Biological Sciences home pageBeginning in Fall, 2003, the Biological Sciences Department will offer its fifth major, Environmental Biology. Curriculum sheets will soon be available, and students can discuss transferring to the major with their advisors at any time.
The field of environmental biology addresses the urgent need to preserve, protect, and restore the life support systems of our planet. Environmental biologists are charged with such diverse responsibilities as maintaining healthy workplaces and homes, sustaining production of food and other agricultural products, ensuring the health of natural ecosystems, and preserving the diversity of life on our planet. The Environmental Biology program prepares students to solve these and many other complex environmental problems.
The Environmental Biology curriculum includes a set of required core courses in biology, a selection of upper-division courses in biology and related fields, required support courses offered by other departments and colleges, and general education courses. Students select most of their upper-division courses from one of three clusters, each of which represents a specialized body of knowledge within the broad field of environmental biology.
The conservation biology cluster trains students to identify and protect critical habitat, manage rare and endangered species, and design ecological preserves. The ecosystem ecology and management cluster equips students to conduct ecological field research, manage natural resources on public and private lands, and assess environmental impacts of proposed actions. The environmental microbiology and biotechnology cluster emphasizes laboratory research to assess water and air quality, transport and fate of pollutants, and environmental health in general.
All students in the program are required to complete an internship with a participating agency or private organization or to conduct an independent research project. This introduces students to potential employers and provides valuable problem-solving experience to complement classroom and laboratory studies.
