The mission of this department is to encourage and develop in
students lifelong learning skills that will carry over into their
professional lives. To this end, we believe that student-faculty
collaboration, as well as independent learning are key to
effective instruction. These approaches emphasize and foster
development of independent observation, critical inquiry, problem
solving, and self-expression skills. The foundation for the
biology curriculum rests on the 100- and 200-level courses offered
each year by the individual faculty in the area of their
subdiscipline. These courses provide an in-depth and broad-based
coverage far beyond what is possible in traditional introductory
survey courses. They also provide an opportunity for students to
be introduced to the faculty and are an important avenue by which
students will continue, through advanced courses (300-level),
independent studies, and research collaborations with the faculty.
These research opportunities are provided for students who take
the initiative to pursue them.
"Nothing
in Biology makes sense except in the light of evolution."
~ T. Dobzhanshy ~
While we
strive to offer students a broad exposure to biology, our
curriculum is bound together by the theme of evolution. Evolution
is the organizing principle that provides the unifying conceptual
framework necessary for understanding the diversity and complexity
of biological systems.
