Our department offers nearly 75 advanced undergraduate courses in biology, ranging from X-ray Crystallography to The Biology of Behavior. However diverse their interests, all biologists share a strong training in chemistry, mathematics, and the fundamentals of cells, organisms and populations. At Purdue, all biology students take a comprehensive biology sequence with hands-on laboratories. Most labs have computers and state-of the-art equipment. Laboratory experience is also emphasized in the advanced courses, such as in microbiology, neuroscience, physiology, molecular biology and ecology.
Department of Biological Sciences
Biological Sciences is the largest department in the Life Sciences at Purdue. We pursue cutting-edge research and offer transformative education across all Biological scales, ranging from the molecular to ecosystem levels. We are focused on some of the toughest challenges of our time - fighting cancer, combating infectious diseases, unraveling climate change, and dissecting how we see, hear and interact with our surroundings. Our research and scholarship changes people's lives and the planet.
Success Rates
1No. 1 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree College for General Biology
(College Factual, 2024)#6#6 in Genetics
(US News & World Report among Colleges offering the major)#17#17 in Microbiology
(US News & World Report among Colleges offering the major)#19#19 in Ecology
(US News & World Report among Colleges offering the major)#4#4 in the US for patents
(US Patent and Trademark Office, 2023)10Top 10 most innovative school in the US
(US News & World Report, 6 years running)5Top 5 for graduating most STEM majors
(Forbes, 2022)#20#20 best school for Biology majors
(College Factual, 2024)
Future Students
Purdue One Health
Purdue University’s leading researchers tackle complex challenges with real-world impact at the intersection of human, animal and plant health. Through academic programs, research, facility infrastructure and industry partnerships, Purdue is making giant leaps in improving health outcomes for all living things and driving economic growth regionally and globally.
