McGill.CA / Agricultural and Environmental Sciences / Prospective Students / Undergraduate / BSc (AgEnvSc)

Major in Life Sciences

About

How does life work? In the Life Sciences major, you will learn about the molecular and biochemical foundations of life that lead to genes, cells and the organisms around us. You will be immersed in a field of constant discovery. New knowledge emerges every year, along with new applications in the areas of biotechnology, medicine, forensics, and much more.

Life Sciences involves laboratory science and most of your courses will have lab sections to help you gain hands-on experience. Other courses will have outdoor labs in the unique natural settings of the Macdonald Campus. Its fields, forests and lakeshore are ideal places to explore life in all its complexity. As you progress in your program, you can follow your own path of discovery in a laboratory, with a field project or internship. Investigating microbes in the Arctic, researching epigenetics in Grenoble, France, working on improving water and soil quality in Shanghai, and interning at a veterinary clinic in Quebec are some of the ways our students have spent their summers.

For more information, please contact the bsc-advisor.agenvsc [at] mcgill.ca (student advisor).

Specializations

Each specialization consists of 24 credits of courses (required and complementary) that provide a coherent package designed to prepare you for a future career in a given discipline.

Suggested Specializations

  • Animal Biology: Biology of large mammals and birds; Animal physiology, reproduction, genetics and biotechnology; Can lead to veterinary medicine, pharmaceutical industry or animal science research
  • Animal Health and Disease: Animal physiology, function and disease; Understanding of disease prevention and treatment in domestic animals; Can lead to an opportunity to pursue veterinary medicine
  • Life Sciences (Multidisciplinary): A flexible, multidisciplinary approach to the study of pure and applied life sciences
  • Microbiology and Molecular Biotechnology: Pure and applied microbiology, molecular genetics and pathogenicity, environmental microbiology, genomics, biotechnology and bioinformatics; A strong emphasis on lab-based learning
  • Plant Biology: Molecular, biochemical and cellular biology of plants; Management of plant diversity and beneficial plant interactions; Active learning to identify and propagate plants for multiple purposes: food, fibre, fuel and medicinal compounds

Some students may also choose to do a Wildlife Biology specialization.

May I take any other specializations?

You will need to select at least one specialization. However, if you wish to broaden your training, you have the option of choosing to do two specializations. Click here to view the complete list.

Courses

The Life Sciences Major consists of a core of 42 credits plus a 24-credit Specialization. To view the list of courses:
Bachelor of Science (Agricultural and Environmental Sciences) (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) - Major Life Sciences (Biological and Agricultural) (42 Credits)

 

Careers

Career paths include:

■ Veterinary science/medicine
■ Food and fermentation industries
■ Bioscience and pharmaceutical industries
■ Agricultural biotechnology
■ Environmental sciences
■ Forensic sciences

For more career options: mcgill.ca/caps/discipline

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