Northwestern’s biology professors involve students in research focused on the discovery and genetics of viruses and the impact of invasive species on an ecosystem. There’s also an expert in clinical anatomy and a professor who has created practice-based software to help students prepare for the MCAT.

Opened in 2019, the $24.5 million DeWitt Family Science Center is as impressive as Northwestern’s science programs. Biology and chemistry labs are located on the main and second floors—while the lower level houses the nursing department. The center also includes five research labs, a confocal microscope, a mass spectrometer and a DNA sequencer.

Northwestern’s science labs include:

• A research laboratory with state-of-the-art electrophysiology set-ups that are used in muscle physiology, neurophysiology and pharmacology experiments

• Intracellular and extracellular amplifiers, stimulators, physiograph and data recorders for both faculty and student research

• Electrophoresis equipment

• A PCR machine

• A tissue culture hood

Northwestern is among a select group of colleges and universities accepted into the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s SEA-PHAGES research program, which involves students in a global effort to discover phages (viruses that infect bacteria) and sequence and annotate their DNA.

We also participate in SEA-GENES, next-level research to discover previously unknown functions of genes. Because that research is built into classes, you can graduate with research experience that will set you apart when applying to graduate schools.

For more research experience, apply to serve as a Junior Scholar or summer research assistant. You’ll earn a stipend and possibly be included as a co-author when the research findings are published or presented. Your Northwestern professors can also help you find and land fellowships in labs conducting research funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

For a fresh perspective on caring for the environment, you can participate in the Au Sable Institute and travel to the Great Lakes region, the Pacific Northwest, South India or Latin America. Au Sable offers January and May terms as well as summer sessions.

The Creation Care Study Program helps students connect their Christian faith with complex, urgent global issues. Students in the semester-long program take courses in theology, tropical ecology and sustainable development while exploring rainforests, mountain streams and coral reefs. Campuses are in Belize and New Zealand.