Intensive first-year seminar focused on specific themes and/or disciplinary perspectives. Emphasis on developing critical reading and writing skills, substantive revision, information literacy, and analytical thinking. First-year seminars are frequently organized to meet one of the disciplinary Catamount Core requirements. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years.
Explores how modern science evolves and how researchers build upon one another's contributions. This Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) provides early opportunities to Life Science Scholars to participate in the scientific inquiry process by focusing on the first steps of scientific research: reading, analyzing, and synthesizing scientific literature; and asking scientific questions. Prerequisites: Enrollment in Liberal Arts Scholars Program for Life Science Scholars.
Introduces Biology majors to the science and practice of biology, with a particular focus on career development and information literacy skills in the life sciences.
Introduces Zoology majors (B.A./B.S.) to the science and practice of zoology, with a particular focus on career development and information literacy skills in the life sciences.
For nonscience majors. Introduction to basic human anatomy and organ system physiology emphasizing normal and diseased homeostatic mechanisms. With virtual laboratory. Credit not awarded for both BIOL 1150 and BIOL 1155.
For nonscience majors. Introduction to basic human anatomy and organ system physiology emphasizing normal homeostatic mechanisms and the changes that accompany common disorders and diseases. No laboratory. Credit not awarded for both BIOL 1155 and BIOL 1150.
Covers crime scene investigation, methods of evidence collection and analysis, cause of death, and DNA identification in the context of biases that can influence the processing, interpretation, and use of evidence in the US court system.
For students with majors outside the sciences. Traces the interaction between physical conditions on earth and evolving life from the origin of the earth to the present. Primary learning objectives include being able to apply the scientific method as a way of understanding the world and to use this framework to understand how humans can have knowledge about past events that they cannot observe directly.
Principles of organismal biology; nature of scientific inquiry, plant form and function, pollination ecology, animal phylogeny illustrated by comparative anatomy and physiology; animal behavior. Credit not awarded for both BIOL 1450 and BCOR 1450.
Students will participate in all aspects of a research project while learning to navigate the messiness of real-world data. Students will develop research questions on topics related to marine soundscape ecology, marine animal bioacoustics, and cetacean ecology, behavior, and conservation. Prerequisites: BIOL 1450, BCOR 1450, or BCOR 1425; or BIOL 1000, BIOL 1005.
An overview of concepts and process in oceanography, geology, ecology, evolution, organismal biology, and conservation. Some of the topics we will discuss in class include tsunamis, ocean chemistry and physics, and bioluminescence. Prerequisites: BCOR 1400, BIOL 1400, or BIOL 1000; BCOR 1450, BIOL 1450, BIOL 1005, or BCOR 1425.
See Schedule of Courses for specific titles.
On-site supervised work experience combined with a structured academic learning plan directed by a faculty member or a faculty-staff team in which a faculty member is the instructor of record, for which academic credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
Undergraduate student work on individual or small team research projects under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion. Pre/co-requisites: Junior/Senior standing; Department permission.
Basic concepts in evolution will be covered, including the causes of evolutionary change, speciation, phylogenetics, and the history of life. Prerequisite: BCOR 2100.
Current topics in developmental neurobiology through lectures and discussions of primary literature. The course is designed for advanced undergraduate life science majors and graduate students in the biological sciences. Prerequisites: BCOR 2300, BCOR 2500.
Focus on molecular and cellular aspects of the nervous system. Electrical signaling, synaptic transmission, signal transduction, neural development, plasticity, and disease. Credit not awarded for both BIOL 3505 and NSCI 3505. Prerequisite: BCOR 2500.
Provides students a deeper level of scientific fluency with guidance on how to critically read and understand primary scientific literature and how to communicate those findings, using model systems as our guide. Prerequisites: BCOR 2300 and (BCOR 2500 or NSCI 2105).
Exploration of the fundamental molecular mechanisms that happens in a cell in different disease states. Diseases covered can include Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Diabetes, and Osteoporosis. Emphasizes the cellular and molecular basis of these diseases. Prerequisites: BCOR 2500 or NSCI 2105.
Undergraduate student work on individual or small team research projects under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion. Pre/co-requisites: Minimum Junior standing; Department permission.
The application of previous coursework knowledge and skills to current problems in conservation, agriculture, public health, and medicine where an eco-evolutionary approach can provide new and useful insights. Designed around student-led case studies in areas of active research, primary literature, experimental design, and data analysis. Prerequisites: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology concentration; Senior standing.
The application of previous coursework knowledge and skills to current problems in disease biology, public health, and medicine where an cellular and/or developmental approach can provide new and useful insights. Designed around student-led case studies in areas of active research, primary literature, experimental design, and data analysis. Prerequisites: Cell and Developmental Biology concentration; Senior standing.
Exploration of the mathematical principles and biological assumptions that underpin the study of evolutionary processes, offering valuable insights into the origins and implications of heritable variation in nature. Prerequisites: BCOR 2300 or BCOR 2100.
Structure, function, and phylogeny, with evolutionary and functional trends of all chordate groups. Prerequisite: Two courses from BCOR 2300, BCOR 2100, BCOR 2500.
Laboratory experiments to provide experience with modern genetic techniques. Bench work and data analysis emphasized. Prerequisite: BCOR 2300.
Undergraduate student service as a teaching assistant, usually in an introductory-level course in the discipline, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
College honors thesis or other department/program honors, under the supervision of a faculty member. Offered at department discretion.
Weekly departmental seminar attended by all faculty and graduate students. Graduate students practice giving scientific talks, presenting annual research-in-progress updates and receiving feedback from their peers and faculty. Prerequisite: Life sciences Graduate student.
Expert speakers are invited from within and outside UVM to present their research in the diverse fields of biology including cell, molecular and developmental biology, ecology, evolution, behavior and neuroscience. Prerequisite: Life sciences Graduate student.
Assignments and discussions help students understand the scientific method and develop strategies for writing well. By the end of the semester, thesis students will have a complete proposal for their graduate research project. Non-thesis students will generate a review article. Prerequisite: Life sciences Graduate student.
Seminar focused on reading and discussing foundational papers in ecology and evolution. Specific topics will vary by instructor. Prerequisite: Life Sciences Graduate student.
Seminar focused on reading and discussing foundational papers in cell and developmental biology. Specific topics will vary by instructor. Prerequisite: Life sciences Graduate student.
Basic programming methods in R, including functions, data types, graphics, file input and output; computational tools for reproducible research, including regular expressions, markdown, git, github, and shell commands; and advanced topics, including batch processing, structured programming, functional programming, and randomization tests. Prerequisite: Graduate student.
Research for the Master's Thesis.
A course which is tailored to fit the interests of a specific student, which occurs outside the traditional classroom/laboratory setting under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
Graduate student work on individual or small team research projects under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
Research for the Doctoral Dissertation.