Biology, B.S.

Biology, B.S.

Program Overview

PLNU’s Biology B.S. is a rigorous, lab-intensive degree designed for students preparing for medical school, health professions, or research-focused graduate programs. With extensive lab training, personalized advising, and a strong pre-health track, you’ll graduate fully equipped to pursue advanced study and thrive in competitive science and healthcare careers.

Why Choose Biology at PLNU? 

90%+ Acceptance Rate to Medical & Graduate Schools

Since 2004, more than 90% of PLNU biology and chemistry graduates who applied have been accepted into top-tier medical, dental, pharmacy, veterinary, and research programs.

Pre-Health Focus

The B.S. track is the best pathway if you’re pursuing a career in medicine or healthcare. You’ll receive tailored guidance from pre-health advisors, access to internships, and a strong academic foundation in the sciences.

Hands-On Lab Experience

Over 80% of your courses include labs, ensuring you build the technical skills professional schools expect. Many students also participate in internships and field experiences that provide additional preparation.

Enhanced graphic of copy in the color green. Text reads: "10-week program with free housing, stipend, and hands-on lab experience (800 hours of hands-on lab experience gathered after 2 summers)."

Personalized Mentorship

From day one, faculty advisors partner with you to keep you on track academically, prepare for entrance exams, and map your next steps toward graduate or professional school.

What You'll Study 

Your studies begin with foundational courses in biochemistry, organismal biology, and general chemistry, then move into advanced subjects like genetics, microbiology, immunology, conservation ecology, and marine biology.

The Biology B.S. emphasizes rigor, research, and quantitative skills, making it the ideal choice if you’re aiming for:

  • Medical & Health Professions (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, veterinary medicine)
  • Biotechnology & Biomedicine
  • Graduate & Ph.D. Programs
  • Scientific & Laboratory Research

With San Diego’s biotech hub at your doorstep and PLNU’s state-of-the-art science facilities, you’ll graduate confident, prepared, and career-ready.

Biology Unveiled

Kelsey Eggers and the Carnivores at Denver Zoo
PLNU’s Catalina Ecology Trip Immerses Students in Nature
Articles (10)
Kelsey Eggers and the Carnivores at Denver Zoo Alum Kelsey Eggers’s nine to five job is a bit “wild,” but the impact her work has on sustainability and conservation is making all the difference. Discover
PLNU’s Catalina Ecology Trip Immerses Students in Nature When PLNU ecology students went on a trip to Catalina Island they came back with a fresh perspective on appreciating and stewarding creation. Discover
Tess Halbert Embraces Faith, Resilience, and Discovery Tess Halbert’s journey to PLNU, marked by resilience, faith, and overcoming cancer, has shaped her into the leader she is today. Discover
4 Impactful Research Projects from PLNU Professors PLNU is home to a variety of talented and hardworking professors doing important research in San Diego and beyond! Here are 4 professors in the biology and chemistry departments whose projects stand out as creative, fascinating, and impactful. Discover
Tara Chudoba Lives her Faith Through Wildlife Conservation  Tara Chudoba integrates her Christian faith and passion for wildlife conservation to inspire her students and communities to take meaningful action towards preserving nature. Discover
Deep Understanding Towering over the sandy floor, they follow the flow of the ocean, yet stand firm in their place as essential pillars of the ecosystem. Across the soccer field, past Young Hall’s volleyball court, down the cliffs and into the white-capped waters, in the depths surfed by many PLNU students exist “the redwoods of the ocean,” Discover
Filming Our Planet: Alum Jeff Hester’s Work on Netflix Emmy-Winning Series Episode four of Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning series, Our Planet, “Coastal Seas,” opens with an underwater shot of a thriving coral ecosystem. Large predatory fish and rays dive among a massive school of anchovies as Sir David Attenborough narrates how such a complex ecosystem sustains itself. But less than twenty minutes later, Australia’s beloved Great Barrier Discover
Dr. Kristopher Koudelka Talks Science & Summer Research on the Lomacast Podcast Dr. Kristopher Koudelka’s research centers on the chemical modification of plant and bacteria viruses for use as drug delivery and imaging vehicles. Discover
The Healing Power of Food: Alumni Using Food to Better the Health of Others PLNU alumni Taylor Johnson-Gordon, Jennifer Nemeth, and Alison Patt have all built careers aimed at improving people’s lives and health through food. Discover
Seeking the Unseen Dr. Kris Koudelka, a professor of biology at PLNU, spends his days working in the realm of the invisible. Based on indirect detection, his research can’t be seen or summarized in a concrete sense, but rather consists of what Koudelka describes as “moving liquid around in small tubes” and analyzing it with the help of Discover

Course List

For information about the courses required for the Biology, B.S. program, view the PLNU Catalog. 

Course Information

Major Map

Start Application

Are you ready to take the next step to begin your PLNU journey? Whether you’re a high school senior, college transfer student, or international student, find out what we’re looking for in our applicants and how you can apply.

Apply Now

Student Support

For most students, the transition into college life is one full of adjustments. There is the excitement of newfound freedoms, but also some uncertainty as you begin to make choices and take responsibility for your own future. 

At PLNU, we’re committed to supporting you — academically, professionally, spiritually, personally — so that you may be successful both in your time as a student and beyond. That’s why we offer a holistic support system that focuses on your unique experiences, particular needs, and personal and professional goals — resulting from our deep concern for you, our student.

With a focus on authentic relationships and personalized attention, our goal is to help transform you so you can follow your calling in your own career and life.

Student Support

Career Opportunities

Utilize your curiosity about the science behind life and creation with a biology degree. At PLNU, the hands-on lab experiences and research you will get prepare you for a career in many different fields within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics industries.

What can you do with a biology degree?

PLNU biology graduates are sought after for the ways they are able to confidently integrate and apply their faith, knowledge, and skillset to their work. As one of the most common degrees chosen by those aspiring for a pre-health track or medical school, a biology major offers students many resources on their educational journey, including references for volunteer/shadowing/research/internship opportunities, first- and second-round mock interviews, and meetings with the pre-health advisor (just to name a few). As a result, 90% of PLNU students who have applied to health professions schools have been admitted! 

Alumni have combined their passion for science and strong academic foundation into careers in education, biotechnology, government, industry, and more. Specifically, many graduates of the PLNU biology program have gone on to work at nationally renowned research facilities such as Biolegend, Inc., and Biospace, Inc.

Make a difference in your community by exploring the unknowns of biological processes or utilizing your knowledge to provide holistic medical care with a degree in biology

The Biology B.S. from PLNU prepares you with experience and knowledge to be an innovator in the science or medical industries. Whether you pursue research, healthcare, or other careers within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) industries, you’ll be ready with the insight gained at PLNU. 

Apply to PLNU today or get connected with one of our counselors for additional support and to answer any questions you may have.

Some of the positions PLNU graduates currently hold:

Microbiologists

Microbiologists study microscopic organisms—such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and algae—to understand their behavior, structure, and impact. They work in research labs, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, environmental testing, and more.

  • Median Pay: $87,330/year
  • Number of Jobs: 23,200
  • Job Outlook (2023–33): +7%
  • Employment Change: +1,600 jobs
View Full BLS Profile

Biochemists and Biophysicists

Biochemists and biophysicists study the chemical and physical principles of living things and biological processes—often working in labs for biotech, pharma, academia, or government to advance drug discovery, diagnostics, and materials.

  • Median Pay: $103,650/year
  • Number of Jobs: 35,700
  • Job Outlook (2023–33): +9%
  • Employment Change: +3,200 jobs
View Full BLS Profile

Family Medicine Physicians

Family medicine physicians diagnose, treat, and help prevent illnesses and injuries for patients of all ages—providing comprehensive primary care, coordinating specialists, and emphasizing preventive health.

  • Pay: Avg. $256,830/year
  • Number of Jobs: 834,500
  • Job Outlook (2023–33): +4%
  • Employment Change: +34,500 jobs
View Full BLS Profile

Biological Technicians

Biological technicians support scientists by preparing and running experiments, collecting samples, and analyzing results—most often in labs for biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, environmental studies, or research institutions.

  • Median Pay: $52,000/year
  • Number of Jobs: 83,100
  • Job Outlook (2023–33): +7%
  • Employment Change: +5,500 jobs
View Full BLS Profile

The Science of Life

Nature, Nurtured Through Science

"Right Place, Right Time"
"Trained for Excellence"

Living Science

Videos (11)
Quotes (4)
Pictures (5)
Every summer, more than 50 undergraduate students majoring in Biology and Chemistry carry out original research with their faculty mentors. The experience can have a profound impact on a student's career path.
Right Place, Right Time
"PLNU was life changing for me and how I view science. It was a total God thing for me to be at PLNU with things falling into place at the right time."
Hannah Lee Biology B.S.
Trained for Excellence
"The professors really train you to be an expert in your major. I still maintain personal relationships with many of them, and their connections have helped me immensely with my career."
Lane Votapka Biology B.S.
Science Meets Faith
"As a science major at Point Loma, I learned to view the natural world not just as unending chemical and biological systems, but truly as God’s creation that He loves and cares for deeply."
Tanner Matthews Biology-Chemistry B.S.
Lab to Lecture
"I really feel that the courses at PLNU have definitely prepared me and helped bridge that gap into dental school. The intense biochem courses, the microbiology, the anatomies, all the hands-on experience you get in lab make me feel very prepared going into dental school."
Saib Abdulnoor Biology B.S.

Department Faculty

Get Involved

Two biology students gather samples from the river for a summer research project.

Biology Department Research

Our biology department offers undergraduate research in small groups alongside experienced faculty and professionals in the field.

Dr. Mike Dorrell smiles as he works with students on a research project.

The Biology Club (TriBeta)

TriBeta is the national biology honors society comprised of biology, biology-chemistry, and environmental science majors and faculty from PLNU.

A stack programs for the Kyoto Symposium fanned out on a table

Kyoto Symposium

Awardees of Japan’s highest global achievement in technology, science, art, and philosophy gather for a symposium of lectures and ceremonies held in San Diego.