Environmental Biology Major

Requirements

1. One year of introductory Biology with lab at the 1500-level sequence
2. One year of introductory Chemistry with lab 
3. Three lecture courses in ecology, organismal biology, and other
4. One lab course in ecology
5. Earth's Environmental Systems: Climate + lab
6. Earth's Environmental Systems: Solid Earth + lab
7. One course in methodology
8. One course in data handling
9. One additional lecture course offered in Environmental Science
10. Senior Thesis completed in Biology or Environmental Science (2 semesters)

For additional details, please view this worksheet: EnvBio Major Worksheet.

Students planning a major in Environmental Biology can use the Environmental Biology Projected Programs Worksheet as an additional tool plan out their schedules.  

To declare a Major in Environmental Biology, make an appointment to meet with Brian Mailloux in the Environmental Science Department as well as a member of the Biology Department and complete a Major Declaration form in Slate.

Advice

Students who elect a major in Environmental Biology will have a major adviser in each department. Although one member of the faculty will serve as the primary adviser, requests to substitute courses from Columbia or other institutions must be approved by both major advisers.

Students may substitute courses taught at Columbia (in the Departments of Biology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, or Statistics) or at other institutions with the prior approval of both major advisers. Calculus, Physics, and a second year of Chemistry are recommended for students planning graduate study in Environmental Biology.

Students interested in Environmental Biology often choose to spend a semester "abroad", at the School for Field Studies program, the Organization for Tropical Studies, or at comparable programs offered by other institutions. We encourage students to take advantage of such opportunities, and we expect that most of the courses they complete in these programs will be accepted in lieu of some of the major requirements. In addition, we recommend that those students planning to go abroad in the junior year elect to do so in the Fall Semester rather than the Spring Semester in order to take best advantage of senior seminar research planning and programming.

Students should check the catalogue and the department for additional information on the major and courses offered by Barnard and Columbia. Classes with grades less than C- or taken pass/fail can not be counted towards the major.

See also Senior Research Seminar for information on senior thesis requirements completed in Environmental Science Department.