Technology + Biology

Smartphones that monitor heart health via an ECG. Biodegradable plastics that don’t harm the environment. Urban agriculture that improves nutrition and reduces food insecurity. Biofuels that reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

All of these advances are the results of pairing technology and biology.

Technology provides the tools that aid in remarkable discoveries while biology provides the medical, health care, environmental, and societal problems that need to be solved. With today’s tech advances, there’s never been a more exciting time to study biology. And there’s no better place to explore the field than at RIT.

The Study of Biology, Evolved

Biology impacts every aspect of our lives. And the biggest ground-breaking developments are the ones that pair technology and biology. There’s only one place that ensures your science education will answer today’s call for modern, innovative scientists and researchers.

At RIT, our bio majors prepare you to think critically about research, seek out creative solutions to pressing needs, and strategize how technology and biology can be used together to make remarkable impacts on everything from health care, medicine, and agriculture to energy consumption, the environment, genetic counseling, and more.

RIT is a hub of innovation and technology. From the start of your studies, you’ll pair bio courses with an immersive curriculum in computing, IT, engineering, computational math, imaging, or chemistry. Throughout your course work, you’ll work in the lab, build skills in the field, and gain real-world experience via co-ops and internships–all of which sets you apart from your peers after graduation.

Today’s biologists need more than a traditional science education. Why? Because today’s biologists collaborate with mathematicians, computer scientists, information technologists, physicists, imaging scientists, and engineers. Your education needs to be one part biology and one part tech. That’s where RIT’s bio majors excel.

RIT’s Bio Majors

• Biochemistry BS
  Focus on the chemistry of living things as you address current challenges facing the chemical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, forensic, and biotechnology fields.
• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology BS
  Biology and computer science combine to analyze big data to discover, diagnose, and treat a wide range of medical conditions.
• Biomedical Engineering BS
  Combine engineering with biology and medicine to design, and develop innovative medical devices and dynamic health care solutions.
• Biomedical Sciences BS
  Develop an integrative understanding of the human body as the foundation for hands-on research, professional positions, or medical or graduate degrees.
• Biology BS
  Built on recent advances in the molecular, cellular, and ecological disciplines, our modern biology degree offers a rich framework in plant, animal, and human biology.
• Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience BS
  Research and develop technologies that advance genetics, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, vaccine development, the environment, forensic science, and more.

Launch Your Bio Career

The results of an RIT biology education can be seen in our alumni, who have gone on to make significant impacts across health care, medicine, research, and more.

• “We don’t have graduate students in the biology programs, so undergraduates are the ones primarily leading the research projects, rather than working under a graduate student.”
  Ali Cala ’17 (Biology)
• “I found RIT, and especially the College of Science, to be a very tight-knit community with a supportive environment, not competitive. Professors want their students to succeed and students want their peers to succeed.”
  Spencer Richman ’20 (Bioinformatics)
• “RIT does an excellent job of exposing its students to research in various fields of science. This allows students to outshine peers in the medical field.”
  Arooj Iqbal ’11 (Biochemistry)
• “(As biomedical engineers) we can provide both the clinical aspect and the technological understanding to properly develop and implement devices.”
  Brandon Buscaglia ’20 (Biomedical Engineering)
• “I'm extremely happy with where my life has taken me, and I know my experiences at RIT played a large role in both the physician and the person I am today.”
  Kyle Grimaldi ’12 (Chemistry)
• “RIT fed my innate curiosity to learn more.”
  Joy Snyder ’13 (Biochemistry)
• “Being a scientist in policy is a unique experience as there aren’t as many scientists as there should be in our government.”
  Sesquile Ramon ’07 (Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience)