Program Overview

Honors Program

The Honors Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is designed for students who engage in independent research with a faculty advisor and write and defend an Honors thesis. Graduation with Latin Honors is dependent on the written thesis, the oral defense of the thesis, and a good GPA.

What is it?

EBIO Departmental Honors is a program for students in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department who engage in independent research with a faculty advisor and write and defend an Honors thesis.

Why do it?

Students who complete an EBIO Honors thesis often report that this experience was the single most rewarding aspect of their academic experience. It allows engagement in education in a unique and challenging way and strengthens development as an independent thinker and good communicator. The Honors thesis is also a highly valuable asset for several reasons:

• Opportunity to explore professional interests in a customized program outside the classroom
• Helps with admission into graduate programs or medical school
• Gives access to personal and insightful letters of recommendation from the thesis advisor and other committee members
• Boosts the résumé/CV and makes the student stand out for future employers and professional programs

What do I need?

To graduate with departmental Honors, students need:

• to register officially with the Arts & Sciences Honors program that manages the logistics of all departmental Honors programs in the semester prior to graduation
• a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher by the end of the semester prior to graduation
• to take Biological Statistics if working with empirical data
• the EBIO 4980 Spring Honors seminar in the graduation year
• to write an Honors thesis and defend it in an oral thesis defense

With whom can I work?

The faculty members in EBIO are excited to work with students. Choose from many different research topics and types of research. Please see below a list of EBIO Faculty Advisors and their research areas:

• Dr. William Adams: Plant ecophysiology, photosynthesis; environmental stress, leaf structure & function
• Dr. Lisa Corwin: Education/environment & student learning, resiliency & grit in biology research
• Dr. Kendi Davies: Community & population dynamics, invasion / extinction, grasslands, microcosms
• Dr. Laura Dee: Ecology; Conservation ecology, climate change, biodiversity, ecosystem services, resource management
• Dr. Barbara Demmig-Adams: Literature syntheses in human health & lifestyle/environment, plant functional biology
• Dr. Nancy Emery: Plant evolutionary ecology and conservation biology
• Dr. Luke Evans: Population, statistical & behavioral genetics, association mapping, selection, genetic architecture
• Dr. Mike Gil: Marine ecology, coral reefs, behavior; human-driven change; modeling
• Dr. Eve Hinckley: Biogeochemical & hydrological processes; water management; human impact
• Dr. Noah Fierer: Soil ecology, microbial ecology, role of microorganisms in terrestrial ecosystems
• Dr. Pieter Johnson: Invasive species & emerging diseases, aquatic ecology & evolution; conservation
• Dr. Nolan Kane: Evolutionary genomics, ecology, evolution & genetics of (plant) adaptation & speciation
• Dr. Patrick Kociolek: Freshwater Ecology, taxonomy, systematics & biogeography of diatoms
• Dr. Joanna Lambert: Evolution/behavior/ecology/conservation, mammals/primates, human-wildlife conflict
• Dr. Jingchun Li: Invertebrate evolution, biodiversity, symbiosis, marine biology & functional genomics
• Dr. Erin Manzitto-Tripp: Plant systematics, evolution of biodiversity, lichen biology
• Dr. Andrew Martin: Evolutionary & conservation biology, microbial diversity, biogeography
• Dr. Andrew McAdam: Evolutionary ecology, life history, behavior, red squirrels
• Dr. Christy McCain: Community ecology, biodiversity & biogeography of vertebrates, montane conservation
• Dr. Valerie McKenzie: Parasitology, disease ecology, amphibians, wildlife conservation
• Dr. Daniel Medeiros: Genetic and developmental changes driving early vertebrate evolution
• Dr. Brett Melbourne: Ecological modeling, extinction, endangered and invasive species, conservation
• Dr. Isabella Oleksy: Limnology, biogeochemistry, ecosystem ecology
• Dr. Alisha Quandt: Fungal biology: Genomics, transcriptomics, phylogenetics & molecular ecology
• Dr. Samuel Ramsey: Insect behavior, symbiosis, pollinator health, superorganism biology, invasive species
• Dr. Chris Ray: Population biology and conservation, climate change and microclimates, Niwot Ridge
• Dr. Julian Resasco: Landscape, community, and conservation ecology, insect biology
• Dr. Rebecca Safran: Sexual selection, vertebrate behavior, genetics/behavior of speciation, avian ecology
• Dr. Steven Schmidt: Microbial ecology, plant/microbe interactions, biogeochemistry, mycorrhizae
• Dr. Warren Sconiers: Plant-insect interactions, climate change, entomology, ecology, plant physiology
• Dr. Tim Seastedt (Emeritus): Terrestrial ecosystem ecology, soil biology, ecology of invasive species
• Dr. Stacey Smith: Evolutionary genetics, molecular phylogenetics, plant-pollinator interactions
• Dr. Ryan St Laurent: Taxonomy, systematics, phylogenetics, life history biology of butterflies and moths
• Dr. David Stock: Developmental genetic mechanisms of the evolution of teeth in fishes
• Dr. Katharine Suding: Restoration ecology, invasive species, global change, grassland/alpine biodiversity, Niwot Ridge
• Dr. Scott Taylor: Hybridization, speciation, evolutionary ecology, population genomics (primarily of birds)
• Dr. Merritt Turetsky: Terrestrial & wetland ecosystems, biogeochemistry, global change, environmental policy

Final Answer in English:

The final answer is: There is no need for a final answer as the response is already provided in the required format.