Should You Add a Concentration in the Biology Major?

Penn students who declare as a biology major have the option to pursue a general biology track, or specialize in one (or two!) of the many concentrations offered in the school. Here, I break down the different concentrations to help you decide which, if any, you may want to pursue.

General Biology: This is the major you go with when you don’t want to specialize in any of the subtopics in biology. It is the most straightforward and has the least requirements, so it is a lot easier to complete. Many of my friends in this major are able to graduate a semester early. If you are pre-med, there is very good overlap with the pre-med requirements such that you don’t need to worry about taking many additional classes outside of this major. You also have the flexibility of choosing different classes that interest you for upper level requirements. 

Computational Biology / Mathematical Biology: These two concentrations are great if you like math, computer science, and applying data science methods to solving biological problems. The computational biology concentration requires the intro sequence of computer science courses (in the Engineering school) which will provide a good background to navigate most programming tasks in biology. The mathematical biology concentration has the same requirements, just instead replacing intro computer science classes with calculus and linear algebra classes. These engineering and math courses can be challenging, but if you are willing to dedicate a lot of time to your courses, you will learn a lot!

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Ecology and Evolutionary biology often is not the emphasis of many introductory biology courses, so this concentration is perfect if you feel intrigued by those fields and want to learn more. There is a lot of flexibility in the possible biology courses that you can take to fulfill this concentration, but all are related to ecology and evolutionary biology in some way. In addition to the biology classes, you will be able to take chemistry, physics, and math/statistics courses so you can have a rigorous scientific background.

Mechanisms of Disease: Are you interested in learning about the ways diseases occur in the human body? If so, this concentration may be a good fit. With this concentration, you will have a broad understanding of the different areas of disease, from the genetic underpinnings to the very microbes that cause infectious disease. In addition to these specialized biology classes, you will be able to have research experience through laboratory-based classes or independent study. This could be helpful in translational research settings, since the courses can give you a good background of a disease that you may want to treat clinically.

Molecular and Cell Biology: This is a great concentration if you are interested in basic science biology research, especially on a cellular level. Not only would you take all the intermediate classes including biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, and molecular biology, you will be able to take advanced classes that focus on a particular area, like the chromosome and cell cycle or cell signaling. In addition, experiment research is a required component, which means you can have an independent project by the time you graduate. 

Neurobiology: This is a great concentration if you are interested in brain physiology at the gene and protein levels. With this concentration, you will be taking classes in the neuroscience department along with fundamental molecular biology and genetics classes. In comparison to the neuroscience major (requires certain neuroscience classes), you will take standard intermediate biology classes but get to pick which advanced neuroscience classes you want to take.

Final thoughts: If any of these concentrations fascinate you, definitely try it out and take some classes specialized for the concentration. The good news is that, even if you don’t end up completing the requirements for that concentration, you would still be on track for the general biology major. Another thing to consider are your future plans and goals. Most students who are pre-med end up doing a general biology major without a concentration, since it has the least number of classes, which provides more flexibility for extracurricular- activities. That being said, there are definitely pre-med students that have a concentration and enjoy it. For me, computational biology is very helpful for research and I enjoy coding! Many students who choose to pursue graduate school or a Ph.D. degree in biology prefer picking up a concentration, since it enables them to dive deeper into a field of interest. Having a concentration will enable you to have more background knowledge if you do decide to pursue research rigorously. The general flexibility of most concentrations also makes it easy to switch, if you ever change your mind.

- Leilei H.