Page 28 - Biotech Career Guide

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education: BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREES
Some schools offer a degree in biotechnology,
but you can also build your own program.
Four Years
of Science
Biotechnology is interesting
and exciting because it
draws on so many different
fields. Study and work in the field
will mix biology with chemistry,
math, physics, computer science,
engineering, materials science, even
areas as far afield as economics,
public policy, and business.
But incorporating such a range of
disciplines into your undergraduate
studies means you have decisions
to make. In a four-year biotech pro-
gram, you can build a great founda-
tion for the learning you will gain
throughout a career in the field. To
build the foundation that works for
you, though, you will need to choose
the right overall framework for your
studies and what areas of biotech-
nology to focus on.
A four-year degree in biotechnol-
ogy can be a science degree or an
engineering degree. In both cases,
you will receive an excellent ground-
ing in biotechnology, but the two
degrees can differ in areas of em-
phasis, flexibility, and options avail-
able upon graduation. With a sci-
ence degree, you would typically
have more leeway to blend your
individual interests with core areas
of field knowledge. If you want to
maximize flexibility in both your stud-
ies and later work options, a science
degree might serve you best.
Indeed, biotech grads from sci-
ence programs do all kinds of things
after college — a technical job in the
field, graduate study, or adjacent
work in sales, policy, or business po-
sitions. The very diversity of these
paths, though, suggests how much
thought students need to put into
planning their biotechnology career.
Schools offer programs to suit a
wide range of needs and interests.
Pay attention to how different
schools present themselves to pro-
spective students and look for a pro-
gram that strikes a chord with you.
The examples of schools below can
guide your search for colleges you
might consider attending yourself.
And if the school you really like does
not offer an actual biotechnology
University of
California, Davis
PHOTOS COURTESY THE SCHOOLS
University
of Georgia
ATHENS