Program Overview

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Program Overview

The University of Copenhagen offers a comprehensive program in Entomology, providing students with a thorough understanding of arthropod diversity and its significance in modern ecosystems.

Program Description

The Entomology program is designed to give students a broad overview of arthropod diversity, focusing on the terrestrial and limnic environments. The course covers the main groups of arthropods, their characteristics, and notable examples of adaptations to different lifestyles. The program also explores the evolutionary history of arthropods, including significant extinct forms from the past 400 million years.

Program Objectives

The program aims to equip students with the following skills and knowledge:

• Identify arthropods to the order or suborder level and justify this identification based on relevant diagnostic features.
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the biological diversity of arthropod groups, including examples of adaptations to different lifestyles and relationships with other organisms.
• Have a broad understanding of the evolutionary history of arthropods and the threats they face in the current biodiversity crisis.
• Understand how the emergence of significant anatomical features (e.g., wings, pupae) and/or significant episodes in Earth's history (e.g., mass extinctions) have influenced the evolution of arthropods.

Program Structure

The program consists of lectures and exercises, with a total workload of 206 hours, including:

• 50 hours of lectures
• 99 hours of preparation (estimated)
• 20 hours of practical exercises
• 37 hours for the exam

Assessment

The program assessment includes a 30-minute oral exam without preparation, where students are presented with a small selection of animals (preserved material or photos) to identify and answer questions focusing on structural aspects, systematic-evolutionary aspects, or comparative aspects.

Program Details

• Language: Danish
• Course Code: NNMB15000U
• ECTS Points: 7.5
• Level: Bachelor
• Duration: 1 block
• Placement: Block 3
• Schedule Group: B
• Course Capacity: 30

Responsible Institutions and Faculty

• Study Board: Study Board for the Biological Area
• Offering Institute: Statens Naturhistoriske Museum
• Offering Faculty: Det Natur- og Biovidenskabelige Fakultet
• Course Responsible: Lars Vilhelmsen
• Instructors: Thomas Pape, Nikolaj Scharff, Lars Vilhelmsen, Alexey Solodovnikov

Additional Information

The program also includes a guided tour of the entomological collections at Statens Naturhistoriske Museum, introducing students to the significance of scientific collections, their curation, and administration. Ongoing digitization initiatives will be presented, and students will be introduced to Bugdex, a guide to all insect orders in app format, which can be used for teaching at the high school level. The app summarizes much of the knowledge that students should have acquired by the end of the course.