Natural Science

Degree Options: Major, Minor
Locations: Lincoln Center
Visit the Natural Sciences Department

Interested in medicine, dentistry, life sciences research, or science journalism? Your first step is here.

Male student filling test tube - LGRigorous. Interdisciplinary. Pre-professional. The natural sciences major at Fordham prepares you for a wide variety of careers in the life sciences, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, research, and teaching.

You’ll study biology, chemistry, and physics, immunology, physiology, and genetics, among other subjects. You’ll join our faculty in research projects on campus and at renowned institutions. You’ll also design and present your own research.

We integrate the theory and practice of science to provide a framework for exploring questions of ethics. As part of a Jesuit university, we strongly believe in the importance of using education to help others—and to develop the self.

That’s why you’ll learn more than natural sciences here. You’ll also study philosophy, theology, history, literature, languages, and the performing arts through Fordham’s common core curriculum, the centerpiece of our liberal arts education.

We want you to excel in your field—and as a human being.

  • Our rigorous program is designed to prepare you for graduate school. Natural science majors take 20 required classes and six electives, including four labs. We cap our core classes at 25 students, and our upper-level elective labs at 16 students.

    Our department contributes to majors in:

    • environmental science
    • bioinformatics
    • neuroscience  
    • psychology (through specialized introductory lab courses)

    We also prepare non-science majors for medical, dental, veterinary, and pre-health professions.

    Facilities and Research Opportunities

    We are avid researchers. Join faculty research projects in collaboration with faculty mentors affiliated with major research institutions, including:

    • Rockefeller University
    • Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons
    • Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Cornell University

    Recent faculty research projects include:

    • heat shock proteins (Hsp’s) and other biochemical responses to physiological stress in horseshoe crabs
    • using medicinal chemistry to improve the biological activity of natural products for the treatment of viral infections and cancer
    • mammalian aging, Progeroid cells, and human chromosomal disorders

    Recent student research projects include:

    • study of ultraviolet light on lens proteins
    • effects of nitric oxide on cells of the human immune system
    • mechanisms of heavy metal toxicity in invertebrates

    Want to connect, network, learn, and compete?

    Our student-researchers have shared their results at major scientific meetings, and some have been published in leading professional journals.

    Present your research paper at the Eastern Colleges Science Conference, which since 1947 has brought together undergraduates from 50 colleges to share their scientific findings.

    Become one of the many students who represent the Natural Sciences Department at the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.

    Apply for summer research grants and awards

    Scholarship Opportunities

    Fordham and the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo coordinate NSF-funded scholarships to science students who complete a teacher credential program and commit to teaching science in high-need school districts after graduation.

    Study Abroad

    Take your coursework global with a study abroad program. Fordham has connections with more than 150 programs in universities all over the world, including Germany, China, Turkey, Argentina, and the Gabelli London satellite campus. 

  • General Biology I and II
    Research Design and Analysis
    Science, Technology and Society Values
    Immunology
    Biology of Aging
    Vertebrate Physiology
    Advanced Microbiology
    Biochemical Techniques
    Independent Studies

  • A degree in natural science prepares students for medical, dental, and graduate school, and careers in:

    • life sciences and public health
    • clinical and research
    • science teaching and journalism
    • allied health professions, including:
    • optometry
    • nursing
    • pharmacy
    • physician’s assistant

    Our graduates pursue advanced study at schools including:

    • Albert Einstein College of Medicine
    • Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons
    • Duke University
    • LIU College of Pharmacy
    • New York Medical College
    • NYU Schools of Medicine & Dentistry
    • Rockefeller University
    • SUNY College of Optometry
    • SUNY-Buffalo, Stony Brook, and Brooklyn
    • Johns Hopkins Medical School
    • University of Connecticut
    • University of Massachusetts

    We will connect you with you with our powerful (and Fordham-loyal) alumni network. They want to see you succeed as they have. 

Learn More About the Natural Sciences Degree

Visit the Natural Sciences Department