Mary Grahn ’28
Science & Environment Editor
Starting next year, BIOL-200 “Introductory Biology II: How Organisms Develop with Laboratory” will no longer be offered by the department of biological sciences. For decades, the class played a significant role in the curriculum for multiple majors at Mount Holyoke College — such as Biological Sciences, Biochemistry and Neuroscience & Behavior — strengthening the students’ foundational understanding of biological concepts and preparing them for more specialized courses.
The class, which was taught by professors Rachel Fink and Amy Frary for over 20 years, focused on developmental biology. It covered topics such as embryology and genetics. Students in BIOL-200 got to design their own experiments and complete labs dissecting specimens that included fruit and leaves.
The curriculum change was announced last November in an email sent to students across the affected majors. Since the announcement, students have had a variety of different responses to the curriculum change.
Biology Club President Natalija Radosavljevic ’28 shared her perspective on the different ways that students have viewed the class in an email to Mount Holyoke News.
“As the president of the Biology Club, I have heard varying opinions about this course.” Radosavljevic said.
“Some people really enjoyed how in-depth it went, and a lot of my plant biology-focused friends really enjoyed the labs and designing their own experiments. However, I [have] heard from many people that the class wasn't at all engaging for their interests.”
For Radosavljevic, the class was not a favorite. As someone passionate about human biology, she found a lot of the course material to fall outside her interests. But despite the qualms she had with the class as an individual, Radosavljevic explained that many students had positive experiences with the class.
“People enjoyed the way the lectures were co-taught by two different professors. I have heard that the lecture style was engaging [to many] and that some enjoyed the level of depth that the class covered.”
Moreover, Radosavljevic shared that she left the course with some valuable takeaways.
“I think what was covered in lecture for BIOL-200 was meaningful and gave a sufficient background to embryology and development, and genetics.”
Moving forward, students who have completed BIOL-165, BIOL-145 or NEURO-100 can enroll in one of many other courses offered at the 200-level in the department. For more information about how this will impact individual students, students can contact the Mount Holyoke Department of Biological Sciences or an academic advisor.
Maeve McCorry ’28 contributed fact-checking.