and maintaining leadership roles in professional organizations
- meet with students regularly to advise them about their future coursework and vocational pathways
- remain dedicated to integrating Christian faith with the courses we teach and the research we conduct
State-of-the-art facilities
Our facilities support investigative, hands-on learning and innovative research with state-of-the-art technology. The facilities include:
- A 55,000-square-foot facility with 10 research labs, 10 teaching labs, a greenhouse, an aquarium, and an insect propagation room
- A modern anatomy lab for storage and dissection of human cadavers
- A 104-acre ecosystem preserve of temperate deciduous forest, wetlands, and nature trails
- Cutting edge technology for molecular research, including a DNA sequencer, flow cytometer, and cell culture facilities
- Herbarium and museum which houses nearly 8,000 pressed plant specimens, thousands of insects, and hundreds of mammal, bird, and reptile specimens
- Flat Iron Lake Preserve 25 miles northeast of Grand Rapids