Bachelor of Arts in Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology

Our students become careful, critical thinkers who understand life on the smallest of scales, who can help to develop new vaccines and medicines, and who find satisfying careers in biotechnology, biomedical and agricultural research, health, medicine or education.

Students of molecular, cellular and developmental biology learn about life on the smallest of scales, including understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that provide the basis for biological structure, growth and evolution. This knowledge allows biologists to develop new vaccines, more effective treatments for disease and new medicines, and a better understanding of how living things survive. 

  • Understand how living things function and thrive
  • Experience interdisciplinary, hands-on learning opportunities in chemistry, biochemistry, math, physics and biology.
  • Be prepared to apply your education to help advance health and medicine

Learn from award-winning faculty and researchers, including a Nobel Prize winner, a National Medal of Science winner and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators

Join a program that is nationally recognized for several areas of research, including bacterial and eukaryotic molecular genetics; mechanisms controlling cellular growth, survival and differentiation; animal development; neurobiology; genomic analysis; and molecular phylogeny

Engage in hands-on learning from the very beginning with many opportunities to participate in meaningful, life-changing research in the department

Be successful.

Be prepared to meet the needs of society by applying your knowledge of molecular, cellular and developmental biology to a variety of careers. Many students who graduate with an undergraduate degree in MCDB continue on to graduate school or go into medicine.

 
$50,100

Median salary of CU Boulder MCDB students 1–5 years after graduation

 

Medical assistant, science writer, chemist, biologist or researcher are common job opportunities for graduates

 

Work for biotechnology, biomedical and agricultural research companies, and in health, medicine or education

Academic Plan & Requirements

Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences along with required departmental courses that cover:

  • Introductory coursework
  • Genetics
  • Research-based introductory labs
  • Cell biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Capstone
  • Scientific reasoning
  • Electives

Community & Involvement

For undergraduate students pursuing a degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, we offer many research opportunities and ways to connect.

Be inspired.

The Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology has an extensive alumni network working in a variety of fields across the globe.

Some alumni of the program include:

Allison Cleary

(BA'06)
An MD/PhD graduate of Penn State University’s Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. She won the 2015 Science/SciLifeLab Grand Prize for her essay “Teamwork: The Tumor Cell Edition.”

Roni Dengler

(PhD'17)
A science writer for Science magazine. She was a 2017 American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow.

Dominique Bergmann

(PhD'00)
A professor of biology at Stanford University and investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She was a 2017 National Academy of Sciences inductee.

Joe Kernen

(BS'78)
Co-anchor of CNBC’s Squawk Box.

Tom Maniatis

(BS'65)
The Isidore S. Edelman Professor and chair of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University, and scientific director and chief executive officer of the New York Genome Center.

News & Stories

College of Arts & Sciences magazine cover