Small Class Sizes
Our low student-to-professor ratio and small class sizes give you daily contact with professors in lecture, laboratory and out in the field, plus the individualized attention you need to excel.
Research Opportunities
Ball State’s microbiology faculty are more than teachers—they are also active researchers in their field that regularly invite students to work alongside them. There are opportunities for students to participate in mentored research and make exciting discoveries, write grants, and communicate their research in papers and conference presentations.
Some of the research projects our students have assisted with include:
- studying how fungi such as C. auris and C. albicans cause disease
- understanding how cells detect and destroy harmful molecular garbage
- examining how defects in nucleic acid structure can lead to diseases like ALS
- investigating insect microbiome interactions
- searching for novel antibiotics
Laboratories and Advanced Equipment
At Ball State, you will be able to conduct research in modern, spacious facilities, and you will have the opportunity to apply your knowledge using advanced equipment.
Get Involved Outside the Classroom or Lab:
Relevant Student Organizations
Fine Focus is a student-run academic journal featuring undergraduate microbiology research from around the world, produced right here at Ball State. Our students review manuscripts for scientific accuracy, make recommendations to the editorial board and design, write for and publish the content of the journal.
The Department of Biology is home to several academic clubs that provide an opportunity to connect with other students in your concentration for support, professional development opportunities and academic discussion.
A few student organizations you may be interested in joining as a microbiology student include:
SEA-PHAGES, a nationally recognized, research-based microbiology course offered to all Ball State University students. Through this hands-on program, students will isolate, characterize, and name their own bacteriophages while contributing to real scientific discovery and genome research.
https://seaphages.org/
https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/mbio.01051-13