ProspectiveDid You Know?
Over the last 3 years, 64% of Miami undergrad applicants have been acccepted to medical schools, compared to a national average of 47%.
Support the
The Department of Microbiology
at Miami University
The Department of Microbiology, established in 1956 in the College of Arts and Science, offers Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Microbiology. The Bachelor of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science is also administered within the department. The department is composed of 15 faculty members, 3 postdoctoral fellows, 25 graduate students, approximately 300 undergraduate majors, and a professional support staff. The group occupies modern research and teaching facilities in Pearson Hall. Departmental research interests include immunology, molecular biology, microbial ecology, microbial genetics, microbial physiology, pathogenic microbiology, bacterial cell biology, bioinformatics, medical mycology, and virology.
Program Quality
The Department of Microbiology (MBI) at Miami University enjoys an outstanding national reputation because of the:
- rigor of our program (including core courses in general microbiology, microbial physiology, and molecular biology);
- fact that most of our required courses have laboratory components; and
- friendly, supportive faculty who are truly dedicated to excellence in teaching and research.
In contrast to MBI Programs at many other universities, MBI majors at Miami:
- begin courses in the major in their first semester (others begin only as Juniors);
- take more courses with laboratory components; and
- have numerous opportunities for experiences in our research laboratories, leading to presentation of their results at regional and national meetings, and publication in peer-reviewed journals.
An active Microbiology Club, run by the students and advised by the faculty, has lectures on career opportunities, visits to local companies and opportunities for social interactions, and provides membership in the American Society for Microbiology.
Student Success
We currently have more than 300 undergraduate majors and, of these, 28 are in the Honors Program (more than 5% of all Honors students). Six of the current Harrison Scholars (96) are MBI majors. In addition to the usual numbers of mid-westerners, in recent years MBI students have come from all over the nation – California, Alaska, New York, and Florida.
In the last three years MBI majors have received:
- an Astronaut Foundation Scholarship;
- a Goldwater Scholarship;
- two of the twenty-two Provost's Academic Excellence Awards;
- six of the fifty Dean's Scholars Awards;
- twenty-three USS and Hughes Summer Internships; and
- more than thirty University Undergraduate Research Program grants.
Our success is measured by the numbers of our graduates who have gone on each year to:
- Graduate School (Stanford, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Ohio State, Michigan, Virginia);
- Professional School (all Ohio Medical Dental and Veterinary Schools, as well as schools in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Virginia); and
- rewarding research positions in industry (Battelle, Procter and Gamble, Eli Lilly, Meridian Diagnostics), and universities (Cincinnati, Ohio State, Children's Hospital Research Institute, Medical College of Ohio).
