The graduate certificate in Biology is offered 100% online through IU Bloomington, IU East, IU Indianapolis, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast. This consortial model allows you to take coursework from several campuses and learn from a wide range of faculty.
As a student in the IU Online Graduate Certificate in Biology, you analyze and explore the nature of life and living organisms at an advanced level. You gain the ability to break down and analyze biological concepts for an undergraduate audience, the ability to develop and analyze hypotheses and experiments, a fluency with scientific literature, and a richer understanding of biology in the natural world around us.
Specific areas of focus include:
- Evolution
- Ecology and environmental biology
- Organismal biology
- Cell and molecular biology, and biochemistry
- Genetics, bioinformatics, and genomics
- Anatomy and physiology
- Developmental biology
For Dual-credit and Community College Instructors needing to meet HLC standards
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) requires all high school teachers who teach dual-credit or other college-level courses to hold a master's degree in the field, or to have a master's degree in another area (such as education), plus at least 18 credit hours of graduate coursework in the discipline. The Graduate Certificate in Biology provides these 18 discipline-specific credit hours.
Your IU Online Graduate Certificate in Biology prepares you for such careers as:
- Biology dual-credit teacher (high school)
- Biology instructor (community college)
Understanding the requirements
To earn the Graduate Certificate in Biology, you must complete 18 credit hours. Requirements are broken down as follows:
- Core course (3 credit hours)
- Molecular-cellular-level electives (6 credit hours)
- Organismal-level electives (6 credit hours)
- Capstone course (3 credit hours)