This question about undergrad requirements for ecology programs prompts me to throw out to the community a general question that I have pondered for years: Given the increasingly recognized importance of integrating the social sciences into ecology for topics such as ecosystem services, urban ecology, etc., is it time to begin shifting our ecology education paradigm toward inclusion of "non-traditional" courses as suggested correlative courses, if not requirements, in ecology curricula, i.e., courses in sociology, economics and maybe even communications? Many might argue (legitimately so in my opinion) that such social science courses could be more important and beneficial for students who want to go into conservation biology or environmental management fields than the standard "full year of chemistry and physics."
cheers Loren ----- Original Message ----- From: Jonathan Horton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thursday, August 16, 2007 2:26 pm Subject: courses required for graduate ecology programs > Colleagues, > > We are considering revising our course curriculum for our B.S. > Biology > degree with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. > Many > of us feel that more training in statistics and experimental design > will > be beneficial to our graduates seeking professional positions and > entry > into research-based graduate programs. Our current requirements > are as > follows: > > 1. A core curriculum (16 hours) required of all Biology majors that > includes introductory Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cellular > and > Molecular Biology, Botany and Zoology > 2. Chemistry (Introductory I and II with lab, Organic I and either > Biochemistry with a lab or Organic II with a lab > 3. Two semesters of Physics > 4. Calculus and one semester of introductory statistics > 5. And many upper level biology courses > > With our general education requirements (we are a public Liberal > Arts > College), this makes it a full 4 to 4.5 year schedule for graduation. > > We are discussing cutting back on the amount of chemistry (through > Organic I) and Physics (only 1 semester) and instead having our > students > take additional courses in Statistics (Linear Regression and Anova) > and > experimental design and analysis. > > My questions to the group is this: What are the entrance > requirements > to ecology graduate programs in terms of course work? Which would > better prepare students for a research-based graduate program or > professional position, additional chemistry and physics or > additional > statistical training. > > We would not want to limit our graduates chances of entering a > graduate > program by failing to meet entrance requirements in terms of > supplemental science coursework. Please provide your thoughts. > > Feel free to answer off the list. > > Thanks, > > Jonathan > > -- > ************************* > Jonathan Horton Ph.D. > Department of Biology > One University Heights > UNC-Asheville CPO#2440 > Asheville, NC 28804 > Phone: (828)232-5152 > Fax: (828)251-6623 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ************************* >
