Major: Genetics and Biotechnology
Have you ever wondered why your hair or eye color, facial features, or the build of your body resembles that of your parents, grandparents, or other close relatives? What factors are responsible for generating all the variety of colors and shapes of flowers, trees, and different types of animals? If these questions have crossed your mind, then you have been thinking about Genetics; the science of heredity.
Genetics is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. Genetics is studied at the DNA/gene/genome level (molecular genetics, biotechnology, genomics and bioinformatics), the level of organisms (classical or Mendelian genetics), and within/among populations of individuals (population and quantitative genetics). One of the most significant scientific accomplishments in history has been the use of genomic technologies to recently identify most human genes, as well as, most genes for a number of other animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria.
Undergraduates in the Genetics program must earn a grade of C or better to receive credit for required Basic Science Background and Genetics Core courses. Within the Genetics Core curriculum, Tier I courses must be taken by all majors, for a total of 28 credit hours. To accommodate differing interests among students, a series of Tier II courses comprising 11 to 13 credits are provided. Ethical considerations of genetic based technologies will be infused throughout the curriculum, with a focused course on "Science and Ethics" in the Tier III portion of the core curriculum.
Genetics
Advisors:
Dr. Ian Ray, 575-646-3819, iaray@nmsu.edu
Dr. Jinfa Zhang, 575-646-3438, jinzhang@nmsu.edu
Dr. Chistopher Cramer, 575-646-2657, cscramer@nmsu.edu
