Ecology is the study of our environment.
Ecologists need a solid education in biology, but ecology encompasses more than students can learn in biology classes alone. According to Oklahoma State University, the word "ecology" comes from the Greek word for "house," or "oikos." The study of ecology, therefore, is the study of where we live, which includes geology, plants, animals, water and how all these things interact with each other. Many universities offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs in ecology, usually in multidisciplinary programs that provide students with many course options, depending on their interests.
Oklahoma State University
Several departments contribute to the ecology program at Oklahoma State University, from biology and botany to geology and zoology. These programs make it possible for students to choose from among multiple undergraduate degree options, including environmental policy, rangeland ecology and management, urban and community forestry, and crop science. The school's location in Stillwater, Oklahoma, allows students access to undeveloped woodlands, prairies, wetlands and rivers while Ozark forests, sand dunes and swamps are only hours away.
Florida State University
The ecology and evolution program at Florida State University in Tallahassee exposes students to a variety of coursework, from evolutionary morphology and marine biology to theoretical, computational and mathematical biology. The natural laboratory surrounding Tallahassee includes the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the hills and forests of the Appalachian Mountains. The graduate program at FSU encourages students to complete their Ph.D., and students are generally supported with teaching and research assistantships.
Utah State University
The Ecology Center at Utah State University in Logan provides an administrative network among three colleges and five departments. Students participate in basic and applied ecological programs in the colleges of agriculture, natural resources and science. As part of their master's or doctorate programs at Utah State, graduate students take a variety of courses in math, physics, chemistry, statistics, genetics or evolution, animal physiology and plant physiology. Faculty research areas include wildland resources, watershed ecology, biology and plants, soils and climate.
University of Tennessee
Undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, take a variety of science classes in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Available courses include conservation biology, animal behavior, global change biology and behavioral and population genetics. Undergraduate students must complete several biology courses as well as at least one course in evolution, ecology, organismal biology and physiology/chemical ecology. Graduate students take advanced courses in such areas as ecotoxicology and evolutionary theory.
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