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biology department

biology department

1 3.2
A part of a university that teaches and studies living things like animals and plants
  • noun
  • /baɪˈɑlədʒi dɪˈpɑrtmənt/
translation icon : departamento de biología
  • The biology department at the university offers a variety of courses on ecology and genetics.

Why should any cleric decide who is going to be in the biology department?

Examples

  • The UCLA biology department built this as a student study area.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The two teach in the biology department at Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU), which is located in the parish.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The biology department would also then have to come on board with the project.

    Blog text (2)
  • - Alan was head of the biology department at the university before you came here.

  • The book had been recommended by the head of the biology department at Liberty High School.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The center is housed in the Science Building among the chemistry and biology departments.

    Academic text (1994)
  • So in 1961, John accepted a position in the biology department at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

    Academic text (2018)
  • As he wrapped up his career in the biology department at Saint Mary's College in Indiana, Thomas Platt wanted to make some noise.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Hi, my name is Lourdes Salaman and I'm a research scientist in the HDMI Education group in the Biology department at MIT.

  • Amy Baco-Taylor, a postdoctoral associate in the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution biology department, is collecting corals for a different reason: to compare the species found from one seamount to the next.

    Academic text (2002)

Surface Forms

Morphology

biology + department

The meaning 'the division of a college or university responsible for biology' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'biology' (the field of study) with 'department' (an organizational division). This noun+noun compositional pattern is common across languages and standard in English academic vocabulary, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The compound biology department joins biology, the study of living things, and department, a part of a college that looks after one subject. Picture a group of rooms, teachers and labs all focused on plants and animals, so the phrase means 'the part of a college or university that does the teaching and research in biology'.