Undergraduate Advising Options
IB majors are faced with a bewildering array of advanced courses and career possibilities. To help you navigate this array, we have established a set of Advising Options that can help you to find a meaningful combination of advanced courses that best reflect your growing focus within biology. You do NOT have to complete an Option in order to graduate. An Option is NOT a requirement. Rather, an Option is meant to help you select a related series of courses that will bring some focus to your studies and allow you to gain some depth of experience within biology, hopefully preparing you better for your next big step, be it professional or graduate school or a job after graduation. If you are not ready to decide on a career-focused option, the broad background found in Biology General will give you the maximum flexibility in choice among advanced courses.
The chart below describes the Options. Find one that interests you by looking in the "interested in..." or "careers in..." columns for something that matches what you like and want, then follow the links for further information or course suggestions for that Option.
| Advising Options | For Students Interested In... | With Possible Careers In... |
|---|---|---|
Pre-Health |
Helping people/animals get/stay well; Growing with advances being made in health-related fields. More... |
Health Professions Physician Physician's Assistant Dentist Veterinarian Pharmacist Nurse Medical Technologist Physical Therapist Occupational Therapist Public Health Hospital Administration Medical Research Food Industry |
Ecology & Conservation |
Working in field biology; Conservation of species and habitats; Global change biology; Biofuels as alternative energy Natural resources More... |
Energy Company Restoration Ecology Conservation Biology Government Parks Forest Service EPA USDA Environmental Law Environmental Education Environment Organizations Zoo, Botanical Garden, Museum, Fisheries Academia Research |
Organisms & EvolutionInsects / Other InvertebratesPlantsVertebrates |
Studying any area of biology - but with a focus on a particular group of organisms. (often have loved organisms since a child; love field trips and field courses) More... |
Zoo, Botanical Garden, Museum, Fisheries Academia Research Conservation Biology Veterinarian Veterinarian Technician Biotechnologist Government Parks Forest Service EPA USDA |
Biology General |
The place to start...if not sure of your focus; Exploring the breadth of biology to get a broad overview or to discover a particular interest. More... |
Law Technician Bioinformatics Business Writing, Journalism Engineering All those listed above in other sections |
Teaching |
Passing on their excitement about biology to younger people More... |
Teaching Middle School High School (For teaching in community college or university, need to go to graduate school) |
Research |
Being at the forefront of frontiers in biology; Uncovering new understandings about the way the world works More... |
Industry Government Academia |
Honors Concentration |
An enriched program with: Small classes with outstanding faculty; Cohesive group of students in a focused curriculum Open-ended investigations in lab and field More... |
Health Professions Law Policy Academia Research in any area of biology |