Biology Capstone
The senior capstone — small-cohort synthesis of biology coursework, broader disciplines, and the direction ahead.
Course Description
BIO 490 is the culminating course of the Bachelor of Science in Biology and one expression of ACU's broader senior capstone model. Biology majors meet in small classes of 10–12 students, with peers from the same academic discipline, to synthesize and connect what their four years actually added up to.
The course is built around three kinds of synthesis: across the disciplines that have shaped students' education, across the specific biology courses they've taken, and between their academic work and the path they're stepping into after graduation — all framed by a biblical worldview and the conviction that God's truth holds the threads together.
Taught By
Offered 2026-2027: Fall Traditional · 2026-2027: Spring Traditional.
Prerequisites
- Senior Standing in the Biology Major
Corequisites
- None
Learning Outcomes
Synthesize the Biology Major
Connect coursework across cellular, organismal, ecological, and applied biology into one coherent picture.
Bridge Disciplines
Place biology within the broader liberal arts education students have completed.
Articulate Your Direction
Name where the major is taking you — graduate school, professional health programs, research, or industry — and how it prepared you.
Engage Your Cohort
Learn from peers in the same discipline who are headed in different directions out of it.
Produce Culminating Work
Demonstrate the integration of four years of biology study in a synthesis project.
Biblical Worldview Connection
The capstone reflects ACU's conviction that a Christian liberal arts education isn't a stack of separate subjects — it's a coherent formation. BIO 490 is where biology seniors get the chance to see that coherence for themselves, with a biblical worldview as the frame holding the rest together.
Explore Programs With This Course
BIO 490 brings the entire biology major into focus. Explore the programs that include it.
