Majors are encouraged to take advantage of special opportunities available in summer courses at the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory at Lake Okoboji and at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Generally, these credits may be applied toward the zoology elective requirement. Interested students should consult their advisers. A Zoology major may not double major or minor in Biology. The department also participates in the immunobiology and neuroscience interdepartmental programs.
All degrees require the completion of original research and a written thesis or dissertation.
For further information about each major, see the appropriate catalog listing or write to the department. Students entering any graduate major or program in the department need a sound background in the biological, physical, and mathematical sciences and must be committed to research. A student majoring in zoology may specialize in animal behavior, cell biology, molecular biology , developmental biology, comparative physiology, ecology , endocrinology, immunobiology , neurobiology, parasitology, or physiology. The requirements for the genetics major can be found under Genetics in the separate interdepartmental listing. Specific course requirements for advanced degrees depend largely upon previous training and experience in the major area of specialization.