Course Program For Environmental Biology Majors
The major in Biology is designed to offer students a rigorous program in environmental biology as well as fundamental skills in communicating science to the broader community.
Program for majors
The program is described in detail below in the following sections:
Biology Courses (required and elective), Additional Science Courses, and Senior Thesis. Completion of all requirements is necessary to obtain the major.
AP-credit in Biology
- The Biology AP or Environmental Science AP exam will apply for credit.
- Students who receive a score of 5 on either AP exams will receive 2 credits of upper division biology and will receive the equivalent of a 4-credit nonmajors course (this is recorded as a College elective course).
- Students with a score of 4 on either AP exam will receive 1 credit of upper division biology elective and will receive the equivalent of a 3-credit nonmajors course (this is recorded as a College elective course).
Courses in the first year
Normally, the first year includes biology, chemistry, mathematics and general education courses:
Fall term: We recommend 4 courses and seminar:
Spring term: 5 courses is the normal load:
- Foundations in Biology II with laboratory (BIOL-104)
- General Chemistry with laboratory (CHEM-002, -010)
- Mathematics (unless requirement is completed)
- General Education (two courses): language, English, History, Philosophy or Theology
Courses in the upper years
- Second year, fall term: BIOL-152 Genetics
- Second year, fall term: BIOL-180 Ecology
- Second year, spring term: STIA-102 Environmental Science
- Second year, spring term: BIOL-251 Evolutionary Processes
- Third year, fall term: BIOL-386 Ecological Analysis
- Fourth year, spring term: BIOL-xxx Communicating Biology
Program for Majors
1. Biology Courses Required
Required core courses
(32 credits):
- BIOL-101 First-year seminar (1 credit). This course is required for first year students and is recommended for transfer students and those students who enter the program after the first-year (contact the department chair or your advisor).
- BIOL-103 Foundations in Biology I (4 credits)
- BIOL-104 Foundations in Biology II (4 credits)
- BIOL-152 Genetics (4 credits)
- BIOL-180 Ecology (4 credits)
- BIOL-251 Evolutionary Processes (4 credits)
- BIOL-386 Ecological Analysis (4 credits)
- BIOL-xxx Communicating Science (3 credits) [under development]
- Senior Thesis - choose one of these (4 credits total)
- BIOL-311 (fall) and BIOL-312 (spring) Critical Analysis of the Literature
- BIOL-321 (fall) and BIOL-322 (spring) Laboratory Research
- BIOL-331 (fall) and BIOL-332 (spring) Teaching Biology
Elective courses
(5 courses, 15 credits minimum) Students must take one course from each of Groups A, B and C, and two other courses.
Group A: Ecology and Behavior
- BIOL-226 Animal Behavior
- BIOL-268 Global Climate Change Ecology
- BIOL-355 Forest Ecology
- BIOL-364 Microbiology
- BIOL-365 Conservation Biology
- BIOL-366 Marine Biology
- BIOL-375 Plant-Animal Interactions
Group B: Environmental, Earth and Quantitative Sciences
- COSC-071 Computer Science I
- STIA-311 Environmental Geomorphology
- STIA-370 Oceans
- STIA-410 Atmospheric Sciences
- STIA-412 Climate Science and Policy
- STIA-441 GIS in Environment and Health
- STIA-448 Water and the Environment
Group C: Populations, Genes and Genomes
- BIOL-360 Molecular Evolution
- BIOL-367 Population Genetics
- BIOL-379 Bioinformatics
Other Upper-level Electives
- ECON-275 Environmental Economics (NB-requires ECON-001)
- GOVT-354 Environmental Politics
- GOVT-331 Politics of Natural Resources
- STIA-352 Journalism in Science, Environment & Health
- STIA-366 Environment in Africa
- STIA-375 Environment and Security
- STIA-407 Sustainable Agriculture
- STIA-415 Population, Agriculture and Environment: Latin America
- STIA-416 Issues in International and Comparative Science Policy
- STIA-425 Biosecurity and Agricultural Security
- STIA-490 Survey of Population Problems
Total credit requirements: a minimum of 47 credits
2. Additional Science Courses Required
- CHEM-001/-009 and -002/-010 General Chemistry with laboratory (10 credits total)
- MATH-035 Calculus I and -040 Probability and Statistics or MATH-140 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics (8 credit total)
- STIA-102 Intro to Environmental Science (3 credits)
3. Comprehensive Exam
A comprehensive exam is required of all seniors. This exam will be administered during the fall term and will consist of the GRE exam to test biology content knowledge.
4. Senior Thesis
A senior thesis is a departmental degree requirement. Each Environmental Biology major is required to complete one of the three senior thesis options offered by the department. The thesis is conducted over two semesters in the senior year and is awarded a total of four credits. However, students may begin research earlier, generally in the third year and in the summer between the third and fourth years.
The three senior thesis options are research in the laboratory, field or computer-based [courses BIOL-321 and BIOL-322], teaching biology at the high school level [courses BIOL-331 and BIOL-332], and critical analysis of the literature [courses BIOL-311 and BIOL-312]. Students choose from faculty in our department or outside of the department (although a departmental co-mentor must also be identified).
Senior Thesis - choose one of these (4 credits total)
- BIOL-311 (fall) and BIOL-312 (spring) Critical Analysis of the Literature
- BIOL-321 (fall) and BIOL-322 (spring) Laboratory or Field Research
- BIOL-331 (fall) and BIOL-333 (spring) Teaching Biology
