DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY

OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

Picture at right shows a Zoology 349 (Island Biology) class during a laboratory session in the lowland rainforest of Ecuador.

The Zoology Department at Ohio Wesleyan University offers five versions, or sequences, of its major to suit various interests. Although most sequences begin with the same core courses, each has features that make a unique preparation for one of the numerous fields a student might choose: medicine, environmental work, genetics, biomedical engineering, neuroscience, secondary school teaching, museum curatorship, research, etc. All members of the zoology department are academic advisors and are available to help majors or potential majors in curriculum planning.

Our course offerings are correspondingly diverse in emphasis: molecular and organismal, laboratory and field, practical and theoretical. New digital imaging equipment and fluorescence microscopy laboratory, scanning electron microscope laboratory, polymerase chain reaction and molecular biology laboratory, zoology museum, and other facilities offer students opportunities to work with the newest technologies. Many of our courses encourage students to use off-campus facilities, such as Ohio Wesleyan's Kraus and Bohannan nature preserves and nearby USDA Laboratory's transmission electron microscope. Frequently, apprentice ships are available at local hospitals and veterinary clinics, the Stratford Ecological Center, and the Columbus Zoo.

The department encourages students to seek distinctive learning and research experiences, which can be in the form of independent studies, summer research projects, or summer courses at biological field stations. Additionally, numerous awards recognizing excellence and providing financial support are given to majors each year.