Why do some diseases become global pandemics, while others die out? What happens to a food web when a species goes extinct? What roles do different organisms have within a social network? How does the structure of brain networks relate to cognitive function? Networks are all around us; we just need to learn to see them. This course will introduce network analysis as a tool for answering fundamental and applied questions across biological disciplines. Coding experience is strongly recommended.

The process of speciation is fundamental to understanding life's diversity, with implications for how we study evolution, how we define species in nature, and the processes by which they form. In this course, we will explore models of adaptive and non-adaptive speciation and how we test and distinguish among these processes. We will explore examples from biological systems in nature, including syntheses of broad knowledge gained about the speciation process from studying each group of organisms.

A weekly conference in which students present reports covering various aspects of Integrative Biology. May be repeated for credit.

Integrative Biology seeks to understand how genetic, cellular, and developmental processes give rise to organismal phenotypes and how changes in these processes over time contribute to the evolution of form and function. In this course, graduate students will learn principles of genetics, cell, developmental, and organismal biology and apply this knowledge towards answering fundamental questions in biology.

A weekly conference arranged around a current topic. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

For master's thesis, taken under the supervision of a thesis director.

Independent research with a member of the Biology faculty in preparation for thesis or dissertation research.

For doctoral research, taken before a dissertation director has been selected.

For doctoral dissertation, taken under the supervision of a dissertation director.