Welcome to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology!

EEB is a top-ranked department with a long tradition of involving students in leading-edge research alongside world-renowned faculty. We explore life’s diversity within an integrative evolutionary framework, spanning genomes to ecosystems, and are the primary department within the College of Science and across the University that seeks to encompass all levels of biological organization, all branches of the tree of life, and all modes of ecological interaction. We are the primary department in which evolution, the most important unifying concept in biology, infuses all facets of its research and training.

Undergraduate research experiences are deeply embedded in our curriculum and occur as a matter of intentional and programmatic design within our majors. We seek to engage all undergraduates in active learning experiences through the laboratory, fieldwork, and discussion components associated with our core courses. Our diverse and interdisciplinary faculty collaborate with nearly 60 different units across campus, which extends rich opportunities for individualized research experiences to our students. Our research efforts apply ecological and evolutionary principles to address emerging grand challenges in medicine, agriculture, and environment.

Graduates of our undergraduate program are highly valued and sought after by employers, graduate and professional programs. Our graduates have higher placement rates than graduates of similar programs nationwide, and are particularly successful at gaining admission to graduate and health professional programs (with a 26% higher likelihood of placing than their peers).