Ecology, Evolution & Biodiversity, B.S.
Learn more about the Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity.
The Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity (EEB) will prepare students for rigorous advanced study in these fields and subsequent careers in academic, governmental, or non-governmental research institutions. The curriculum has a strong foundation in theory, empirical approaches and quantitative methods, providing students with core competencies that will make them competitive for positions in academia as laboratory technicians, government environmental management agencies, non-governmental organizations dealing with conservation and restoration, environmental consulting, and formal and informal education. Students will also be well prepared for top graduate programs in these fields and other related subjects.
Undergraduate Contact Information:
Dr. Robert Sanders, Chair
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 255
215-204-8851
Dr. Erik Cordes, Vice Chair
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 315A
erik.cordes@temple.edu
215-204-8876
Dr. Brent Sewall, Faculty Advisor
Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity Majors
Biology-Life Sciences Building, Room 203
215-204-6115
bjsewall@temple.edu
Bachelor of Science
Summary of Requirements for the Degree
- University Requirements (123 total s.h.)
- Students must complete all University requirements including those listed below.
- All Temple students must take a minimum of two writing-intensive courses at Temple as part of their major. The specific writing-intensive course options for this major are:
Course List Code Title Credit Hours BIOL 2296 Genetics 4 BIOL XX96 3-4 - Students must complete the General Education (GenEd) requirements.
- See the General Education section of the Undergraduate Bulletin for the GenEd curriculum.
- Students who complete CST majors receive a waiver for 2 Science & Technology (GS) and 1 Quantitative Literacy (GQ) GenEd courses.
- Students must satisfy general Temple University residency requirements.
- College Requirements
- 45 Upper-Level (2000+) credits within the College of Science & Technology (CST), the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), or the College of Engineering (ENG).
- 90 credits within the College of Science & Technology (CST), the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), or the College of Engineering (ENG).
- All students in the College of Science and Technology are required to take a one credit first year seminar. SCTC 1001 CST First Year Seminar is the appropriate course option for every entering first year CST major. Transfer students should use SCTC 2001 CST Transfer Seminar to fulfill this requirement. Other courses that fulfill this requirement may be found on the CST College Requirements page.
- Major Requirements for Bachelor of Science (72-80 s.h.)
At least 9 courses required for the major must be completed at Temple. At least 6 Biology courses must be completed at Temple.Course List Code Title Credit Hours Biology BIOL 1111 Introduction to Organismal Biology 4 or BIOL 1911 Honors Introduction to Organismal Biology BIOL 2112 Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology 4 or BIOL 2912 Honors Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology BIOL 2227 Principles of Ecology 3 BIOL 2296 Genetics (S) 4 BIOL 3101 Evolution (F) 3 BIOL XX96 (Advanced Study in Biology: Senior Seminar WI) 3 Chemistry Select one of the following: 4 General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry Laboratory IHonors General Chemical Science I
and Honors Chemical Science Laboratory I (F)Select one of the following: 4 General Chemistry II
and General Chemistry Laboratory IIHonors General Chemical Science II
and Honors Chemical Science Laboratory II (S)Select one of the following: 4 Organic Chemistry I
and Organic Chemistry Laboratory IOrganic Chemistry for Honors I
and Organic Honors Laboratory I (F)Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity (EEB) Electives Select six of the following, with at least one in each category: 1 18-24 Ecology Experimental Marine Biology (Summer) Marine Ecology (F) Animal Behavior (S) Ecology of Invasive Species (F) Tropical Marine Biology (F, odd years) Plant Community Ecology (F) Life at the Extremes - Polar Biology Freshwater Ecology (F, even years) Field Research in Community Ecology (Summer) Biological Impacts of Global Climate Change (F) Biology research course in participating EEB lab 2Evolution Evolutionary Ecology (F) Genomics and Infectious Disease Dynamics (F) Human Evolution Introduction to Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Theoretical Population Genetics Evolutionary Genetics (S) Behavioral Genetics (F) Genomics and Evolutionary Biology of Parasites and Other Dependent Species (S) Genomic Biology Evolutionary Developmental Biology: Evo-Devo (S) Biology research course in participating EEB lab 2Biodiversity Invertebrate Biology (S) Parasitology (Not every year) Conservation Biology (F) Herpetology (S) General Microbiology (S) Biology of Plants (F) Biology research course in participating EEB lab 2Mathematics and Quantitative Methods MATH 1041 Calculus I 4 or MATH 1941 Honors Calculus I SCTC 1013 Elements of Data Science for the Physical and Life Sciences 3 Select two of the following: 6-8 Genome Analytics Biostatistics (F) Global Change Science: Analytics with R Remote Sensing and GIS Calculus II or MATH 1942Honors Calculus II Introduction to Probability and Statistics for the Life Sciences Physics PHYS 1021 Introduction to General Physics I 4 PHYS 1022 Introduction to General Physics II 4 Total Credit Hours 72-80 Course List Code Title Credit Hours (F) - Fall only course (S) - Spring only course 1 Additional course prerequisites may be required.
2 One Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity Elective, for a total of 4 credits, may be satisfied by a total of 4 credits of any combination of BIOL 2082, BIOL 3082, BIOL 3091, BIOL 3681, BIOL 3685, or BIOL 4291. The research courses may only be used to satisfy one EEB Elective.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Other Suggested Courses | ||
| These courses do not count for credits in the major but may be taken as free elective credits: 1,2 | ||
| ANTH 2001 | Evolution and Human Environments | 3 |
| ANTH 2763 | Anthropological Genetics | 3 |
| ANTH 2764 | Primate Behavior | 3 |
| ANTH 3196 | Methods in Environmental Archaeology | 3 |
| ANTH 3796 | Methods in the Study of Evolution | 3 |
| BIOL 2234 | Dinosaur Paleobiology | 3 |
| BIOL 3096 | Cell Structure and Function (F) | 4 |
| BIOL 3201 | Human Genetics (F) | 3 |
| BIOL 3265 | Developmental Biology (F) | 3 |
| BIOL 3324 | Molecular Biology (F) | 3 |
| BIOL 3325 | Research Techniques in Molecular Biology (S) | 3 |
| BIOL 3333 | Advanced Techniques in Microscopy (S) | 4 |
| BIOL 3334 | Mammalian Physiology (S) | 4 |
| BIOL 3337 | Comparative Biomechanics (F) | 3 |
| BIOL 3396 | Scientific Writing for Biology: The Art of Communicating | 3 |
| BIOL 4375 | General Biochemistry I | 3 |
| BOT 1111 | General Botany | 4 |
| BOT 1112 | Plant Ecology | 3 |
| BOT 3166 | Plant Taxonomy | 3 |
| CHEM 0877 | The Chemistry of Global Environmental Issues | 3 |
| ECON 1001 | Introduction to the Economy | 3 |
| ECON 3506 | Energy, Ecology, and Economy | 3 |
| EES 2001 | Physical Geology | 4 |
| EES 2002 | Energy and Environment | 3 |
| EES 2051 | Introduction to Data Visualization and Analysis for Earth and Environmental Science | 3 |
| EES 2096 | Climate Change: Oceans To Atmosphere | 4 |
| ENST 2001 | Environment and Society | 3 |
| ENST 2025 | Environmental Law and Regulation | 3 |
| ENST 2097 | Research Design in Environmental Studies | 3 |
| ENST 2157 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| ENST 2596 | 3 | |
| ENST 3051 | Environmental Policy Issues | 3 |
| ENST 3053 | Climatology | 3 |
| ENST 3062 | Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| ENST 3068 | Environmental Impact Assessment | 3 |
| ENVH 2102 | Environmental Health | 3 |
| ENVT 4761 | Environmental Regulations | 3 |
| HIST 3214 | North American Environmental History | 3 |
| HORT 2114 | Soils | 3 |
| JRN 3253 | Health and Environmental Writing | 3 |
| 1 | Additional course prerequisites may be required. |
| 2 | Courses in CST and CLA will count towards the College Requirements for overall and upper-level credits in CST, CLA, or ENG. |
Distinction in the Major
To be eligible for distinction in the major, a student must retain a grade point average of 3.2 or better (overall and in the major); should register for BIOL 4391 Accelerated Research in Biology or BIOL 4291 Extradepartmental Research for a total of 6 s.h. over two semesters; and must write a final research paper and present his/her research at a departmental research poster session before graduation. A student, however, does not have to enroll in the distinction program in order to participate in departmental research. Other courses (BIOL 2082 Independent Research I and BIOL 3082 Independent Research II), provide credit toward graduation and research experience, and are available to undergraduate students from their sophomore through their senior year. A student may register for BIOL 3082 more than one semester, however only one semester may be completed for a grade. The additional semester may be taken for credit/no credit. In all cases, permission of the faculty and application to the department Honors Committee is required before registering for research credits.
Calculation of Major GPA
Courses listed under the major requirements for the degree will be included in the calculation of the major GPA. Courses that could not apply toward the major as an elective or required course would not be counted in the calculation of the major GPA. This would include BIOL 1011, for example.
A total of up to 3 s.h. of Biology research courses numbered lower than 4000 (to include: BIOL 2082, BIOL 3082, BIOL 3181, BIOL 3281, and BIOL 3681) may be taken for a letter grade. Any additional credits in research courses in this category can be taken only on a CR/NC basis. No research courses numbered lower than 4000 may be used for Biology elective credit.
Suggested Academic Plan
Please note that this is a suggested academic plan. Depending on your situation, your academic plan may look different.
Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity
Requirements for New Students starting in the 2022-2023 Academic Year
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| BIOL 1111 or 1911 | Introduction to Organismal Biology | 4 |
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| General Chemistry I | ||
| Honors General Chemical Science I (F) | ||
| MATH 1041 or 1941 | Calculus I | 4 |
| SCTC 1001 | CST First Year Seminar | 1 |
| GenEd Breadth Course | 3 | |
| Term Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOL 2227 | Principles of Ecology | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| General Chemistry II | ||
| Honors General Chemical Science II (S) | ||
| SCTC 1013 | Elements of Data Science for the Physical and Life Sciences | 3 |
| ENG 0802, 0812, or 0902 | Analytical Reading and Writing [GW] | 4 |
| GenEd Breadth Course | 3 | |
| Term Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| BIOL 2112 or 2912 | Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology | 4 |
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| Organic Chemistry I | ||
| Organic Chemistry for Honors I (F) | ||
| PHYS 1021 | Introduction to General Physics I | 4 |
| IH 0851 or 0951 | Intellectual Heritage I: The Good Life [GY] | 3 |
| Term Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOL 2296 | Genetics [WI] (S) | 4 |
| Quantitative Methods 1, Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
| Genome Analytics | ||
| Biostatistics | ||
| Global Change Science: Analytics with R | ||
| Remote Sensing and GIS | ||
| Calculus II | ||
| Introduction to Probability and Statistics for the Life Sciences | ||
| PHYS 1022 | Introduction to General Physics II | 4 |
| IH 0852 or 0952 | Intellectual Heritage II: The Common Good [GZ] | 3 |
| Elective | 1-0 | |
| Term Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year 3 | ||
| Fall | ||
| BIOL 3101 | Evolution | 3 |
| Quantitative Methods 2, Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
| Genome Analytics | ||
| Biostatistics | ||
| Global Change Science: Analytics with R | ||
| Remote Sensing and GIS | ||
| Calculus II | ||
| Introduction to Probability and Statistics for the Life Sciences | ||
| EEB Elective 11 | 3-4 | |
| GenEd Breadth Course | 3-4 | |
| Elective | 3-0 | |
| Term Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| EEB Elective 21 | 3-4 | |
| EEB Elective 31 | 3-4 | |
| GenEd Breadth Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3-1 | |
| Term Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year 4 | ||
| Fall | ||
| BIOL XX96 | (Advanced Study in Biology: Senior Seminar WI) | 3 |
| EEB Elective 41 | 3-4 | |
| GenEd Breadth Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3-2 | |
| Term Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| EEB Elective 51 | 3-4 | |
| EEB Elective 61 | 3-4 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3-1 | |
| Term Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours: | 123 | |
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| (F) - Fall only course | ||
| (S) - Spring only course | ||
| 1 | See the Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity (EEB) Electives list under Requirements for course options. At least one course from each Elective category (Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity) must be selected. |