The University of Delaware Department of Biological Sciences is in a period of change. Pressures, both internally and externally, are driving towards a greater teaching demand. The University of Delaware itself is under a leadership directive that has all departments focusing on performance goals along the lines of peer institutions from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) and the corresponding field's national expectations. Since the Department of Biological Sciences has not undergone an internal or external review in more than five years, it seemed timely to find out how its programs align with national recommendations and best practices in biology education. Several sources were utilized to explore the department's core program. Alignment of program goals with the national recommendations was determined through content analysis of the American Association for the "Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call for Action" (AAAS, 2011). Private documents from the Department of Biological Sciences such as the last two Academic Program Reviews, Strategic Plan, and Curricular Mapping initiatives were also analyzed for evidence of alignment with the AAAS recommendations. Alignment with the University of Delaware's General Education outcome goals was examined using the Department of Biological Sciences public websites including Course Offerings, Degree Requirements, Chair's Welcome, and Undergraduate Program pages. Finally, several faculty in the department who teach the required courses for the B.S and B.A. biology majors were interviewed for their perceptions on the department, curriculum change, alignment with national recommendations and suggestions for improvement. After examining the research literature, analyzing an extensive set of documents, and interviewing a sample of faculty, I developed a set of recommendations pertaining to three improvement goals. Improving the outcomes for goal one include aligning their public profile and curriculum with peer and aspirational institutions as well as the national recommendations from AAAS. Recommendations for this goal include 1) creating a new strategic plan, public profile, and Chair's Welcome emphasizing career paths, 2) increasing the focus on Ecology and Evolution content as well as utilization of models and simulation skill set, and 3) restructuring the Biotechnology degree to include more bioinformatics or computational biology. Improving the outcomes for goal two should include better alignment with the University of Delaware General Education goals. Recommendations for goal two include 1) having course instructors consider including creative ideation and ethical implications, 2) certifying courses that satisfy General Education requirements, and 3) advertising such courses as options for non-majors or as efficient option for life science majors. The third goal includes increasing the quality of scientific content and skills development in the planned and taught curriculum. Recommendations for this goal are 1) beginning a new culture of advancing instructional development, 2) reconsidering promotion and tenure requirements to include instructional performance or development, 3) creating courses focusing on developmental biology, and 4) to consider following instructional models coming from integrated Biology and Chemistry for all introductory courses. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]