Anabelle Outar liked biology but said she thought some classes in UF's interdisciplinary biology program would do little to prepare her for medical school.
But with the creation of a new biology major this summer, Outar, a UF junior, decided to switch her major from biochemistry and molecular biology to biology.
Now, UF's biology major is already one of the most popular majors at UF, a UF news release stated.
The interdisciplinary major is being completely replaced by the biology major because of course overlap, said Margaret Fields, assistant dean and director of biological sciences in UF's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Outar, now in her first semester on the pre-professional track of the biology major, called the new biology program the "best preparation" for her future goals.
Spring will be the third semester for students to register for classes as biology majors.
About 4,000 students are taking the core courses required for biology majors, Fields said.
Almost 1,100 students are in the major, she added.
Before the creation of the major, UF was the only university out of Florida's 11 public universities that did not offer a general biology degree.
Biology has many of the courses required for professional schools such as medical school, veterinary school and pharmacy school, making the major attractive to students seeking to enter those programs after graduation.
After the creation of an interdisciplinary biology major during the 2000-2001 school year, rapid growth of the program prompted the decision to create an official biology major, Fields said.
Fields said the biology major was not necessary in the past because pre-professional students could take the biology classes they needed through the zoology and botany majors.
The main difference between the interdisciplinary major and the new biology major is transparency, Fields said.
She said the new major, which is being offered through both CLAS and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, is easier to find and add because students do not have to complete an application process to get into the program.
The new biology major has six tracks.
The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences offers three: natural science, biotechnology and applied biology. CLAS offers biology and biology secondary education.
The last track is pre-professional, which is offered through both colleges.
The previous interdisciplinary major only offered three tracks.
Walter Judd, a UF botany professor and a co-chair on the committee that created the new major, said the high number of biology students going on to professional or graduate school after getting their undergraduate degrees was an important factor in creating the biology major.
This broad base now provides a good foundation for students going on to professional school, he said.
The new design of the major, with added electives and multi-college collaboration, allows students to choose from an array of biological science classes, Judd said.
The addition of advisers specifically for the biology major caters more specifically to students' interests as well. The advisers make adjustments to the program as needed, he said.
Fields said the curriculum of the new major is flexible.
"It's not something that is set in stone and will never change," she said. "It will change relative to needs, the needs of our students for graduate school."
