Courses and Curriculum
The rigorous and exciting coursework in this program prepares scientists to use interdisciplinary theories to examine complex ecological questions from biological, physical, and social science perspectives. We are dedicated to offering a variety of classes that incorporate important concepts from different fields to provide a comprehensive and immersive education to our students.
A key component of this program is the development of collaboration and communication skills. Students will be expected to engage with the public, media, and policymakers to increase the dissemination of scientific knowledge and to expand the implementation of science-based decision-making. Â These components of the program are built upon the premise that complex processes and problems may not necessarily be understandable, or accurate actionable solutions produced, from single disciplinary perspectives.
Our students will be trained to be able to speak with members of research groups from other disciplines, stakeholder groups, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), agencies, government officials, community organizations, k-12 schools, etc. and the general public.
Degree Paths
The EEB program has two degree paths to meet your interests and goals.
- Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior – Offers maximum flexibility for student-specific course selection.
- Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior with Global Change Emphasis – Suggests groups of classes that will give students a strong background in contemporary challenges in Global Change Biology. The optional emphasis is built upon strong core training in EEB with the addition of graduate coursework from the Geosciences, Anthropology, Human-Environment Systems, and other disciplines.
Course Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
| Course Number and Title | Credits |
|---|---|
| EEB 601 Principles & Processes in Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior | 4 |
| EEB 603 Reproducible Science | 3 |
| EEB 604 Science and Communication II | 3 |
| EEB 605 Current Research in EEB | 2 |
| Quantitative Requirement (choose at least 1 course from the following): ANTH 504 Statistical Methods in Anthropology BIOL 697 Biometry EEB 607 Quantitative Methods for Population and Habitat Analysis EEB 621 Advanced Ecological Data Analysis GEOPH 522 Data Analysis and Geostatistics GEOS 505 Introduction to Numerical Methods for the Geosciences MATH 572 Computational Statistics MATH 573 Time Series Analysis MATH 574 Linear Models HES 600 Social-Ecological Systems Research Methods HES 610 Spatial Analysis | 3-4 |
| Approved elective courses in ANTH, BIOL, BMOL, BOT, EEB, GEOS, HES, ZOOL or related fields as approved by the supervisory committee and by the coordinator of the EEB doctoral program. | 13-14 |
| EEB 689 Dissertation Proposal | 1 |
| EEB 691 Doctoral Comprehensive Examination | 1 |
| EEB 693 Dissertation | 30 |
| Total | 60 |
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior with an emphasis in Global Change
| Course Number and Title | Credits |
|---|---|
| EEB 601 Principles and Processes in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior I | 4 |
| EEB 603 Reproducible Science | 3 |
| EEB 604 Science and Communication II | 3 |
| EEB 605 Current Research in EEB (2 cr) | 2 |
| Quantitative Requirement (choose at least 1 course from the following): ANTH 504 Statistical Methods in Anthropology (3 cr) BIOL 697 Biometry (4 cr) BIOL 603 Advanced Biometry (4 cr) EEB 607 Quantitative Methods for Population and Habitat Analysis (3 cr) EEB 621 Advanced Ecological Data Analysis (3 cr) GEOPH 522 Data Analysis and Geostatistics (3 cr) GEOS 505 Introduction to Numerical Methods for the Geosciences (3 cr) MATH 572 Computational Statistics (3 cr) MATH 573 Time Series Analysis (3 cr) MATH 574 Linear Models (3 cr) HES 600 Social-Ecological Systems Research Methods (3 cr) HES 610 Spatial Analysis (3 cr) | 3-4 |
| Human Behavior and Ecology (choose 1-2 courses from the following): ANTH 501 Adaptation And Human Behavior (3 cr) ANTH 502 Human Evolutionary History and Development (3 cr) ANTH 521 Human Paleoecology of North America (3 cr) ANTH 530 Advanced Topics in Evolutionary Anthropology (3 cr) ANTH 531 Economic Anthropology (3 cr) ANTH 532 Game Theory and Human Cooperation (3 cr) | 3-6 |
| Earth Sciences (choose 1-2 courses from the following): BIOL 628 Geographic Information Systems in Biology (3 cr) GEOG 570 (GEOS 570) Earth System Science and Global Warming (3 cr) GEOS 511 Hydrology: Land-Atmosphere Interaction (3 cr) GEOS 580 Selected Topics in Watershed Hydrology (1-3 cr) GEOS 585 Selected Topics in Isotope Geoscience (1-3 cr) GEOS 605 Topics in Geomorphology (3 cr) GEOS 607 Paleoclimatology and Paleoceanography (3 cr) GEOS 620 Coupled Land-Atmosphere Modeling (3 cr) GEOS 621 Global Hydrologic Change (3 cr) GEOS 633 (CE 633) Contaminant Hydrogeology (3 cr) GEOS 636 Stable Isotope Geochemistry (3 cr) GEOS 638 Radiogenic Isotope Geochemistry and Geochronology (3 cr) | 3-6 |
| Approved elective courses in ANTH, BIOL, BMOL, BOT, EEB, GEOS, HES, ZOOL or related fields as approved by the supervisory committee and by the coordinator of the EEB doctoral program. | 4-5 |
| EEB 689 Dissertation Proposal | 1 |
| EEB 691 Doctoral Comprehensive Examination | 1 |
| EEB 693 Dissertation | 30 |
| Total | 60 |