Advisement

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Nicole Cuthbert, Department Academic Advisor: Click Here to make an appointment
Be aware that if you are not a current major in the department, you will not be able to make an appointment online and must call the main office to schedule an appointment. If you'd like to call and make an appointment, please call the main Biology office at 801-422-2582.

AIP meetings should be in person.

Check in at the Biology Main Office (4102 LSB) before the meeting time. Your Advisor will come and get you. Do not come into the advisor's office when someone else is still meeting with her.

Possible Graduation maps for Biology Majors
Ecology/Evolutionary Research Track
Pre-Med Track
Pre-Dental Track
Pre-Vet Track
Pre-PA Track
Pre- Optometry

Professional School Advisement
Life Science Student Services
801-422-3042
Pre Professional Advisement Center
801-422-3044

Why should I meet with an advisor?
Advisors are here to help students succeed by understanding how to organize yourself so you can achieve your academic goals at BYU. Class/graduation planning, career exploration, academic improvement plans, internships, study abroad programs, scholarship and general help can all be found by meeting with an advisor.

Which advisor should I meet with?
If you are a Biology Department major (Biology, Bioinformatics, Biological Science Education, or Biodiversity & Conservation major), you should meet with Nicole Cuthbert, the academic advisor for those majors. Meet with Nicole first and if you need specialized help from your faculty advisor, she will discuss it with you. If you want to add a double major or minor, please go to the Life Science Advisement website to see how that can be done and the steps that need to happen before approval.

Faculty Advisors can help students understand their majors better and different pathways to take, depending on student interests.

What about professional school?
Professional schools offer degrees and specialized training for a particular career such as Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Physicians Assistant, Pharmacy and Optometry. Many of these programs have specific pre-requisites and admissions tests. Our majors have been designed so that students can easily meet the pre-requisites for these professional schools by a combination of required core courses and electives. In addition the rigorous program of study and cutting edge research opportunities with faculty in our department make our pre-professional students particularly strong candidates for admissions to these competitive programs.

Meet The Advisors

Nicole Cuthbert, Department Academic Advisor

Nicole Cuthbert was born and grew up in the bay area of California, where she loved living close to the beach. Some of her passions include swimming, camping, reading, gardening, and cooking. Nicole later went to BYU to study communications. Eventually she married an Englishman and had 4 amazing children. Later in life she received a MS in Academic Advising from Kansas State University. Nicole has worked at BYU since 2016. She loves what she does and appreciates and respects the students with whom she works.

Dr. Liz Bailey, Biology

Dr. Bailey got her PhD here at BYU in Physiology and Developmental Biology in 2013. She conducted biophysics research on the cell membranes of dying cells for her dissertation, but she later fell in love with teaching and biology education research. After faculty positions at BYU-Hawaii and Georgetown University, she came back to BYU in 2018 and joined the Biology Department. Now she researches women's experiences in STEM, acknowledging Traditional Ecological Knowledge in biology classes, reciprocal peer tutoring, and teaching equation derivation in biology courses using visual methods. She and her husband, Ben, love hiking with their dog and enjoying all the beauty Utah has to offer.

Dr. Perry Ridge, Bioinformatics

Dr. Ridge and his wife Kristen, with their five kids, live in Provo. He graduated from BYU in bioinformatics and computer science in 2005 and did graduate work in biochemistry and genetics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and BYU. He has been a faculty member at BYU since 2013. In his lab he studies the genetics of Alzheimer’s disease and develops new methods to creatively analyze genomic variation. Dr. Ridge grew up in Southern California, but fell in love with Utah and BYU the minute he set foot on campus as a new freshman. He loves to spend time in the mountains hiking or riding his side by side, or doing some project in his garage or yard.

Dr. Clint Whipple, Biodiversity & Conservation

Dr. Whipple is from Scappoose, OR and slowly coming to terms with the fact that Provo is now his home. He graduated from BYU in 2000 with a B.S. in Plant Genetics and Breeding, did graduate school in San Diego followed by a Post-Doc at Cold Spring Harbor Lab studying the genetics of plant development and evolution. He’s been a professor in the Biology department since 2009. When he isn’t teaching or watching plants grow with students, he likes to botanize Slate Canyon and manages the Maeser Neighborhood Communal Garden. He is married with 3 children, and looking forward to having an empty nest (the kids are welcome for a short visit whenever they want).

Professor Josh Stowers, Biological Science Education

Professor Stowers gained a love of biology when he was a high school student growing up on the southern Oregon coast. He earned a bachelor's degree in Biology Teaching from BYU and spent 17 years teaching in a variety of science classes at the secondary level, including 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade Integrated Science (biology, geology, astronomy, physics, and chemistry), Earth Science, and Biology. Josh earned a master's degree in Learning and Technology from Western Governors University. During his time as a secondary teacher, he frequently taught professional development courses, including both science content and pedagogy (teaching methods) courses, for other teachers. He also helped teach and supervise students in BYU's Biological Science Education program. Josh joined the BYU faculty full time in 2016 and has enjoyed helping prepare the next generation of science teachers.

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