Biology graduates in the U.S. have higher than average salaries and salary growth, and students interested in STEM programs represent one of the largest and best-qualified sectors of prospective students. The Biology minor, launched in 2017, has proven a popular and well received addition to the Natural Sciences department at Flagler, laying the foundation for expansion into a major.
For these reasons, the Flagler College Strategic Plan in 2019 identified a Biology major as an important priority in the College’s future.
The Biology major curriculum was developed to give graduates the marketable skills to launch them in their preferred career and allow them to pursue competitive graduate or pre-professional programs. This major requires credits in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer information systems, as well as communication and research, in order to receive the Bachelor of Science degree.
With the addition of new classes, the major will also require the College to create additional laboratory space. A plan for a modular laboratory classroom is underway to be supported by donor funds. As more Biology students are recruited in the coming years, the demand for teaching lab space and full-time faculty is expected to grow, and will eventually lead to a need for a new academic building with additional teaching laboratories.
Flagler has made tremendous progress in developing its science programming over the last 15 years, but leaders have always recognized that the College could never advance its academic profile without building a solid program in the Natural Sciences. The highly successful Coastal Environmental Science major was launched in 2013, and a biology minor in 2017. As of Fall 2023, there were 11 full time faculty teaching in the sciences at Flagler.
Biology is one of the most popular choices of major nationwide, and according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), “Biological and Biomedical Sciences” ranks as #4. Its numbers have risen 37% over the past 10 years. With the new program, Flagler expects to be able to recruit new students interested in the sciences. The prospective student pool for a biology major tends to have better academic profile, diversity and gender balance than the general student population
