Courses
Core Courses
There are four required core courses. Students must take one course from each of the selections listed below (A-D).
A. Introduction to genetics and evolution (one of the following courses)
BIOL SCI 110-1. Biology: Genetics and Evolution . Principles of genetics and evolution and their application. Laboratory. May not be taken for credit while or after taking 210-1. Chem 101 recommended.
BIOL SCI 210-1. Genetics and Evolutionary Biology . Transmission and demic genetics: evolutionary biology. Laboratory. Prerequisites: MATH 214-1, 2; Chem 103 or 172.
ANTHRO 213. Human Origins. Emergence of human species through the process of organic evolution, emphasizing genetics, the fossil record, and comparison with our nearest living relatives
B. BIOL SCI 342 Evolutionary Processes. An introduction to organic evolution including natural selection, origin of species and higher categories; phylogeny and its bearing on classification; modern concepts of the origin of life. Prerequisites: Either BIO SCI 110-1 or 210-1, or and familiarity with the fundamentals of Mendelian and molecular genetics (e.g. mechanisms of inheritance), or permission of the instructor.
C. EARTH 203. Earth System History. The objective of this course is to introduce students to the fundamental components of the Earth system—the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and solid Earth—and examine how the interaction of these components has changed through Earth history.
D. BIOL SCI 397. Capstone Seminar. Critical analysis and integration of previous course material. Students will develop a presentation and paper based on their research or collection, field, or laboratory based experience, placing the experience in context with previous course material. Prerequisites: Completion of the remainder of the core requirements, 3 of 4 electives, and either completion of or co-enrollment in a research project or collection, field, or laboratory based course.
Electives
Electives are distributed into three groups: A. General Electives; B. Collection, Field, or Laboratory Based Courses; and C. Quantitative Methods. Students must complete four elective courses. At least one elective must be selected from Group B. If students are not taking a course in quantitative methods as part of their major, it is recommended that they take one elective from Group C, or another statistics-related course approved by the ICEP Steering Committee. Students may petition the ICEP Steering Committee to request that courses not listed below be accepted as meeting these requirements. Courses for which petitions are submitted must be relevant to the study of evolution. Petitions must be submitted prior to the student enrolling in the course to be considered.
A. General Electives
ANTHRO 306-0 Evolution of Life Histories Evolved strategies for allocating resources among growth, reproduction, and maintenance; emphasis on the biological processes underlying the human life cycle and its evolution.
ANTHRO 310-0 Evolution and Culture Introduction to the application of theory from evolutionary biology to cultural anthropology; principles of evolutionary biology; application of principles to human social behavior and culture. Prerequisite: Anthro 213 or equivalent.
ANTHRO 317-0 Human Evolution Fossil record and reconstruction of phylogeny, morphological and behavioral adaptation of early hominids and forbearers.
ASTRON 220-0 Highlights of Astrophysics. Use of introductory physics (mechanics, electromagnetism, thermo dynamics, and modern physics) to cover astrophysical topics starting with the solar system and ending with the large-scale structure of the universe and cosmology. Prerequisites : Physics 135-1,2,3 or equivalent.
ASTRON 325-0 Stellar Astrophysics Physics of stellar interiors, stellar atmospheres, and star formation. Specific topics include simple stellar models, nuclear energy generation, overview of evolutionary phases, white dwarfs, neutron stars, interstellar gas and dust grains, gravitational collapse. Prerequisite: Astron 220.
ASTRON 329-0 Extragalactic Astrophysics and Cosmology Big bang cosmology, thermal history of the universe, primordial nucleosynthesis, microwave background, dark matter, large-scale structure, galaxy formation, spiral and elliptical galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies. Prerequisite: Astron 220.
BIOL SCI 320-0 Comparative Animal Behavior Evolutionary study of animal behavior, using field and laboratory data to illustrate theory and the mechanisms underlying the behavior. Prerequisite: BIO SCI 110-1 or 210-1 .
BIOL SCI 330. Plant Biology Plant structure and physiology, evolutionary diversity of plants, study of the interaction of plants with one another, other organisms and their environment. Prerequisites: BIOL SCI 210-1,2,3.
BIO SCI 332. Plant Conservation Genetics Plant conservation genetics in the context of management of threatened, endangered and other human-impacted populations. Lab simulations of genetic drift and natural selection. Prerequisites: BIOL SCI 164 or BIOL SCI 330 or instructor consent.
BIOL SCI 341-0 Population Genetics Processes that affect allele frequency change and thus cause evolution. Prerequisites: 210-1,2,3.
BIOL SCI 343-0 Phylogenetics Current concepts of evolutionary biology as background for an understanding of systematics and phylogeny reconstruction. Prerequisite: BIOL SCI 210-1.
BIOL SCI 347-0 Conservation Biology Evolution, ecology, and conservation of patterns of biological diversity. Prerequisites: BIOL SCI 164, 204, or 210-1; 1 course in statistics.
BIOL SCI 348-0. Plant Population Genetics Evolutionary processes at the population level, with particular reference to plant examples. Emphasis on the mathematical and theoretical concepts that govern the genetic nature of populations.
BIOL SCI 349-0. Plant Community Ecology The purpose of this class is 1) to introduce students to the scope of the science of ecology at more complex levels of organization, and 2) to develop sophistication in understanding community and ecosystem ecology literature through the exploration of both classical and recent literature. Prerequisite: BIOL SCI 330 or equivalent and permission of instructor.
BIOL SCI 359-0 Environmental Physiology Laboratory Experiments investigating how physiological systems of humans and other organisms respond to environmental variables. Data analysis and report writing emphasized. Prerequisites: BIOL SCI 210-1,2,3.
BIOL SCI 391-0 Developmental Biology Molecular mechanisms underlying early embryonic development, including establishment of the body and organogenesis, and evolution of complex structure. Discussion of the original literature. Prerequisites 210-1,2,3.
EARTH 201-0 Surface Processes Mountain building, deformational features, tectonic forces, glaciation, weathering, sedimentation, metamorphism, and volcanism. Field trip. Prerequisite: CHEM 103, MATH 214-1, or equivalent.
EARTH 202-0 Earth’s Interior The Earth as a planet: origin, composition, and evolution of the solar system and the Earth; internal structure of the Earth; plate tectonics. Prerequisite: MATH 214-2, PHYSICS 135-1, CHEM 103, or equivalent.
EARTH 311-0 Sedimentary Geochemistry Formation and diagenesis of carbonate, geochemistry of organic matter, petroleum formation, evaporite precipitation, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, isotope, organic, and trace and major element geochemistry. Prerequisites: EARTH 201, 330; CHEM 103; or equivalent.
EARTH 312-0 Stable Isotope Geochemistry Fractionation and distribution of stable isotopes (C,H,N,O,S) in the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere; isotopic biogeochemistry, environmental problems and global climate change. Prerequisites: EARTH 201; 315; 311.
EARTH 315-0 Geochemistry of Global Environment Surficial processes and their geological and biological driving forces (atmosphere-land-water interactions, weathering, geochemical transport, sedimentation). Biogeochemical cycles and their role in the global environment. Prerequisite: EARTH 201.
EARTH 320-0 Global Tectonics Kinematics of plate tectonics. Geometry, determination, and description of plate motions. Paleomagnetism, marine magnetism, and hot spots. History of ocean basins and mountain building processes. Prerequisites: EARTH 202, MATH 217, PHYSICS 135-2.
EARTH* 330-0 Sedimentary Geology Sedimentary rocks; stratigraphy; local, regional and global correlation. Ancient depositional systems; facies analysis in context of tectonic, eustatic, and climatic controls on deposition. Prerequisite:EARTH 201 or equivalent.
HISTORY 275-1,2 History of Western Science and Medicine 1. Origins of science and medicine in early modern Europe: science, religion, and cosmology; anatomy and sexual difference; the Enlightenment and social science. 2. Modern science and medicine in Europe and America: quantum physics and the A-bomb; Darwinism, genetics, and eugenics; DNA typing and “racial science.”
HISTORY 376-1,2 Science and Modern Society 1. Rise of science in early modern Europe and colonial America; relationship with philosophy, theology, and Enlightenment culture; science, society, and utopian thought. 2. Science in Europe and America, 1800–present: physical sciences and the power to transform the world; biological and medical sciences and changing social values.
IGP 436 Evolutionary Morphology Readings on evolutionary morphology. Lecture and discussion. Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor.
PHIL 254-0 Scientific Method in the Natural Sciences Philosophical and methodological issues in the natural sciences, such as the discovery and testing of hypotheses, explanation, theory selection, the nature of scientific laws, causality, space and time, determinism. Prerequisite: 1 course in the natural sciences.
B. Collection, Field, or Laboratory or Collection-Based Courses
ASTRON 321-0 Observational Astrophysics Geometric optics applied to design of optical and X-ray telescopes; diffraction and the Airy disk; radio and optical interferometry and aperture synthesis; adaptive optics; recent developments in detector technology; quantum and thermal noise in astronomy. Independent research projects using the CCD camera and 16-inch refractor in Dearborn Observatory. Offered alternate years. Prerequisite: 220.
BIOL SCI 344-0 Morphology of Vertebrates Laboratory Vertebrate phylogeny illustrated via comparative morphology; natomical/functional considerations; dissections. Prerequisite: BIOL SCI 210-1, 2.
BIOL SCI 345-0. Topics In Evolutionary Biology Topics vary, but always deal with the biology of a major group of organisms (Reptiles, birds, etc.). Laboratory. May be repeated for credit with a different topic. Prerequisites: Biology 210-1, 2.
BIOL SCI 346-0. Field Ecology An intensive experience in field ecological research. Prerequisites: BIO SCI 164, 204 or 210-1; 1 course in statistics.
BIOL SCI 349-0. Plant Community Ecology Ecology at complex levels of organization. Development of sophisticated understanding of community and ecosystem ecology literature. New thematic area each week.
BIOL SCI 350-0. Plant Systematics This course focuses on the major theoretical and methodological advances in establishing phylogenetic relationships among plants. Prerequisite: BIOL SCI 330 or equivalent and permission of instructor. Major theoretical and methodological advances in establishing phylogenetic relationships among plants.
CHEM 201-0 Chemistry of Nature and Culture Chemistry for the nonscientist. Chemicals commonly encountered in everyday life. With laboratory. (Recommended for students who are not taking any Chemistry as part of their major.)
IGP 407 Human and Primate Gross Anatomy Gross anatomy and embryology. Lecture, dissection, and demonstration. Permission of instructor required.
IGP 477 Primate Evolutionary Morphology Factual and theoretical background in key issues of primate evolution and morphology.
C. Quantitative Methods
ANTHRO 362 (1-2) Quantitative Methods of Analysis A broad range of classical statistical methods, univariate and multivariate, currently being applied to anthropological data. Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor.
BIOL SCI 323-0 Bioinformatics Utilization of informational and modeling techniques to explore evolutionary and other problems related to the genome. Prerequisites: BIOL SCI 210-1,2,3 and a course in statistics.
IGP 478 Biostatistics for the Life Sciences Probability, descriptive statistics, sampling distributions, statistical inference, and confidence intervals as applied to the basic and life sciences. Methods include two sample t-tests and chi square tests, analysis of variance, regression and correlation, and nonparametric methods. Statistical packages are used for applications.
MATH 304-0 Game Theory Selected topics in game theory: noncooperative games, matrix games, optimal strategies, cooperative games. Prerequisite: Math 219.
PHYSICS 252-0 Introduction to Computational Physics Computing and its application to physics: Monte Carlo simulation, numerical integration of equations of motion,discrete element methods in electromagnetism. Prerequisite:135-3.
STAT 202 Introduction to Statistics Data collection, summarization, correlation, regression, probability, sampling, estimation, tests of significance. Does not require calculus and makes minimal use of mathematics.
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