When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s) and the Academic Planning Tool.
Ecology is an interdisciplinary program that draws on the strengths of the Biology Department and the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department and provides students the possibility of earning either a major or a minor in ecology.
Learning goals
- Ecology majors will learn to identify and describe the basic principles and theories of ecology and the related sciences (biology, environmental science and geology).
- Using these principles and theories, students will learn to construct and critique logical scientific arguments.
- Students will learn to use appropriate skills and techniques to acquire and evaluate scientific evidence.
- Students will recognize how basic ecological principles and theories are relevant to the broader university curriculum, as well as to their daily lives.
Major in Ecology
The Bachelor of Science degree in ecology requires 56 semester hours in biology, earth & environmental sciences and chemistry with grades of C- or better in ecology, biology, and earth and environmental sciences courses. The Bachelor of Science in ecology includes a four-course introductory sequence and a year or more of student research. In addition, the 56 semester hours include 24 semester hours of elective courses with at least 12 drawn from each of Category 1 and Category 2. In cases where the lecture and laboratory components of courses are listed separately, students in the ecology program must take both lecture and laboratory.
16 Introductory Sequence (16 semester hours)
4 ECOL-100 Introduction to the Science of Ecology
(BIOL-101 Ecology and Evolution, EENV-101 Environmental Science, or EENV-103 Earth System History may substitute as an initial course in the introductory sequence)
4 ECOL-110 Biogeodiversity
4 ECOL-201 Community and Ecosystems Ecology
4 BIOL-220 Biostatistics
24 Elective Courses:
24 semester hours chosen from the following, with at least 12 semester hours taken in Category 1 and 12 semester hours taken in Category 2.
Category 1: Biology Electives:
12 credits must be chosen from the following. The course must be accompanied with the laboratory when offered and at least two courses of the 12 credits must be lab-based.
4 BIOL-312-313 Microbiology
4 BIOL-324-325 Animal Behavior
4 BIOL-326-327 Invertebrate Zoology
4 BIOL-328-329 Natural History of Early Vertebrates
4 BIOL-332-333 Population Biology
4 BIOL-340-341 Marine Ecology
4 BIOL-404-405 Plant Physiology
4 BIOL-408-409 Aquatic Ecology
4 BIOL-460-461 Winter Ecology of Vertebrates
2 ECOL-560 Explorations in Ecology (e.g. Sustainable Food Systems, Biology of Invasive Species, Amphibian Population Declines, Vertebrate Ecology of Costa Rica, Human Evolution and Behavior, etc.)
Category 2: Environmental Science Electives:
12 credits must be chosen from the following:
4 EENV-113 Geology and the Environment
4 EENV-213 Oceanography
4 EENV-220 Water Resources
4 EENV-240 Introduction to Meteorology
4 EENV-242 Climate and Global Change
4 EENV-283 Sedimentology/Stratigraphy
4 EENV-313 The Susquehanna River
4 EENV-360 Geographic Information Systems
4 EENV-380 Wetlands Analysis
4 EENV-383 Soil Science
4 EENV-420 Groundwater Hydrology
4 EENV-430 Chemistry of Natural Waters
8 Student Research*
2 ECOL-509 Student Research I
2 or 4 ECOL-510 Student Research I
4 ECOL-511 Student Research II
* ECOL-509 Student Research I may be taken during the third year for students that require more than one field season of research. ECOL-510 Student Research I may be taken as either 2 or 4 semester hours senior year. Students who have completed ECOL-509 must take no more than 2 semester hours of ECOL- 510.
8 Required Corollary Courses
Students must complete the following corollary chemistry courses:
4 General Chemistry I - choose from: CHEM-103 or CHEM-111
4 General Chemistry II - choose from: CHEM-104 or CHEM-232
Note: Additional corollary courses are strongly recommended for those intending to pursue graduate training. These recommended courses include CHEM-221 Organic Chemistry I, CHEM-222 Organic Chemistry II, CHEM-242 Methods of Chemical Analysis, Introductory Physics I (PHYS-202, or PHYS-204), and Introductory Physics II (PHYS-205 or PHYS-206).
Majors must also take a comprehensive ecology examination prior to graduation. Exam content will be drawn from introductory sequence courses. Students have multiple opportunities to take the comprehensive examination; only the highest score is recorded on the transcript. Performance on the comprehensive examination is reported on the transcript as high pass, pass or fail.
Honors in Ecology
The ecology program encourages and recognizes superior academic performance in ecology.
Candidates for academic honors must:
- Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and a GPA of 3.50 in major courses to qualify for academic honors;
- Successfully complete Student Research I and II (ECOL-510 and ECOL-511) and earn a grade of B- or better in these courses.
Candidates for research honors must:
- Be nominated by a member of the faculty who teaches within the ecology program by midterm of Student Research II (ECOL-511).
- Submit an acceptable research thesis based upon two semesters of Student Research (ECOL-510 and ECOL-511).
- Pass an oral comprehensive examination of their thesis in their final semester. The oral comprehensive examination is administered by faculty who teach within the ecology major.
Ecology Research Facilities
The Center for Environmental Education and Research (CEER) is an 87-acre tract of land immediately adjacent to campus that serves as a convenient field station for observational and manipulative studies in ecology. The CEER is home to the Freshwater Research Institute, a research laboratory and center for freshwater ecological research. The CEER also includes a research greenhouse, research plots and storage facilities for field equipment. In addition, the department operates the George A. Hepner Ecology Laboratory at Camp Karoondinha. It provides a small research laboratory and a variety of habitats, offering students experience through short- and long-term experiments. The property features more than 600 acres from 600 to 1,800 feet above sea level. It includes both deciduous and mixed coniferous forests, an 8-acre lake, Penns Creek and small streams.
