Engaged Learning

We believe you can change the world by applying the knowledge you obtain from lectures and laboratories to the areas outside the classroom. Your education is more than just gaining head-knowledge for a degree. Instead, you should use your education every day to make our community and world a better place.

We call this engaged learning, and our faculty challenges you to take ownership of your education. Engaged learning starts in the classroom where you are expected to do more than simply attend a lecture or laboratory. Instead, we encourage you to work together and:

  • Analyze Problems
  • Collect Data
  • Develop Theories
  • Discover Solutions

Engaged learning begins on campus, but it doesn’t stay there. Mercer University offers a variety of community and global engagement opportunities for students.

Community Engagement

Who doesn’t love field trips? Our biology major offers courses that include field trips essential to the curriculum. Much of what is studied in the biology classroom and laboratory is best understood when experiencing it in the field. Some classes that will introduce you to key aspects of Central Georgia’s ecology through fieldwork include:

  • Invertebrate Zoology (BIO 300)
  • Plant Biology (BIO 302)
  • Principles of Ecology (BIO 370)
  • Aquatic Biology (BIO 440)
  • Conservation Biology (BIO 480)

We also offer students special departmental camping trips to both the mountains and the coast of Georgia. This gives you the chance to immerse yourselves for longer periods of time in the field while studying the beautiful wildlife preserves throughout the state.

Other courses include a community service requirement, such as Biology of Aging (BIO 390). This course includes a service learning component where you can visit with a hospice care patient each week. Not only do you learn about the biology and treatments for age-related diseases, but you will also provide social support and assistance for the hospice patients. It’s a great example of Mercer’s Biology Department using education to improve our community.

Global Engagement

Mercer University’s Biology Department impacts the world through Mercer on Mission Projects. Previously, students traveled to Mozambique and Ecuador to research ways to reduce mercury contamination and pollution near gold mines. Students also collected data on environmental mercury contamination for further analysis.

Our regular coursework also offers you an opportunity to make a global impact. If you are interested in Ecology, we offer Coral Reef Ecology (BIO 315) that includes a trip to Belize during spring break. During this course, you will snorkel in the reefs near the island of Ambergris Caye and explore the diverse wildlife.