Department of Biology: Indiana University Bloomington

See our undergraduate degree options

We offer several B.A. and B.S. degrees in the fields of Biology, Biotechnology, Microbiology, and Molecular Life Sciences.

Pursue your graduate degree

Our graduate students conduct cutting-edge research and receive specialized training in many key research areas.

Jeff Palmer smiles as he wears the silver medal on a red ribbon around his neck after being awarded the IU President's Medal for Excellence.

Palmer awarded IU president's highest honor

Jeffrey Palmer, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Class of 1955 Professor of Biology, has been awarded the IU President's Medal for Excellence.

A bacterium retracts its pili, reeling in a piece of DNA in the environment.

DNA-reeling bacteria yield new insight on how superbugs acquire drug resistance

A new imaging method invented at IU leads to a discovery about how bacteria use thin hair-like surface appendages called pili for 'natural transformation.'

European honey bee (Apis mellifera) extracts nectar from an aster flower.

Beekeepers, researchers, and state lawmakers agree: We need the bees

Associate Professor Irene Newton and Ph.D. students Audrey Parish and Delaney Miller talk with WTIU News about Indiana beekeeping.

$3.3M NIH MIRA grant will fund study of cell wall synthesis in bacterial "superbug"

Professor Malcolm Winkler will investigate cell wall synthesis in Streptococcus pneumoniae to find new vulnerabilities of bacterial pathogens.

IU microbiologist is coauthor of acclaimed bestselling textbook on bacterial pathogenesis

Professor Malcolm Winkler has coauthored the highly anticipated fourth edition of Bacterial Pathogenesis—A Molecular Approach.

Sulfolobus, a genus of archaea that prefers high temperatures. Each cell is outlined in red. The DNA is stained blue. Image courtesy Stephen Bell, Indiana University

Key similarities discovered between human and archaea chromosomes

Discovery could advance use of single-celled organism in research on cancers related to errors in cellular gene expression. Professor Stephen Bell is lead author on the study, published in Cell.

A range of research strengths

Our faculty, research scientists, and graduate and undergraduate students are exploring everything from ecosystems to microbiology and developmental biology; evolution to cell biology; molecular biology to systems biology, bioinformatics, and genomics. Together, we explore the breadth of biological questions and experimental systems.

View our research

Expertise + scientific approach

Our faculty members are world-class researchers and teachers who share an excitement for the life sciences. The multiplicity of expertise and scientific approach, combined with our exceptional collegial culture, is what makes IU Biology stand out and has made IU a premiere place for performing research.

Meet our faculty

You are welcome here

The IU Department of Biology is a community of diverse academic scientists, students, and staff from a wide range of cultures, nationalities, races, and social backgrounds. We are committed to celebrating diversity and inclusion as well as maintaining a culture of respect and kindness.

Department of Biology

World-class teaching + research

See our undergraduate degree options

Pursue your graduate degree

Palmer awarded IU president's highest honor

DNA-reeling bacteria yield new insight on how superbugs acquire drug resistance

Beekeepers, researchers, and state lawmakers agree: We need the bees

$3.3M NIH MIRA grant will fund study of cell wall synthesis in bacterial "superbug"

IU microbiologist is coauthor of acclaimed bestselling textbook on bacterial pathogenesis

Key similarities discovered between human and archaea chromosomes

A range of research strengths

Expertise + scientific approach

You are welcome here

Ready to take the next step?

Incoming freshmen

Current IU students

Prospective graduate students

The College of Arts & Sciences

World-class teaching + research

See our undergraduate degree options

Pursue your graduate degree

Palmer awarded IU president's highest honor

DNA-reeling bacteria yield new insight on how superbugs acquire drug resistance

Beekeepers, researchers, and state lawmakers agree: We need the bees

$3.3M NIH MIRA grant will fund study of cell wall synthesis in bacterial "superbug"

IU microbiologist is coauthor of acclaimed bestselling textbook on bacterial pathogenesis

Key similarities discovered between human and archaea chromosomes

A range of research strengths

Expertise + scientific approach

You are welcome here

Ready to take the next step?

Incoming freshmen

Current IU students

Prospective graduate students

Department of Biology social media channels

The College of Arts & Sciences