The Department offers programs leading to both Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Biological Sciences. Doctor of Philosophy degrees are available in Botany, Genomics, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Environmental and Conservation Sciences, STEM Education and Zoology. Advanced work may involve specialized training in the following areas: aquatic biology, behavior, biology education research, cell biology, comparative biochemistry and physiology, cancer biology, conservation biology, ecology, endocrinology, developmental biology, evolution, fisheries biology, molecular biology, plant biology, population biology, prairie pothole ecology, evolutionary ecology and wildlife biology.

Student research and academic programs are tailored to individual needs and interests. Interdisciplinary approaches to biological problems are encouraged. The department offers access to a range of equipment and facilities necessary for laboratory research, including greenhouses, animal rooms, growth chambers, tissue culture facilities, ultracentrifuges, spectrophotometers, electrophoresis, light microscopes, gas chromatography, GC-mass spectrometry, and high performance liquid chromatography. Facilities are available for protein and DNA sequencing, oligonucleotide synthesis, interactive laser cytometry, scanning transmission and electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy.