And what a grand experience, indeed!  This sentiment truly captures the overall spirit of the Biology program at York College, and I welcome you to our website!

Our program is one of the fastest growing majors on the York College campus, with an overall departmental enrollment of over 300 students, of which 193 are Biology majors, 109 are majors in one of our Allied Health programs, and 10 are majors in Secondary Education/Biology.  As we welcome increasing numbers of students into our Biology program, we are excited to continue our high standard of excellence, offering an engaging and balanced curriculum in both cellular & molecular biology, as well as organismal & field biology.

We have a distinguished group of teachers, scientists and scholars in our Department who are always eager to welcome new students. They also work diligently to offer our current students the most cutting-edge experiences in their respective fields of expertise, and mentor students through various research projects.  With a student/faculty ratio of 20/1, we are able to maintain personal contact with each of our majors and ensure the best possible academic experience at each stage of their undergraduate training.

Exit surveys and exams, including the Biology Major Field Test and Medical College Admissions Test, reveal that York College biology majors possess a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of cellular, organismal, molecular biology.  In addition, our curriculum incorporates physical sciences and mathematics such that our majors learn to apply these related disciplines in a study of life science.  Consequently, our majors consistently earn competitive scores, at or above national averages, on qualifying exams.

Because many of our students wish to pursue medical careers, we are happy to offer several opportunities for obtaining advanced clinical experiences at neighboring York Hospital.  In conjunction with York Hospital, we offer courses in weekly Family Practice and Emergency Department Grand Rounds.  In addition, we offer an Advanced Human Anatomy course, which involves human cadaver dissections.  We also offer courses in Emergency Department Research, as well as a comprehensive Clinical Shadowing experience.  These opportunities, in conjunction with added guidance from our Committee for the Health Professions makes our premedical students poised for success!

Overall, our program is committed to the training of bright, young scientists of the future.  And, I sincerely hope you will continue to explore the exciting opportunities that our Biology Department has to offer!

If you have any questions about our program, please feel free to contact me.

 Debbie Ricker, Ph.D.