Greenhouse & Nature Preserves
Ohio Wesleyan maintains multiple “living labs.” At OWU, you’ll find the Moore Greenhouse with almost 500 specimens from around the world, a campus arboretum, and two forested nature preserves a short drive from campus.
Explore Science at OWU
Ohio Wesleyan prepares students for top graduate programs and successful careers in science and technology. How? You work closely with professors who are mentors. You perform hands-on research. And you may even land a summer internship or research spot at a major university, technology company, or hospital.
In just the past few years, our science graduates have moved on directly to Stanford, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and other top universities in fields from Astrophysics to Zoology.
In fact, the National Science Foundation lists Ohio Wesleyan as one of the top universities in America for the number of its graduates who complete doctoral degrees in science, math, and engineering.
Today, our more recent graduates are working at organizations such as SpaceX, Facebook, Battelle, the Columbus Zoo, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
And new in 2021, a new $830,000 Choose Ohio First grant from the State of Ohio will fund additional scholarships for new students majoring in STEM fields.
You can complete the Choose Ohio First scholarship application here.
We think three core traits make OWU's science program one of the most successful in the country.
- Your rock-solid scientific education will be grounded in a foundation in the liberal arts. You will learn to think critically, connect knowledge across disciplines, communicate well, and understand the complex social, economic, and cultural implications of the scientific problems you tackle.
- You will learn in an environment of academic teamwork and support. That's how science works best and progresses fastest. OWU stresses collaboration over competition.
- No one can teach experience. At OWU, you will gain hands-on science experience as you work with faculty on mentored research projects, use first-class lab facilities on campus, perform fieldwork and interact with environments in locations around the world, and participate in internships at research centers, hospitals, museums, and universities.
Science & The OWU Connection
The OWU Connection gives you the broad-based knowledge, global skills, and real-world experience that will help you tackle tomorrow's most important challenges in science & technology.
Think Big
Solving today’s biggest challenges requires the understanding and insight you develop by working closely with professors to uncover connections that link different disciplines - and exploring new knowledge through research.
Undergraduate research is a core part of The OWU Connection. Our science students develop independent projects working with faculty mentors, and in the 10-week Summer Science Research Program, students work in paid positions, carrying out research alongside faculty.
Go Global
Science is an international endeavor. As a science student at OWU, you can journey to distant lands for a week or two in Travel-Learning Courses or immerse yourself in another culture with a semester abroad.
Recent Travel-Learning Courses have taken science students to Brazil, Costa Rica, East Africa, the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador, and North Carolina.
European Space Agency
Professor Bob Harmon's Space Exploration class traveled to England and Germany, including a tour of the European Space Agency's Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications.
Galapagos Islands
For two weeks, an Island Biology class travels to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands with Zoology faculty to walk in the footsteps of Charles Darwin.
Studying Environmental Alterations
Students in Dr. Nathan Amador Rowley's Environmental Alterations classes traveled to Costa Rica in 2018 to study sustainability, responsible tourism, and local economies.
Get Real
Every science student has a variety of opportunities to take what you've learned in the classroom and put it to work in real-world settings. Some create unique research projects around the world, some intern at research and medical centers including the Mayo Clinic, and others receive grants to conduct research at major universities.
Science students have received University-funded Theory-to-Practice Grants for research projects from Bolivia to Japan to Vietnam.
Ohio Wildlife Center
Karis Lowrie '18 had internships at the Columbus Zoo and Ohio Wildlife Center, where she worked in animal rehabilitation. She was later hired at the Wildlife Center.
Facebook Internship
Lan Nguyen '18 completed a senior research project and two summer internships at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California. When Lan graduated, Facebook hired him as a software engineer.
Great Teaching
OWU science faculty are outstanding scholars and researchers—and passionate teachers. They will push you, challenge you, inspire you, and work with you on your own research projects.
They can even pack a 3-minute lecture with ideas, insight, and imagination. Check out our unique i³ lectures.
Highlights
Perkins Observatory
Advanced astronomical study is done at Ohio Wesleyan’s Perkins Observatory, which features a 32-inch reflecting telescope. Also on campus is the Student Observatory, with its 9-1/2-inch refracting telescope. Recently College Rank rated Perkins No. 15 out of the 35 best college observatories - the highest ranked among small-college observatories.
Lab Facilities
The Schimmel/Conrades Science Center is filled with labs and equipment not often found at small colleges. For their research, OWU students use a scanning transmission electron microscope, mass spectrometers, Linux lab, confocal and petrographic microscopes, fossil prep lab, herbarium and even a natural history museum.
Summer Research
Students have the opportunity to engage full-time in original research with faculty mentors, with free on-campus housing and a generous stipend for 10 weeks in the summer. Students present their findings at an all-college symposium and often also at national and international conferences.
Graduate Outcomes
Brad Turnwald ’13
A biochemistry major at OWU, Brad completed an OWU Connection internship at the European Molecular Biology Laboratories in Germany, conducted research with an OWU alumnus at the University of Texas, and was named a Goldwater Scholar. He is now a Ph.D. student at Stanford, where he received an NSF graduate research fellowship.
OWU Science News
Cats, Dogs – and Elephants!
Make The Connection – April 7, 2021
Ohio Wesleyan Student Interns at Columbus Zoo, Delaware Humane Society
More information
Choose Ohio First
Press Release – April 5, 2021
Ohio Wesleyan Receives Grant to Provide STEM Scholarships to New Students
More information
Purple Reign
Make The Connection – March 25, 2021
Probing Protest Waves
Make The Connection – March 22, 2021
A Capitol Collection
Feature Story – March 2, 2021
More News Headlines
A Look at OWU Science
See All 8 ItemsAfter graduating in 2008 with a degree in astrophysics and mathematics, Rachael Roettenbacher eared a Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Michigan. She returned to speak at OWU about her research on starspots, which was published in the renowned scientific journal Nature.
Rising Star
After graduating in 2008 with a degree in astrophysics and mathematics, Rachael Roettenbacher eared a Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Michigan. She returned to speak at OWU about her research on starspots, which was published in the renowned scientific journal Nature.
Physics & Astronomy Professor Robert Harmon (right) explains the workings of the student observatory to Amanda Jewell ’19 (center) and Brooke Kimsey-Miller (Indiana University) during a summer research project in which they collected data on starspots.
Starspot Search
Physics & Astronomy Professor Robert Harmon (right) explains the workings of the student observatory to Amanda Jewell ’19 (center) and Brooke Kimsey-Miller (Indiana University) during a summer research project in which they collected data on starspots.
Delanie Baker ’19, a Microbiology major from Santa Paula, California, earned an American Society for Microbiology Undergraduate Research Fellowship to support summer research to study megaviruses from diverse habitats in Iceland.
Iceland Microbiology Research
Delanie Baker ’19, a Microbiology major from Santa Paula, California, earned an American Society for Microbiology Undergraduate Research Fellowship to support summer research to study megaviruses from diverse habitats in Iceland.
From left, Psychology Professor Kira Bailey works with Lexi Lease ’19, Mickey Rice ’19, and Malia Walker ’19 on a summer research project to study the effects of video game exposure on cognitive control.
Summer Neuroscience Research
From left, Psychology Professor Kira Bailey works with Lexi Lease ’19, Mickey Rice ’19, and Malia Walker ’19 on a summer research project to study the effects of video game exposure on cognitive control.
From left, Mira Jacobs (Syracuse University) and Eugene Kramskoi ’19 work to create a program that will intelligently play the board game Pandemic, a summer research project with Mathematics & Computer Science Professor Sean McCulloch.
Developing Board Game AI
From left, Mira Jacobs (Syracuse University) and Eugene Kramskoi ’19 work to create a program that will intelligently play the board game Pandemic, a summer research project with Mathematics & Computer Science Professor Sean McCulloch.
Each September, students who participated in the Summer Science Research Program display and discuss their work.
Research Symposium
Each September, students who participated in the Summer Science Research Program display and discuss their work.
From left, Botany & Microbiology Professor Suren Ambegaokar works with Maddie Meyer ’19 and Landry Cowles ’19 to explore conditions for best growing neuron-like cells in vitro from tumor cells.
Summer Research in Microbiology
From left, Botany & Microbiology Professor Suren Ambegaokar works with Maddie Meyer ’19 and Landry Cowles ’19 to explore conditions for best growing neuron-like cells in vitro from tumor cells.
An Astronomy Travel-Learning class visits Stonehenge.
Stonehenge
An Astronomy Travel-Learning class visits Stonehenge.
Department Contact Info
Location
Office of the Provost
University Hall 108
Delaware, OH 43015
University Hall 108
Delaware, OH 43015