Microbiology: Pathogens & Biotechnology

• Practice laboratory safety, aseptic technique, microscopy, and notebook documentation

• Label agar plates and use continuous and three-phase streak methods

• Prepare slides to compare bacteria, fungi, molds, and microbial movement

• Collect and analyze environmental samples from campus water sites

• Test handwashing methods, antibiotics, and natural antimicrobial substances

• Identify an unknown microorganism and present its research significance

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Use microscopy, culture methods, and aseptic procedures safely

• Explain microbial growth, transmission, and responses to antimicrobial conditions

• Support a microbial identification with documented observations and test evidence

You’ll leave with your laboratory notebook, unknown-microbe presentation, and a certificate of completion.

Students receive a University of Texas branded certificate of completion at the end of the program.

Microbiology makes scientific method visible at a small scale. Aseptic technique protects a sample from contamination, a laboratory notebook preserves the steps behind a result, and microscopy turns morphology and movement into observable evidence. Students learn that an identification is credible only when the process can be explained.

Experiments involving handwashing and antibiotics connect laboratory choices with infection control and public health. Comparing observations over time strengthens attention to detail, while an unknown-sample project requires students to combine multiple clues rather than rely on one test. These habits support future biology, biotechnology, medicine, environmental science, and laboratory research.

For students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.

If you enjoy looking closely and using tests to solve a scientific problem, this course makes the invisible world of microbes more tangible. Interests in disease, biotechnology, medicine, or environmental science all connect with the laboratory work.

Expect to handle cultures under safety and aseptic procedures, collect environmental samples, keep a detailed notebook, and give a ten-minute presentation. Patient observation matters because useful evidence develops over time.

Studying on UT Austin’s Forty Acres campus gives high-school students a substantive introduction to academic life in Austin, Texas. Courses draw from popular undergraduate fields and Austin specialties. Full-day academies offer concentrated study, while classes across the program take place in campus classrooms and laboratories and may include guest speakers and fieldwork around Austin.

The experience extends beyond class for both residential and commuting students. Residential students live in Jester Hall, eat at J2, a popular campus dining hall, and take part in activities that may range from a star party at PMA to time at Gregory Gym, Zilker Park, South Congress, or an Austin FC match. Students gain independence, meet peers, and leave with a clearer view of college life, possible directions for future study, and what it can feel like to be a Longhorn.