About the Bio-Tech Cluster
Total number of credits in this cluster: 9-10
The Bio-Tech Cluster is available to students both within and outside of the Eberly College of Science. The specialization prepares students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and apply innovative strategies to find solutions that benefit humans, animals, and the environment. Students will also develop unique skills in career readiness such as teamwork, leadership, and communication. Students who complete these cluster courses will be better able to take an interdisciplinary approach to solving problems through biotechnology.
This cluster will follow the same structure as other clusters, requiring 9 core credits that are integral to all clusters, with an additional minimum of 9 credits specific to the Bio-Tech Cluster, with a focus on courses from the Eberly College of Science. For these additional 9 credits, students will build their hard skills in the natural and physical sciences by selecting 3 credits of foundational course work in cell biology followed by a 3-credit, 400-level elective in the natural and/or physical sciences and a 3-credit capstone course. The 400-level elective will allow students to increase their knowledge of a scientific discipline or disciplines applicable to the fields of biotechnology and entrepreneurship. The capstone course will require students to assimilate and accommodate previous content knowledge to propose a plan to develop and market a value-added product in the realm of biotechnology. Furthermore, the capstone course will empower students to practice their interpersonal skills by engaging in team building and customer discovery and designing sprint exercises and intellectual property law clinics.
Goal of the Bio-Tech Entrepreneurship Cluster
Apply hard skills in the natural and physical sciences along with soft skills to benefit humans, animals, and the environment.
Students who complete this cluster develop knowledge and skills in:
- Understanding biotechnology and its application in agriculture, animal science, forensics, aquatics, medicine, and bioremediation.
- The social, ethical, and legal implications of biotechnology.
- The structure of the biotechnology workforce as well as the current regulatory mechanisms that apply to different sectors of the workforce.
- Conceptual development of a novel value-added product that benefits humans, animals, and/or the environment.
- The ability to set expectations, build and communicate effectively with a team, create timelines, and achieve milestones.
- The design, evaluation, and optimization of processes to produce and obtain a product of interest.
- The discussion of intellectual property laws in relationship to the development of a value-added product.
- The creation of a marketing plan for a value-added product by researching the market, including budgeting and metrics, the target audience, and marketing tactics and strategies.
- The creation and delivery of a presentation illustrating product utility for the purpose of generating funds for product development and scale-up from peers/investors.
- The design of a marketing portfolio utilizing peer/investor feedback to leverage additional funds.
- BIOL 426 Developmental Neurobiology
- BIOL 431 Reproductive Biology
- BIOL 432 Developmental Genetics
- BIOL 439 Practical Bioinformatics
- BIOL 443 Evo-devo: Evolution of Developmental Mechanisms
- BIOL 451 Biology of RNA
- BIOL 460 (ANTH 460) Human Genetics
- BIOL 461 Contemporary Issues in Science and Medicine
- BIOL 467 Molecular Basis of Neurological Diseases
- BIOL 469 (BBH 469) Neurobiology
- BIOTC 459 (BIOL 459, HORT 459) Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology
- BIOTC 460 (AGRO 460) Advances and Applications of Plant Biotechnology
- BMB 401 General Biochemistry
- BMB 442 Laboratory in Proteins, Nucleic Acids, and Molecular Cloning
- BMB 480 (MICRB 480) Cancer Development and Progression
- BMB 482 Introduction to Computational Biology
- BMB 484 Functional Genomics
- BMB 485 (VBSC 485) Human Genomics and Biomedical Informatics
- CHEM 402 Chemistry in the Environment
- CHEM 423W Chemical Spectroscopy
- CHEM 425W Chromatography and Electrochemistry
- CHEM 431W Organic and Inorganic Preparations
- CHEM 459W Advanced Experimental Physical Chemistry
- CHEM 476 Biological Chemistry
- FRNSC 427W (CHEM 427W) Forensic Chemistry
- MATH 405 Advanced Calculus for Engineers and Scientists I
- MATH 406 Advanced Calculus for Engineers and Scientists II
- MATH 448 Mathematics of Finance
- MATH 450 Mathematical Modeling
- MATH 484 Linear Problems and Related Problems
- MATH 486 Mathematical Theory of Games
- MICRB 401 Microbial Physiology and Structure
- PHYS 462 Applications of Physics in Medicine
- PHYS 465 Network Analysis of Biological Systems
- PHYS 472 Elements of Nuclear Physics and its Applications to Medical Imaging and Treatments