The Biology Department's curriculum is designed to introduce you to foundational themes that run throughout the field of biology and to develop skills essential for success after graduation. Each course in the curriculum will enable you to expand your knowledge of the terms and concepts of the field so that you can understand how to think like a biologist. Each course in the curriculum will also provide you with opportunities to develop your skills so that you will be effective and competent in whatever career you choose to pursue after graduation.

I. Themes

a. Evolution: The process of evolution is responsible for generating the diversity of life on Earth.
b. Biodiversity: Organisms comprise major lineages descended from common ancestors, and their characteristics impact their survival and distribution.
c. Systems: Biotic and abiotic components of the biosphere interconnect and interact.
d. Information Flow: All living processes derive from the expression of genetic information in context.
e. Energy/Matter Transformation: Biological systems work by transforming matter and energy according to physical laws
f. Structure/Function Relationships: Structure and function are linked in all living things.

II. Skills

a. The ability to apply the process of science
b. The ability to communicate biological concepts and their applications effectively
c. The ability to apply quantitative reasoning to biological questions
d. The ability to connect the themes across all levels of biological organization and with the fields of chemistry, physics, and math