Biology Major's Portfolio

Purpose

The purpose of this requirement is two-fold: to help prepare students for careers by allowing them an opportunity to organize, articulate, and exhibit the skills they have acquired and assemble them in the form of a CV, and to allow them an opportunity for self reflection as they grow and develop as scientists and adults.

Procedure:

1.Your portfolio must be a web page linked through your home page. Remember that all images, backgrounds, etc, must be located in your web folder with your front page or they will not link correctly to your portfolio.
2. Your portfolio should include a cover page, areas 3-5 from the Career Readiness section, and the first two questions from Self Reflection.
3. Additionally, your portfolio will include products from each class, such as your module mystery presentations, and any other products that you deem important.

Organization of the Portfolio

The portfolio was initiated at the beginning of the sophomore year during Genetics class. There were required assignments for the portfolio during both Genetics and Systematic Biology. The junior and senior years will be spent working independently on the portfolio, with a final portfolio to be presented during Senior Seminar during the spring of the senior year. The portfolios may also be discussed with advisors during meetings throughout the student's career.

Portfolio Requirements

Career Readiness

The most extensive section of the portfolio is the Career Readiness section. There are six areas to this section. For each area you will be required to provide both a narrative section describing your abilities or accomplishments, and also some evidence of this skill. For example, evidence of Written Communication skills could be links to a paper that you have written. Evidence of Laboratory Skills could be a scan of a gel that you have run. For other areas, you might have to think harder about your skills, and how you can demonstrate them.

The six areas are:

1. Written Communication Skills
2. Oral Communication Skills
3. Quantitative Skills
4. Laboratory Skills
5. Experience (internships, independent research)
6. Leadership and Teamwork

Self Reflection

A second and smaller section of the portfolio is the Self Reflection section. For this section, you will be asked to reflect on your biology experience in a broader context. Questions that you might ask yourself could include:

What skills and abilities do successful scientists have?
Which of these skills do I have and which do I need to develop?
What are my plans to develop the skills I lack?
What classes do I most enjoy? What do these courses have in common, and what implications does this have for me in terms of career choices?
What are my career goals? Why am I interested in this career? What abilities do I have which make this an appropriate career goal for me?

CV.

The final section of the portfolio, to be completed during senior seminar, is the CV. You should think of the Career Readiness section as a storage trunk from which you can pull out artifacts which will enable you to prepare a CV. These CVs will be tailored for your immediate career goals, including graduate school, jobs, professional school, etc.