Program Overview

Zoology Undergraduate Major (BS, HBS)

The Zoology major offers scientific training in the diversity, organismal biology, ecology, and evolution of animals. The major core provides a solid foundation in the biological sciences while electives allow students to cater course work to meet specific interests in animal biology.

Program Overview

• The program is administered by the Department of Integrative Biology under the School of Life Sciences.
• It is available at the following locations: Corvallis, Ecampus.
• Undergraduate research, internship, teaching, and study abroad experience are strongly recommended, and credits can be integrated with major requirements.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, students will meet the following learning outcomes:

• Explain and apply the fundamental concepts of the biological sciences, including Cell and Molecular Biology, Genetics; Animal Physiology and Diversity; Ecology and Evolution; and Conservation Management and Policy.
• Identify and access information (from primary literature and other relevant works) for a particular topic and evaluate the scientific content and context of these sources.
• Generate relevant and testable scientific questions, formulate testable hypotheses, and identify measurable predictions based on observations or previous research.
• Design and implement observational or experimental investigations to collect relevant data, and employ appropriate analytical methods to analyze that data.
• Interpret data and/or observations to support or refute hypotheses, draw conclusions, put findings in the context of current scientific knowledge and literature, and/or suggest future avenues of research.
• Use effective formal and informal communication (i.e., written, oral, graphical, multimedia) to convey scientific information in ways that are appropriate for scientific and non-scientific audiences.
• Integrate and analyze information within and across spatial and temporal scales as well as levels of biological organization.
• Identify, reflect upon, and evaluate assumptions, biases, and alternative hypotheses or interpretations for their own scientific claims or those of others.
• Justify the importance of science and science literacy for individuals and society.
• Integrate biology with other disciplines to make evidence-based decisions on socio-scientific issues.
• Explain how biases and societal factors affect the processes of science (and vice versa), access to participation in science, and the differential outcomes and impacts (both positive and negative) of science on individuals.
• Explain and justify the ethical standards of their discipline, evaluate the ethics of published science, and articulate their personal code of ethics.
• Use effective and appropriate forms of collaboration.
• Produce a self-assessment of interpersonal and academic behaviors needed to achieve their individual career goals.

Requirements

• Students in the Biology major must complete the Principles of Biology or Introductory Biology series with a C or better to continue onto upper-division Biology (BI) and Zoology (Z) coursework.
• Students must also complete their General Chemistry series and CH 331 with a C in each term to move onto other Chemistry (CH) coursework.
• The (BI 196 or BI 198) and BI 298 professional development series must be completed in the first year at OSU.
• Students majoring in Biology, BioHealth Sciences, Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Sciences, or Zoology cannot seek a dual or double major in any combination of these four majors.
• Zoology majors cannot seek the Biology minor.

Course List

The following courses are part of the program:

Core

• BI 196: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT I: ZOOLOGY CAREERS
• BI 198: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT I: BIOLOGY AND ZOOLOGY
• BI 298: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR BIOLOGISTS II

Communication, Media & Society

• COMM 111Z: PUBLIC SPEAKING

Writing Elevation

• WR 227Z: TECHNICAL WRITING
• WR 362: SCIENCE WRITING
• WR 375: WRITING IN THE NATURAL SCIENCES

Quantitative and Physical Sciences Core

• Select one of the following math series:
  • MTH 251Z & MTH 252Z: DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS and INTEGRAL CALCULUS
  • MTH 227 & MTH 228: CALCULUS AND PROBABILITY FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES I and CALCULUS AND PROBABILITY FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES II
• Select one of the following chemistry series:
  • Series 1: CH 221Z & CH 227Z, CH 222Z & CH 228Z, CH 223Z & CH 229Z
  • Series 2: CH 121 & CH 122 & CH 123, CH 331 & CH 332

Biological Sciences Core

• Select one of the following biology series:
  • Series 1: BI 221Z & BI 222Z & BI 223Z
  • Series 2: BI 204 & BI 205 & BI 206
• Additional required courses:
  • BI 370: ECOLOGY
  • BI 311: GENETICS
  • BB 314: CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
  • Z 361 & Z 362: INVERTEBRATE BIOLOGY and INVERTEBRATE BIOLOGY LABORATORY
  • Z 371 & Z 372: VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY and VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY LABORATORY
  • Z 423: ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
  • BI 445: EVOLUTION
  • BI 483: POPULATION BIOLOGY

Electives

• Organismal, Physiology and Systematics Electives: Select two courses from the list.
• Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Electives: Select two courses from the list.
• Natural Resource, Management and Policy Electives: Select two courses from the list.
• Experiential Learning or Skills Elective: Select one of the following two tracks.

Track I and Track II

• Both tracks provide a detailed plan of study for each year, including the courses to be taken and the credits required.
• The plans are subject to change, and students should consult their advisor to determine the best degree plan for them.

Major Code

• The major code for the Zoology Undergraduate Major is 620.

Total Credits

• The total credits required for the program are 180.