Parker DenzMicrobiology Senior & Pre-Vet As a student on the Pre-Veterinary track, it only made sense to choose Microbiology as my major: all of the pre-requisite courses required for veterinary school are included in the Microbiology major here at Pitt. While the more-general Biological Sciences major is flexible and easily could have included all of my pre-requisite classes, I felt that choosing the structured Microbiology major would be the best choice for me. While my original decision was simply out of convenience, I found I have a real interest in the topics within microbiology and I never expected how happy I would be with my decision!
In my first three semesters at Pitt I took the usual General Chemistry, Foundations of Biology, Organic Chemistry, and even added Ecology (BIOSC 0370) and Genetics (BIOSC 0350). While these classes are interesting and necessary to build a sturdy foundation of scientific knowledge, I hadn’t yet gotten a glimpse of what the Microbiology major really entailed (and in fact, was still on the Biological Sciences Major track!). I still believed that my major was simply a means to an end, however this mentality quickly changed when the spring semester of my sophomore year began. In the spring of 2017, I took the Microbiology class (BIOSC 1850) and got a real appreciation for what the field is all about. I gained knowledge of broad topics within this fascinating branch of biology and my interest was immediately sparked. As I continued to take more microbiology-focused courses, including higher-level (HL) courses including Virology (BIOSC 1730) and Immunology (BIOSC 1760), I found that I had a genuine desire to learn and build upon my knowledge in this field of science. Despite the difficulty of some of the courses within the major, I did not shy away from the challenge. I am surprised by how glad I am to have chosen this major. My main take-away is to make sure that you take some time to look into different Department of Biological Science majors offered here at Pitt. It may seem daunting to choose a more specialized major, but it can be well worth your time. Several of the classes I took for the Microbiology major were not pre-requisites for veterinary school, but I don’t regret taking a single one. If you have an interest in a more specialized major, no matter how small this interest, it can only benefit you to pursue it. You may even be pleasantly surprised like I was. Need help choosing a major? Let's talk! Visit my office hours on Tuesday mornings at 9am.
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January 2022
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