Program Overview
Program Overview
The University of Copenhagen offers a comprehensive program in Evolutionary Biology, providing students with a deep understanding of the fundamental principles and applied aspects of the field.
Course Content
The course covers a wide range of topics, including:
- Evolutionary biology's significance: basic and applied aspects
- Methods for calculating phylogenetic trees
- Evolution of hereditary material
- Evolution of molecular processes and biological complexity
- Molecular evolution
- Population genetics
- Variation in natural populations
- Inbreeding/kinship
- Natural selection
- Genetic drift
- Genotype-phenotype
- Human evolution
- Species formation
Program Objectives
The program aims to equip students with:
- Basic knowledge of the concepts and research used in evolutionary biology
- Skills to explain the main micro-evolutionary forces: selection, genetic drift, mutation, and gene flow
- Ability to give examples of how genetic data is used in evolutionary biology
- Understanding of the evolution of adaptations
- Knowledge of the evolution of genome size and organization
- Ability to explain molecular regulation of genes and development in multicellular organisms
- Understanding of selected species concepts and the evolutionary processes involved in species formation
- Skills to apply phylogenetic methods and estimate phylogenetic trees from simple datasets
- Ability to apply the Hardy-Weinberg test and interpret its biological significance
- Knowledge of how to calculate absolute and relative fitness based on survival and reproduction
- Ability to perform calculations based on molecular evolution theory and test for neutrality
- Understanding of basic quantities with applications in population genetics, including measures for inbreeding and population structure
Competencies
With the acquired knowledge and skills, students will be able to understand, describe, and explain evolutionary processes and discuss patterns related to life's diversity. Students will also be able to use simple genetic data or observations to assess which evolutionary forces a population or species is subject to.
Teaching Methods
The program includes:
- Lectures
- Exercises
- Question hours
Course Materials
Course materials are available on Absalon.
Recommended Prerequisites
Courses equivalent to Population Biology.
Feedback
Feedback is based on four assigned homework problems, where questions with the most incorrect answers are reviewed in lectures.
Examination
- ECTS: 7.5 ECTS
- Exam form: Written on-site exam, 4 hours with supervision
- Exam details: The written on-site exam is an ITX exam.
- Exam requirements: To be eligible for the exam, four assigned problem sets must be approved.
- Allowed aids: All aids are allowed except Generative AI and internet access.
- Grading: 7-point scale
- Censorship: External censorship
- Re-exam: Oral exam, 20 minutes with 20 minutes of preparation time and without aids.
Course Type
- Single-course daytime (empty space arrangement)
Workload
- Category
- Hours
- Lectures
- 29
- Preparation (estimated)
- 136
- Theoretical exercises
- 37
- Exam
- 4
- Total
- 206
Course Information
- Language: Danish
- Course number: NBIA04038U
- ECTS: 7.5 ECTS
- Level: Bachelor
- Duration: 1 block
- Placement: Block 4
- Schedule group: A (Tuesday 8-12 + Thursday 8-17)
- Capacity: 240
- Study board: Study Board for the Biological Area
- Offering institute: Department of Biology
- Offering faculty: Faculty of Science
- Course responsible: Hans Redlef Siegismund, Rasmus Heller
- Teachers: Hans Redlef Siegismund, Søren Rosendahl, Jeppe Vinther, Rasmus Heller.