The advantages and value of a Cal Poly education are evident throughout the campus & community and in its graduates' achievements. Its homepage details the many facets of Cal Poly living. In the Biological Sciences Department, we continually strive to keep the quality of education at a high level of caliber, to contribute to the University's goals & reputation and to be one of Cal Poly's strengths. Below are the many reasons people come out of the department as strong students of the biological sciences and very competitive job candidates.

*** Teaching ***

• Faculty of teaching scholars and a record of teaching excellence
• High success rate in getting students into medical, graduate, dental, veterinary and post-graduate programs - the very reason Cal Poly is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute supported university
• New/improved facilities and smart classrooms for teaching
• Transition to new curriculum - reorganization and modernization of curriculum to better equip majors for technological, interactive and interdisciplinary careers, by engaging students in contemporary techniques early in their education, infused more inquiry-based, learner centered instruction
• Development of interdisciplinary courses - increasingly more courses that bridge sub-disciplines within biology and other departments
• Establishing of new, advanced courses that continually maintain curriculum on pace with the advances in science
• Lab-intensive curriculum - 85% of courses have integrated laboratory component
• BioTrek - a unique facility of rainforest, ethnobotany, and aquatic learning centers to provide education opportunities and promote conservation awareness for biology majors, for non-majors taking biology courses, and for K-12 students and teachers
• Interdisciplinary majors in biotechnology and environmental biology. Offer only biotechnology undergraduate major in CSU system
• Field study courses in diverse environments - desert (Calif, Arizona), mountain, marine, tropical (Costa Rica, Baja, Venezuela)
• Six majors - Biology, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Biotechnology, Environmental Biology
• Improved student advising - each student has faculty adviser in major
• Science Education Enhancement Services (SEES) support for under-represented minority students in the College of Science
• Established Pre-professional curriculum

*** Research ***

• Continued hiring of new faculty strong in teaching and research
• State of the art research equipment and facilities on campus
• Increased research activities and collaborations with business, industry and academia
• New American Red Cross national center on campus engaged to improve research resources and opportunities
• Strong research collaboration with the City of Hope National Cancer Center
• Constant interaction with the Western University of Health Sciences
• Research grant support - National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Science Foundation, California Fish and Game: $2-3 million/year
• Student Internships in industry
• Student research programs on campus - Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergrad Research Program, National Institues of Health-Minority Biomedical Research Support (NIH-MBRS), McNair Scholars program (US Department of Education)
• Placement of students in off-campus Summer Research Programs
• Strong Graduate Program in laboratory and field sciences