Bachelor of Science in Biology

A major in Biology prepares you for a wide variety of career options. You may choose one of our human health tracks and pursue entrance into allied health professional schools and graduate programs such as medical, dental, physician assistant, pharmacy, public health, physical or occupational therapy, optometry, chiropractic, and veterinary medicine. You may choose an organismal biology or ecology track and pursue careers or graduate studies in areas such as wildlife biology, conservation biology, botany, ecology, environmental science, and many other biology subdisciplines. Regardless of which track you choose to pursue, our faculty strives to ensure you will be well-prepared and equipped to begin your career or continue to your next step.

The learning outcomes and curriculum in Biology are designed around recommendations included in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, a report released by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The knowledge, competencies, and skills you will gain prepares you to pursue a career or further advanced study in biology.

At HSU you have the opportunity to study Biology in an environment enriched by Christian faith and values. The Biology faculty is dedicated to providing a challenging learning environment where you are encouraged to explore the connections between faith and science.

Mission and Learning Outcomes

The Mission of the Department of Biology is to provide quality science education and research experiences in our unique university environment. Our goals include:

• Providing a foundation in biological principles for non-major students;
• Modeling scientific teaching for 7-12 Life Sciences Education majors;
• Preparing students for professional, pre-professional, or graduate education in the life sciences ranging from molecules to ecosystems.

Biology Program Learning Outcomes

• Biology graduates will recognize core biological principles, including evolution, the relationship between structure and function, and information flow at all levels of biological organization.
• Biology graduates will explain and apply the scientific method, including designing, experimenting, and analyzing data.
• Biology graduates will analyze data, identify key results, and critically review primary scientific literature.
• Biology graduates will communicate biological information in oral and written form.
• Biology graduates will apply ethics to the daily practice of biology in research and medicine.

You’ll never find another place like Hardin-Simmons University. We are a Baptist university in Abilene, Texas, with 127 years of history and traditions that aren’t matched at any other school, and that gives HSU a personality as big as the West Texas horizon.

Our Mission and Vision

• Mission: The mission of Hardin-Simmons University is to be a community dedicated to providing excellence in education enlightened by Christian faith and values.
• Vision: Hardin-Simmons University will be an innovative community of servant scholars engaging the minds and nurturing the spirits of future Christian leaders.

So, what does make HSU different?

Honestly, you won’t know what makes Hardin-Simmons different from other universities until you visit. When prospective students visit the campus, they use the words “family” and “home” to describe HSU. We think that says a lot about us, and we’d love to have you come visit.

But right now, you want to know why you should even come to visit. So, let’s start at HSU’s beginning … actually before its formation.

The Legacy of James B. Simmons

Our namesake founder, Dr. James B. Simmons, was a Baptist minister from the Northeast before and after the Civil War. He preached freedom for slaves before the war, which earned him threats of tar and feathers … and got his church in Indianapolis burned to the ground. After the Civil War, he helped found seven colleges for freed slaves because he knew education was essential for their success as free citizens.

Finally, he helped a group of merchants, ranchers, and pastors in the frontier town of Abilene, Texas, start a new Baptist university to serve a huge area of the country where no higher education yet existed. The legacy of Dr. James B. Simmons is still strongly felt and embodied at Hardin-Simmons University today.

Simmons was a frontiersman who never lived on the frontier. Through his thoughts and prayers and dreams, he helped others push boundaries and break barriers. Simmons asked himself two questions, “What is the greatest thought that has ever occupied your mind?” and, “What is your duty toward fulfilling it?”

His pioneering spirit and those two huge questions produced a mission that lives on at HSU, “So that Christianity may reach the whole globe, all barriers must be removed.”

The HSU Family

Our students have big dreams, and HSU exists to instill the knowledge and nurture the confidence to identify and fulfill those dreams. We do that by embracing every student as a member of our Family. You will matter at HSU, and you will matter to us when you go into the world.

Our students will tell you that they came here to be part of that Family. Our alumni will tell you, from all around the world, that they are still part of the HSU Family.

Prospective students who visit HSU tell us all the time, “I just knew HSU was where I was supposed to be.” Our campus is welcoming and not intimidating. Everything is easy to find and all classes are within quick walks of residential buildings.

HSU Traditions

Big Texas universities are famous for their traditions, but big schools aren’t famous for their family atmospheres. At Hardin-Simmons, though, you can find traditions like Beanie Capping, Ring Dunk, the Six White Horses, and Cowboy Band – all while keeping your chance to be a big fish in a small pond.

Academic Excellence

We also have a ratio of 1 professor for every 12 students. That ensures that you will get personal attention from your professors, and every class will be taught by a professor. There aren’t any crowds for you to get lost in at HSU. In fact, you’ll probably get invited to dinner at a professor’s house every so often. You will be pushed to do your best, but you’ll always have assistance to achieve it.

Can you feel the difference, yet?

Families love, protect, support, and challenge each other. We challenge you to come to Hardin-Simmons, become part of our family, have fun, learn a lot, find your dreams, break barriers, blaze new trails – and change the world for Christ.