University of Nebraska Board of Regents Board of Regents Meeting ...

8. Centrality to Role and Mission of the Institution
The University of Nebraska at Kearney is a public, residential university committed to be one
of the nation’s premier undergraduate institutions with excellent graduate education,
scholarship, and public service. Students who successfully complete degrees in the
Department of Biology will: 1) display an understanding of and facility with the content of
the discipline of Biology, 2) have facility and manipulative ability with biological skills and
conceptual processes, 3) demonstrate possession of a select set of competencies reflective of,
but not limited to, the content and thought processes in the life sciences, and 4) display an
appreciation of those values central to the discipline of Biology. The Molecular Biology
degree program will provide UNK students with a quality education while keeping with the
mission of UNK and the goals and mission of the Biology Department.
9. Avoidance of Unnecessary Duplication
The UNK Biology Department has a long and distinguished history of providing a quality
education and training future professionals. Even though there is a similar program at UNL,
students who attend UNK are looking for the atmosphere that a quality Primarily
Undergraduate Institute (PUI) like UNK has to offer. These students recognize the quality
education with an outstanding reputation and hands-on experiences they can find at UNK.
The majors in the Biology Department realize from the onset that they have to complete a
two-semester long project in order to earn their Biology degree. Many of these students have
selected to perform their research project in the realm of Molecular Biology and have opted
to take the Molecular Biology related electives to complete their course of study.
Similar programs offered in the state by public and private institutions
• Chadron State College offers a Molecular Biology Option, but it consists of only two
courses that would constitute molecular biology.
• Wayne State College does not have a molecular biology option.
• Creighton University does not have a molecular biology option, but they do have two
courses on the topic.
• UNL has a Microbiology/Molecular Biology Program.
• UNO has a Biotechnology Program with one course described as molecular genetics and
another described as molecular biology of the cell.
Similar programs offered within nearby states and are reasonably accessible to Nebraska
residents
• Missouri Western has no degree options in molecular biology.
• University of Missouri has one molecular biology course for undergraduates.
• Iowa State has an extensive Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology program.
• University of South Dakota has two courses in molecular biology.
• University of Wyoming has a Molecular Biology Program.
• University of Colorado has a very good Molecular Biology Program.
• Fort Hays State has a Cellular and Molecular Biology option, but no courses are labeled
as molecular biology.
• University of Kansas has a Molecular Biosciences degree with one course in molecular
biology.
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