Preparation in High School
for a Major in Biology
Students often ask about what courses they should take in high school to be prepared to enter
college as a biology major. Below are some thoughts from the faculty at Emporia State
University. In general, you can never be over-qualified to enter college, but being
under-prepared may close some options to you or delay your graduation as you develop skills
that should have been developed in high school. Do not consider these courses to be hurdles to
be gotten over but instead consider them to be knowledge and skills to be developed and used.
CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS: If you wish to major in biology at Emporia State University, or
any university for that matter, we strongly encourage you to take as much science as you can in
high school. This should include a year of biology, a year of chemistry, and a year of physics.
Additional biology can be very helpful but should not be taken in place of chemistry and physics.
Regardless of the field of biology that you enter, you will need to take college-level chemistry
and physics. Having a solid basis in these courses in high school will make the transition to
college-level courses much easier.
MATHEMATICS: In addition to these science courses, you also need to take as much
mathematics as possible. It would be very helpful if you complete what are commonly called
algebra I, algebra II, and trigonometry. With a solid background in mathematics, you can begin
chemistry your first semester. This is important as chemistry serves as a pre-requisite to many
later courses in biology such as anatomy & physiology or microbiology. With adequate
knowledge from high school, you could also take calculus immediately upon entering college.
Calculus is required in some biology programs and will prove immensely helpful to you as a
student and provide you with some excellent problem solving skills.
COMPUTER SCIENCE: Computer skills are becoming increasingly important in biology.
Computers are used for communication (via email and the internet), for data and statistical
analysis, for graphical representations of information, and for word-processing. The more
familiar that you can become with the uses of a computer, the better prepared you will be for
your course work. We recommend at least one computer course before coming to college.
COMMUNICATION: As biologists, we are increasingly being called upon to communicate what we
know to a variety of audiences (our colleagues, the public, lawmakers, etc.). Thus, verbal and
written communication skills are extremely important to a successful career. In fact in surveys
of companies, communication skills are often at the top of the list of skills most necessary for
advancement, regardless of the person's position in the company. To this end you should take as
many high school-level courses in English, literature, and speech that you can. These courses
will allow you to hone your writing and speaking skills and prepare you for more advanced work
at the college level. Like any activity the more you practice the better you become. Thus the
more you write for an audience and the more you speak to an audience, the better writer and
speaker you become.
We hope that you find the information helpful. If you would like to visit Emporia State
University, including talking with a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences, you
can arrange a visit through the Admission Office.
Last updated on 21 January 2004.
Provide comments to Dwight Moore at mooredwi@emporia.edu.
Return to the Biological Sciences' Home Page at Emporia State University.