Biology is the study of living organisms at molecular, cellular, organismal and ecological levels. It deals with fundamental questions such as the origin and evolution of organisms, interactions between living organisms and their environment. It also deals with mechanism of embryonic development, structure and function of the living cell and its organelles, molecular basis of inheritance, biochemical and genetic basis of human diseases, and the operation of the brain and the nervous system. The study of Biology also has vast practical applications. The knowledge, methods and concepts developed through research in the various fields of Biology are applied extensively in agriculture, medicine, environmental protection, wildlife management, biotechnology and genetic engineering. The department has the vision to strive to be a leading center of knowledge in Ethiopia. Scientific Biological knowledge will be applied towards poverty reduction, participate in the process of improvement and development of science & technology in Ethiopia.

The Department of Biology, Bahir Dar University, was part of the Science Teachers Training Program (STTP) of the then Alemaya College of Agriculture until 1984. In 1984 it was transferred to the Academy of Pedagogy and had been offering Diploma in teaching Biology for Junior Secondary School Teachers until 1996. The program leading to the degree (B.Ed in Biology) was launched by the year 1996 to train senior secondary school teachers.

The establishment of Bahir Dar University in May 2001 has opened a way for the expansion of the existing programs and launching of new faculties and then the department of Biology became a part of the Faculty of Education. In September 2005 the department launched a new graduate study program, Master of Education in Biology (MED). With its growing interest the department has recently also opened Master of Science in Biology (MSc).

In the under graduate program, Until September 2008, the department was offering B.Ed in Biology (Bachelor of education in Biology) degrees in the regular and in-service programs. However, starting from September 2008, national curriculum changes are undergoing and this curriculum is prepared to replace B.Ed in Biology by BSc in Biology.

The major courses offered by the department in this newly designed curriculum are categorized into Zoology, Botany, Genetics, Microbiology, Molecular, Ecology, Aquatic, Conservation and other Environmental courses. These provide the students with a strong foundation in biological sciences and to coordinate and lead activates of environmental conservation.

In addition to its formal teaching activities, the department of Biology, Bahir Dar University, is working closely with regional and national organizations, such as Agricultural Research Organizations, Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission (ESTC), the Amhara Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI), Semien Mountains National Park and Amhara, National Regional State Water, Energy and Mines Bureau, and Regional Health Research laboratory.

2. Rationale for changing the curriculum

Currently industries, research, agriculture, health and educational institutions are steadily growing in Ethiopia. This has created ample opportunities for biologists to play a role in the country’s development. Their contribution will, however, greatly depend on the quality of education they receive in universities. The current curriculum has been criticized for lacking relevant and applied courses in addition to showing unbalanced time allocation between courses in terms of credit hours, repetition of contents in different courses, content deficiency, outdated courses, insufficient or inadequate practical activities.

These weaknesses of the existing curriculum have been identified through need assessment studies based on consultation with stakeholders, university instructors and students as well as in the National Workshop on Need Assessment held at Akaki Postgraduate Campus (AAU) from May 22 to 25, 2008. At the Workshop the need for the change of the natural science curricula in all public universities of the country was strongly underlined.

Regarding the existing undergraduate Biology Curriculum, the following have been identified as some of the weaknesses:

• The Curriculum does not provide enough credit hours in biology as well as in supportive courses;
• Adequate time is not allotted to properly cover the contents of many courses; thus some topics in the courses are left uncovered or not properly covered due to time constraints;
• The Curriculum is deficient in practical/technique oriented courses;
• The Curriculum does not adequately address some timely and relevant biological topics such as biotechnology, biodiversity conservation.

As the result of the above indicated and other weaknesses identified about the existing curriculum, there is a strong interest by stakeholders, instructors and alumni students alike that graduates from the Program are not up to the standards that are expected of BSc graduates in biology. Based on the above findings, the present undergraduate biology curriculum change has been undertaken.

In the process of changing the curriculum, the previous undergraduate curricula of the Department were studied, and undergraduate curricula of some foreign universities were consulted and opinions of stakeholders, instructors and students were taken into consideration. The following points have been considered in revising the curriculum:

• A number of new and timely courses with emphasis on laboratory techniques and field practical have been included;

• Core biology courses from the old curriculum have been incorporated into the new curriculum with and without change of credit hours;

• Several pertinent courses in the old biology curriculum which have not been offered due to time constraints have now been activated and included in the new curriculum;

• Courses with overlapping contents have been merged;

• Several redundant courses were left out of the new curriculum

• To effectively deliver the program the curriculum is devised as a three year program.

3. Program Objectives

3. 1 General objective

To train biologists of high academic standard at bachelor of science level who can take up positions in different sectors such as teaching, research, agriculture, health, conservation of natural recourses, industries and other sectors.

3.2 Specific objectives

The program is aimed to:

- produce candidates that can apply the theories and concepts of biology and related science fields that are essential to being competent biologists.

- enable students acquire practical and technical skills required for utilizing biological tools

- produce responsible graduates that are committed to their profession.

- train students who can design and apply the principles of biology to solve societal problems with regard to environment, agriculture, health, industry and teaching.