Ohio Wesleyan is one of a few small colleges with two closely integrated life science departments: Botany & Microbiology and Zoology. This structure allows our program to provide students with the personal attention of a small college - and a large array of specialty courses in sub-disciplines across the biological sciences. That combination is rare.
Choosing to major in Zoology doesn't mean that you want to work at a zoo (unless that really is your goal). Graduates of OWU's highly-regarded Zoology program work as medical doctors and veterinarians, college professors, researchers with national agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control, biologists with national parks and wildlife centers, writers and journalists, and, yes, even zoos.
Ohio Wesleyan's Zoology program gives you two major options, so you can create a program that fits your interests and career goals.
A B.S. in Zoology is more suited for students preparing for medical school or graduate study in zoology. Completing this major will satisfy the minimum entrance requirements of almost all graduate programs in biology or zoology as well as meeting most of the prerequisites for medical, dental, and veterinary medicine schools.
The B.A. in Zoology (B.A.) major is designed for students who are interested in the study of human beings and other animals, but perhaps do not want to pursue a professional career in medicine or zoology. Often, general zoology majors choose to double major in another discipline, further expanding their career options.
OWU also offers a minor in Zoology.
Students pursuing a B.S. in Zoology with a plan to pursue medical school also frequently complete the Pre-Medicine degree. Many students earning a B.A. also complete a major in Environmental Science. For students who choose to complete a second major, some of the other most popular majors have been: Botany, Spanish, Microbiology, and Philosophy.
Undergraduate research is a core part of The OWU Connection, and zoology students participate in independent projects, internships, and research with OWU professors and at other universities, research centers. and zoos.
In the 10-week Summer Science Research Program, students work in paid positions, carrying out cutting-edge research alongside faculty mentors.
From your first year on campus, you can get off campus with Travel-Learning Courses, a key part of The OWU Connection. Journey to a distant land and immerse yourself in another landscape and culture.
Recent Travel-Learning Courses have taken zoology students to Brazil, Costa Rica, East Africa, the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador, and North Carolina.
Build your experience and connections to the professional world with internships at the Columbus Zoo, wildlife centers around the world, universities, museums, and other organizations. OWU zoology faculty use their connections in the field to help many students secure valuable internships.
Zoology students also have received University-funded Theory-to-Practice Grants for research projects from Bolivia to Japan to Vietnam.
OWU faculty are outstanding scholars and researchers—and passionate teachers. They will push you, challenge you, inspire you, and work with you on your own research and creative projects.
They can even pack a 3-minute lecture with ideas, insight, and imagination. Check out our unique I³ lectures.
OWU's Brant Museum, located on the atrium level of the Schimmel/Conrades Science Center, origiated in the 1850s and houses teaching collections of mammals, birds and their eggs and nests, insects, mollusks, and corals, with smaller collections of other phyla. The collection includes more than 400 mounted birds, including a golden eagle. Researchers from across the country come to check our egg and specimen collections.
The OWU Women in Science (WinS) organization is a collection of students who share a passion for mathematics and the natural and social sciences. WinS strives to cultivate a love of science and research and provide information about research opportunities, graduate school positions, and summer jobs and internships. WinS promotes discussion of issues facing women in science, brings guest lecturers to campus, arranges field trips, and participates in community service.
The Pre-Health Club helps students understand and overcome the challenges of entering medical school to make the preparation more manageable. They also help educate the public about illnesses, preventative measure to take to remain healthy, and how to perform self-exams.
Pet Pals, a club for all animal lovers, organizes activities on campus and in the community to raise awareness about animal welfare. Pet Pals works closely with the Humane Society of Delaware County to host socialization and adoption events. They also volunteer at animal shelters and take trips to the Columbus Zoo.
At OWU, Makenna was a research assistant in a global study examining the effects of road salt on freshwater zooplankton. After graduating, she was accepted into the Ph.D. program in biology at Colorado State University.
Ohio Wesleyan Students Present, Earn Award at Statewide Microbiology Meeting
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Ohio Wesleyan Student Researches Health of French Bulldogs in Home, Mill Environments
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Shannon Schlater '17 helped rhinoceros calves prepare for release into the wild.
Summer research project at the Kraus Nature Preserve.
Exploring a lava cave in the Galapagos Islands.
Research project with Prof. Gangloff.
Zoology major Madeline Miguel '14 used a Theory-to-Practice grant to work with researchers at California State University focusing on Mediterranean House Geckos. She also attended the Joint Herpetology and Ichthyology Meeting hosted by the Society of the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.
Serena George '19 studied the behavior and activity budgets of Costa Rican basilisks.
Island Biology Travel-Learning class.
Photographed during the 2024 Island Biology course in the Galapagos Islands.
Karis Lowrie '18 with a red-tailed hawk named Naaka-Hay while interning at the Ohio Wildlife Center.
Island Biology class in Ecuador and the Galapagos.
Collecting samples in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Travel-Learning Course to the Galapagos Islands.
Biology-mathematics class studies samples they collected during a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Lauren Kiebler '16 and Emily Webb '16 used a Theory-to-Practice Grant to volunteer at the Sea Turtle Conservancy in Costa Rica.
Island Biology Travel-Learning class in 2017.
Kelly Summers '17 studied dusting behavior of elephants.
Student-faculty research team studying horseshoe crabs in the labs at OWU.
