Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

A Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Idaho will provide you with the skills you need to conduct research that contributes to the design of new drugs and the engineering of hardier and more useful plants. 

As you study proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules, you learn about cellular functions such as DNA regulation and protein secretion.

Learn fundamental laboratory skills like isolating and cloning a gene, separating strands of DNA and fabricating a biological chemical such as insulin. Understand diseases and immune responses at the cellular level. Study how to develop and test a vaccine.

Senior year, you will draw on everything you’ve learned when you design and carry out your own research project. For example, you could experiment with designing plants that have a higher concentration of useful oils or higher resistance to drought. Receive guidance from a professor and present your findings at a poster competition.

We encourage our students to complete an internship the summer between their junior and senior years. They work for pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms and research laboratories.

Prepare for Success

A Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology is a good fit if you can see yourself:

• Exploring how life works at the most basic levels.
• Studying math and science.
• Experimenting with cells and molecules in state-of-the-art laboratories.

• Take as many math and biology courses as possible.
• Conduct your own experiments.
• Pay attention to current news involving science and medicine.

Your First Year

Your first year, you will hone your communication skills with course work in writing. You will also take chemistry, calculus and cellular biology.

More advanced courses include organic chemistry, genetics, physics and genetic engineering.

What You Can Do

With a degree in molecular biology and biotechnology, you may become one of the following:

• Pharmaceutical scientist: Develop, test and produce new antibiotics and vaccines. Collect data on patients in clinical trials, monitor their reactions and analyze the results.
• Medical researcher: Collect and analyze data about the mutations in cells that cause disease. Help understand disease and design treatments.
• Agricultural biotechnologist: Modify and improve crops such as rice, soybeans, and wheat or develop biopesticides and other agricultural products that will reduce our dependence on conventional pesticides.
• Forensic scientist: Use DNA fingerprinting and other laboratory skills to inform criminal investigations.

Opportunities

Demand for our graduates is high. Work for biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies or the agricultural industry. Conduct research in university, industry or government laboratories. Salaries start as high as $50,000.

You may also choose to continue your education. Many of our graduates go on to medical, nursing, dental, pharmacy, or veterinary schools or earn advanced degrees in medical technology, biotechnology or molecular biology.

Current Research

Do research. Conduct lab procedures and collect findings for pay or credit in an on-campus laboratory. Study immune responses in virus-infected cells, manipulate bacteria to produce large quantities of a medicine, or alter the genetic makeup of rice to increase its nutritional value.

Activities

Life Sciences Club: Teach lab techniques to school children, learn more about internships and meet experts in the field. Take trips to biotech companies, breweries, research centers and hot springs.
Pre-vet Club: Meet other students planning for vet school and volunteer at a horse sanctuary.
University of Idaho Environmental Club: See what you and others can do to live more sustainably.

Hands-On Experience

Intern. Get practical experience with work environments such as:

• National Institutes of Health: Produce proteins that can be used to treat disease.
• Pharmaceutical company: Help design a drug that targets a specific enzyme to reduce cholesterol.
• Biotechnology company: Produce skin and bone tissue through tissue engineering.

• Spain: Take science classes in Spanish.
• Switzerland: Observe a different health care system.
• Mexico: Study how disease is managed in rural villages.