The Faculty of Biology was established on September 19,1955. During its initial years as a new faculty, the Faculty of Biology experienced many dinamic changes. One of those that significantly influenced the development of the Faculty of Biology is the founding of the SPB. The SPB is study programs in bachelor degree in the Faculty of Biology, besides two other graduate study programs, those are Master Program and Doctorate Program in Biology. In 1983 until1995, the Faculty of Biology had three departments, those were: the Department of Botany, the Department of Zoology, and the Department of Environmental Biology. Afterward, in 1995, the three departments were merged into a single study program, that was called SPB.
As the result of intensive curriculum workshop held during 2008, the curriculum of SPB was improved in order to accomodate science vision and market signal. Furthermore, in 2009 the SPB was then developed into 3 streams, namely, (i) biodiversity and environmental biology (ii) functional biology, and (iii) molecular biology and biotechnology.
The improvement of curriculum, staff, and supporting facilities in the Faculty of Biology was intensified during 1997 to 2002 by the launching of Quality of Undergraduate Education (QUE)Project funded by the World Bank. In 2007 and 2008, the Faculty continuously advanced its educational system, particularly its learning strategy and method by the funding of World Class Research University Grant of Universitas Gadjah Mada (WCRU UGM).
Currently, the Faculty of Biology has been implementing the I-MHERE (Indonesian Managing Higher Education for Relevance and Efficiency) programs (2010-2012) sponsored by World Bank Project, focusing on improvement of ESD (Education for Sustainable Development)-based research for biodiversity conservation and quality improvement for postgraduate education.
In line with the university (UGM) vision that is to improve higher education learning towards a World Class Research University, the SPB as part of the Faculty of Biology has vision to become a leading SPB which is capable of producing competitive graduates with excellent knowledge in biology and able to conduct research, especially in the field of tropical biology that is recognized by international standards. In accordance with the vision, the missions of the Faculty of Biology are formulated as the General Missions and the Special Missions. The General Missions are (1) to promote excellent teaching-learning opportunities and community services through research; (2) to have a good networking with other higher education institutions, government agencies, private sectors, and industries, both in national and international levels, in carrying out Tri Dharma Perguruan Tinggi (Three Pillars of Higher Education Services). The Special Missions are (1) to achieve good governance of the study programs and to generate quality scholars in the field of biology; (2) to carry out quality research that supports teaching and learning process, as well as community service; (3) to provide expert services to the community in the field of biology and its application.