Knowing yourself – what are your interests and skills?                                                     

Your undergraduate years are part of your life's journey.   You are having new experiences and learning new things -- about yourself and about the world.   It should be expected that you will grow and that your interests and views of the world will evolve.    At some point you will focus on busying yourself in a specific field, perhaps to a lifetime of engagement in that field, or perhaps for only a short while.  Regardless of where you are right now -- you do need to stay in touch with your interests and skills and how they might align with becoming a biologist.

What interests you ? -- Obviously the answer to this -- at any given moment -- depends on your experiences.  And, underlying it all is the intrinsic "passion" you have -- or don't have -- about understanding yourself and the natural world.  Concerning topics in biology, realize that our Core Biology courses seek to introduce you to all (or rather most) of biology at an introductory level.   As you navigate through those courses, learn as much as you can, but also be paying attention to what excites you.  The Elective Biology curriculum is where you explore the vast fields of biology at a deeper level. We encourage you to experience different courses.    You can find your passion somewhere.   

What do you know, what are your skills ? -- As above, the "what" here is not just knowledge of biological patterns and processes, but of the physical world, of history, of human institutions, actions, and behavior.  Skills are not just technical scientific skills, but how to think, act, and communicate as a biological scientist.    The breadth of courses you take as an undergraduate and all of the experiences you have (both academic and outside academics) shape your knowledge and skills.  In preparing for graduate studies in the biological sciences, all of these things are important.  Having mastery of established knowledge of biological patterns and processes is very important.  But so too is having the skills of being a scientist -- to be able to ask challenging questions to design creative and rigorous studies to test those questions, and to have the technical skills to carry-out an investigation.   Critical reading, writing, and communication skills are especially important.  You should challenge yourself to acquire a good knowledge base and to develop your skills. 

Contents
Knowing yourself -- what are your interests and skills?
Fields and Careers in Biology
Finding out about opportunities -- what to do, where to go
What does one need to do to enter a graduate school program?
What is graduate school life like?