The Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Organismal Biology requires a minimum of 120 hours. Students in this degree focus on the ecology of animals, plants and microorganisms and their roles in the biosphere. This degree prepares students for employment or graduate school in life sciences fields, such as wildlife biology, freshwater biology, zoology, conservation biology and forestry.

 NOTE: Students pursuing a BS in Biology with a Concentration in Ecology and Organismal Biology cannot double major with a BS in Environmental Sciences/Biology Minor.

Combined bachelor's to master's-Environmental Sciences Pipeline Program

Undergraduate students accepted to the Environmental Sciences Pipeline Program will be admitted to the MS Environmental Sciences Non-thesis program and allowed to complete up to nine credits of graduate level classes during their final academic year of undergraduate studies. Students admitted into the pipeline program must apply for admission to the College of Graduate Studies for the semester that they intend to matriculate. They will then continue in to the graduate program upon completion of the undergraduate degree requirements. The graduate coursework (up to nine hours) may be applied to completion of both undergraduate and graduate degree requirements. It will be the joint responsibility of the faculty and administrators in the undergraduate and graduate programs to supervise students admitted to the combined program option, to ensure that the limit of nine hours taken as an undergraduate is strictly enforced, and to request that the College of Graduate Studies change their matriculation from Undergraduate to Graduate when they meet all undergraduate degree requirements.  

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

UT undergraduate students must 1) be majoring in either Biology with a Concentration in Ecology and Organismal Biology or Environmental Sciences, 2) have a minimum of 3.2 cumulative undergraduate grade point average that will include undergraduate credits earned at other institutions and transferred to UT, and 3) have approval of their advisor and department chair.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Students holding a junior standing should apply by March 31 of that year.  Application to this early pipeline program must contain 1) a letter of interest, 2) a completed graduate admission application, and 3) at least 3 letter(s) of recommendation from faculty members.

Pipeline B.S. to M.S. COURSES

The following provisions apply for classes taken for graduate credit: 1) graduate classes taken at The University of Toledo only after the student is accepted in the program, 2) EEES 6250 Graduate Launch and EEES 6300 Integrated Environmental & Earth Systems must be taken in the last two semesters of their undergraduate program, 3) Any other EEES course at the 5000 or 6000 level may be included in the approved nine semester hours of graduate credit taken as an undergraduate.

Below is a sample plan of study. Consult your degree audit for your program requirements.

¹

 Choose from any upper level EEES course (4000 level) for which prerequisites are met.

²

 Appropriate lab courses to be chosen with consent of BIOM advisor (Dr. Sigler).

• PLO 1. Students will be able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the fundamental concepts of cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, evolutionary biology and physiology and use these concepts to analyze and evaluate biological observations, in written and mathematical terms, and predict the behavior of biological manipulations.
• PLO 2. Students will be able to read primary biological literature and apply critical thinking skills to analyze and interpret conclusions from biological experiments. They should be able to perform effective literature searches and identify relevant primary literature.
• PLO 3. Students will be able to clearly discuss, analyze and evaluate subjects relating to biological sciences in both written and spoken presentations. They should be able to interpret these discoveries in the context of current understanding.