From tracking rattlesnakes to extracting DNA, courses in biology and environmental science acquaint students with the nature of the living world.  These courses are designed to enrich the liberal arts curriculum, foster independent and creative thinking and offer a firm foundation in ecology, molecular, organismic and structural biology and geology. The curriculum prepares students to attend graduate school, enter health-related professions, become environmental scientists or naturalists or pursue secondary school teacher licensure.

• Science lectures and labs are located in the George Washington Carver Science Center, named for one of the foremost scientists of the 20th Century and a former Simpson student.

• The science center features expanded classroom space, labs for each of the natural sciences, biotechnology facilities for building and using recombinant DNA, imaging systems for developmental biology and a human cadaver lab.

• Science faculty have led may term trips to Costa Rica, Galapagos Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Nepal, Peru, Mongolia, Morocco and Europe.

• Recent graduate schools: University of Iowa, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, University of Massachusetts, University of Texas-San Antonio and Des Moines University

Recent jobs and internships
Science Center of Iowa, Pioneer Hi-bred International, Inc., John Stoddard Cancer Research Center, Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Mayo Clinic and the Minnesota Zoo.

“The lasting thing I can teach my students is perserverance, to know intuitively that they’re up to the challenge of learning a new concept. That confidence is probably the most important thing that any scientist needs.”

Dr. Pat Singer
professor of biology

Learn more about the Biology & Environmental Science Department.