Pre-Applied Sciences
Do you want to develop and apply your love of science to make the world a better place?
There are many fields of science beyond medicine and engineering where science-curious students may build a career: field biology, environmental science, laboratory science, urban ecology, consulting, conservation biology, science communications, land management, and more. An undergraduate degree with a focus on applied science also provides a strong foundation for further graduate study.
Any area of applied science requires a working knowledge of scientific research methods, using peer-reviewed literature to understand the context of existing science, and developing skills in: technical writing, laboratory techniques, data analysis and communication. In addition, you’ll complete three quarters of work-based co-operative education. Combining this science core with other areas of liberal arts at our advocacy-centered college makes our program unique.
Who is this for?
There are many fields of science beyond medicine and engineering where science-curious students may build a career: field biology, environmental science, laboratory science, urban ecology, consulting, conservation biology, science communications, land management, and more. Any area of applied science requires a working knowledge of scientific research methods, using published literature to understand the context of existing science, and developing skills in: technical writing, laboratory techniques, data analysis and communication. In addition, you’ll complete three quarters of work-based co-operative education during your four-year degree. An undergraduate degree with a focus on applied science also provides a strong foundation for further graduate study. Combining this science core with other areas of liberal arts at our advocacy-centered college makes our program unique.
What You’ll Study
Students may apply any area of study, grounded within our divisions, to work in the field of education. Additionally, students should consider taking courses that are relevant to the field of education such as developmental psychology and statistics. Working closely with your advisor, students will identify relevant coursework based on their area of interest.
Example courses relevant to the Applied Sciences track include: Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Ecology, Environmental Ethics, Environmental Justice, Environmental Science, Genetics, , Microbiology, Political Ecology, Soils, Writing, and Statistics. Students with this focus have worked in rare plant monitoring, water resource conservation, environmental consulting, laboratory tech, QC/QA chemist, urban forestry, and have entered M.S. and Ph.D. programs.
Notable Alumni in the Sciences
“I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.“
― Stephen Jay Gould (Antioch College Class of ‘63) from The Panda’s Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History
- Joseph Young Bergen (1872), botanist
- Leland C. Clark Jr. (B.S. 1941), biochemist and inventor
- Clifford Geertz (1950), anthropologist
- Stephen Jay Gould (1963), geologist, evolutionary biologist, author
- Robert Manry (1949), nautical explorer
- Allan Pred (1957), geographer
- Joan Steitz (1963), molecular biologist and Sterling Professor at Yale University; 2018 Lasker Award recipient
- Judith G. Voet (B.S. 1963), professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Swarthmore College; author of several widely used biochemistry textbooks
Pre-Applied Science Advisor
