Need Help Choosing a Science Major? Turn to the Experts

There are many ways to explore the sciences at RIC. With six lab science majors and two that are science related, it may be hard to decide which one to choose. Intro courses are a good place to start – you can accumulate credits and satisfy your curiosity, but you can also look to your favorite sci-fi movies and TV shows. Here’s a handy guide:

Biology

“The Martian” (2015)

In this Ridley Scott film, biologist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) gets stranded on the surface of Mars, where he must survive using ingenuity and infrequent communications with a NASA crew. The biggest problem is figuring out how to grow food on a planet that lacks water and micronutrient soil. As Watney puts it, “In the face of overwhelming odds, I’m left with only one option. I’m going to have to science the shit out of this.” 

A biology major at RIC will give you a broad-based knowledge of living things. If you’ve ever wondered whether you could grow potatoes in space, a biology major might be fertile ground to explore your wonderings.

Chemistry

“Breaking Bad” (2008-2013)

Walter White might be the world’s most famous (infamous?) chemistry teacher. The anti-hero of this five-season crime drama goes from mild-mannered educator to drug dealer when he’s diagnosed with lung cancer and becomes desperate to provide his family with financial security before he dies. Using his knowledge of chemistry, and the assistance of a former student, he becomes “Heisenberg,” the meth kingpin of New Mexico. 

A chemistry major at RIC will help you build a foundation in all areas of chemistry – analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic and physical. If the science of substances gets your beakers bubbling, this might be your field of study. Of course, we shouldn’t have to say this but we’re going to anyway, the knowledge you gain in this field should only be used for safe, legal and genuinely scientific purposes.

Physics

“Oppenheimer” (2023)

Director Christopher Nolan might just be an alchemist (the ancient pseudo-science) for the way he turned a 700-plus page biography of a long-dead physicist into box office gold, but he’s known for using real science to inspire thrilling stories and mind-bending visuals (see also 2014’s “Interstellar”). This Oscar frontrunner reimagines theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer’s quest to harness the power of the atom as a gripping thriller about politics, power and the ways in which science can forever alter our existence.

A physics major at RIC features a strong foundation in quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, classical mechanics and electromagnetism. If you’re interested in unlocking the mysteries of the universe (hopefully for more constructive purposes than the Manhattan Project), physics may pull you into its gravitational field.

Biotechnology

“Blade Runner” (1982) and “Blade Runner 2049” (2017)

One of the most iconic sci-fi films of all time (and its belated sequel) envisions a future in which a shadowy corporation bio-engineers synthetic humanoids, known as “replicants,” to provide cheap labor for space colonies. When a group of replicants revolts and escapes back to Earth, “blade runner” Rick Deckard is hired to track them down and “retire” them. 

Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary major, encompassing courses in biology, chemistry, computer science, math and physics – everything you need to create a replicant. If you’ve ever wondered whether androids dream of electric sheep (that’s the name of the novel on which the film is based), biotech might be the way to find the answers.

Computer Science

“The Matrix” (1999) 

This mind-bending film directed by the Wachowskis involves Neo (Keanu Reeves), a software developer by day and a hacker by night, who discovers that the world doesn’t exist. It’s actually a form of virtual reality designed to lull us into lives of blind obedience to the “system.” Neo is chosen as the Messianic “One” to crack the Matrix and free mankind.

Computer science is not specifically a lab science, like those above, but it does include very scientific pursuits, such as object-oriented design, data structures, programming languages, operating systems, analysis of algorithms and software engineering. If you want to learn how to bend the Matrix to your will, computer science might just be “the one” for you.

Data Science

“Moneyball” (2011)

This is the best – and only – movie out there about the dawn of the data age in sports. Brad Pitt stars as Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, who, by using advanced statistical analysis, was able to bring one of the lowest-paid teams in baseball into a 103-win season and a playoff appearance, overcoming much better-funded competitors.

The data science major will teach you how to process and clean data, how to model trends appropriately, how to draw conclusions informed by mathematically sound techniques, how to employ machine learning and how to effectively communicate your findings. If you’re a stat head looking for the undervalued advantages in your fantasy league, this might be the program to get you on base.

Medical Imaging or Health Sciences

“Annihilation” (2018)

This visually inventive film from former sci-fi novelist Alex Garland sends a team of scientists, led by Natalie Portman as a biologist, into “The Shimmer,” a mysterious quarantine zone where some sort of alien presence is mutating plants and animals. As they venture deeper into the mystery, things get very weird indeed – and very scary. 

The medical imaging major offers concentrations in diagnostic medical sonography, magnetic resonance imaging, medical imaging management, nuclear medicine technology, radiologic technology and RT computed tomography – which might come in handy if you ever find that your fingerprints are suddenly moving and shifting before your very eyes. 

RIC’s health sciences major offers concentrations in human services and medical laboratory sciences, as well as completions in dental hygiene and respiratory therapy, which means you can probably stay behind and safely do your work from basecamp, instead of venturing into The Shimmer.