Ecology, Conservation, and Organismal Sciences (ECOS) Concentration

The Concentration in Ecology, Conservation, and Organismal Sciences (ECOS) is intended for cadets who wish to explore field-based and organismal disciplines of biology, including plant and animal biology, conservation, and ecology. The program also is intended to promote hands-on experiences through undergraduate research, internships in related fields, or immersion in a designated intensive field-oriented class. The ECOS option does not affect the credit hours required for the B.S. or B.A. in biology, however, 14 credit hours must be obtained from the following list of courses: BI 216  Animal Behavior, BI 217  General Botany, BI 219  Conservation Biology, BI 304  Comparative Vertebrate Morphology, BI 311  Aquatic Ecosystems, BI 312  Ecology, BI 316  Mammalogy, BI 317  Herpetology, BI 321  Invertebrate Zoology, BI 324  Ornithology, BI 326  Parasitology, or BI 310  Evolutionary Biology. Of these 14 required credits, cadets must take at least one taxon specific course (BI 216 , BI 217 , BI 304 , BI 316 , BI 317 , BI 321 , BI 324  or BI 326 ), and one concept-based course (BI 219 , BI 310  BI 311 , BI 312 , or BI 325 ). Cadets must complete an additional 4 credit hours by fulfilling an Intensive Experience, which may include an approved ECOS research project or internship, or a course that has been designated as “field intensive”. Approved research projects may include 2 semesters of independent research (BI 390/390W /BI 391/391W  or BI 490/490W /BI 491/491W ), a Summer Undergraduate Research Initiative (SURI) project, or an equivalent project that has been arranged with approval of a faculty mentor and the ECOS Director. Fulfilling the department’s capstone experience requirement may also satisfy this Intensive Experience need. Conducting a summer internship through an approved partner organization is a viable alternative to research, and in fact may be preferable for cadets with particular career goals. Fulfillment of the Intensive Experience also may be accomplished by completing a course that has been designated as “field intensive” by the ECOS Director (BI 351 /BI 352  or equivalent). A 2.0 GPA must be maintained in ECOS courses for the concentration. Permission to participate in the program must be obtained from the student’s department head and the ECOS Director. An application form for the ECOS concentration can be obtained from the Biology Department Secretary or on-line through the ECOS website.