The Department of Botany offers the Ecology and Evolution Concentration for Biology majors. This concentration will prepare students for a career or further graduate study. Students will receive the academic training to become park naturalists, environmental consultants, restoration ecologists, natural resource managers, conservation scientists, environmental educators, and research technicians in academic or government agencies. In addition to core concepts and theories, this concentration will teach students important skills that are required in the workforce, including organism identification, quantitative reasoning, data analysis, and scientific communication. Students also will have opportunities to participate in faculty research projects, which will train them for graduate research, careers in scientific discovery, or any endeavor where critical thinking and problem solving are essential components of the vocation.
To fulfill the requirements of the concentration, students will select five courses that meet a minimum of 15 credit hours in addition to what is required for the Biology Major. These will be selected from a variety of upper-division (3000-4000) courses that satisfy their individual interests (listed below).
Students must select
- one course in organismal biology (A),
- one course in ecology (B),
- one course in evolution (C),
- any one additional course from these three categories,
- and one fourth-year capstone course (D).
Students who concentrate in Ecology and Evolution should plan to take LIFE 3500 - Evolutionary Biology in their third year to be able to take an additional evolution course before graduating. All courses listed below will count toward this concentration. However, there are many other excellent courses offered across campus that are relevant to this concentration. Students can obtain approval to take other courses that are not included on the list below to satisfy the requirements of the concentration.