Undergraduate Advising for EEB Students

Advisors

We recently appointed a new undergraduate advisor: Sherri Mann. Her schedule to see students is 8 A.M. to 2 P.M. on Monday and Friday and 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. on Tuesday through Thursday. She can evaluate study plans for proper course sequences and workload, perform major and college degree checks, and provide general information on various careers. You can either set up an appointment or just drop in during those hours. Her telephone number is (530) 752-8523, or you can contact her by e-mail.

The peer advisors have taken many of the courses you will be taking and can give you a student's perspective on class schedules and instructors. They also have compiled a wealth of graduate school information in the peer advisor's office. The peer advisor is Chris Kwan. His office is at 2202 Storer Hall, and he can also be reached by phone at (530) 752-1888. His office hours can be found outside the peer advising office. The peer advisors' office hours change due to different schedules every quarter.

The Master Advisor for the EEB major is Dr. Catherine Toft. She is knowledgeable in much of the material taught in the major and in the courses offered. Dr. Toft can also assist students with study plans and recommend courses they should take depending on their interests. Courses taken abroad or in other universities are approved by her as well. She has the authority to assign a faculty advisor for undergraduates, too.

Declaring the Major

Students may be admitted to UCD in the Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity major if they indicate so on their applications. Many students will have to file a declaration of major to be considered Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity majors. Even if you are admitted in the major, it would be a great idea to make an appointment with the undergraduate advisor (Sherri Mann; 530-752-8523) so you can choose to be assigned an advisor your first quarter in the major.

Continuing students may declare a major at any time but must declare by the time they reach 90 units in CBS. Of course, you may change your major later if you like. Transfer students may not change majors during their first quarter as registered UCD students.

The declaration/change of major form is a single sheet. It is signed by your advisor and sent to the Dean of the College of Biological Sciences, who will notify you if it is approved. You must obtain your old advisor's signature if you are changing majors, and you should have your old advisor send your records to the Section of Evolution and Ecology. The petition is available from Sherri in her office in 2320G Storer Hall.

Advisors are assigned on a rotational basis, unless a student indicates a particular area of interest within Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity. When you inquire about declaring the major, the undergraduate advisor will assign a faculty advisor. The advisors are listed elsewhere in this booklet. (You may request a particular advisor if you prefer, but that advisor may not be available if they are overloaded). The advisor you are assigned to will be your permanent advisor—all the way to graduation—unless a change in advisor assignment is approved by the Master Advisor: Dr. Toft.

(Atop sand dunes in the Mojave Desert. Photo courtesy of Joseph L. Huang)

Planning Your Program

Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity is a demanding major. You should plan ahead as far as possible, noting in which quarters your required courses are offered. Remember, not all courses are offered each quarter or even each year!

Plan your program by noting all your requirements—for your major and for graduation—and tick them off one by one as you schedule the appropriate courses in the appropriate quarter. Do not bunch up a lot of required courses in your senior year—you might get closed out of them, or they might be canceled or shifted to another quarter, or there might be a time conflict between two of them. If in doubt about when a course will be offered, inquire at the office of the department offering it.

Keep your advisor up-to-date on any changes in your plans or any scheduling problems. Remember, your advisor does your major degree check and MUST know your schedules and plans. Occasionally one of the advisors goes off for a sabbatical, and someone else takes charge of his/her students for that time. We regret this inconvenience and are trying to achieve maximum stability in advising relationships. We hope you'll do your part by explaining your situation carefully if you have to see a new advisor. In a pinch, any advisor can substitute for your advisor, but be sure your regular advisor is informed of any modifications made in your program by someone else! In especially difficult cases, or where there is a dispute about interpretation of the rules, consult the Master Advisor.

Major Modifications

Contact your advisor if you want to:

-- substitute a course for a required course in the Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity major
-- satisfy a requirement with a course not listed as satisfying that requirement

Your advisor can approve these changes if they are in your best interest, but we do not ordinarily give outright waivers of course requirements. Lower-division courses are normally waived ONLY if the equivalent material has been taken elsewhere or the student has Advanced Placement Credit. Immediately upon matriculating, transfer students should get courses taken elsewhere validated in the major by the staff advisor. Contact Sherri by phone (530-752-1272), or by e-mail to make an appointment.

Special Study Courses

These are courses that put you together with a professor, one-on-one. You can do individual study in the lab, in the library, or in the field on a topic of special interest to you. To help you find a willing professor, we've included a list of the faculty and their own research interests in this booklet. The 199 courses offer a unique opportunity to acquire special knowledge or skills and to establish a personal working relationship with a faculty member. They may be taken for up to 5 units each quarter, however, only 4 total units count towards your upper division requirements. {See page 88 in the 2006-2008 General Catalog for credit limitations on special study courses in the College of Biological Sciences}.

NOTE: Students may apply for no more than 4 units of independent study (192, 198, and 199) to the upper division unit requirement in biological sciences for the major.

(Within a cave in the Mojave. Photo courtesy of Ann T. Chang)

Internships (EVE 92 & 192)

The Section of Evolution and Ecology offers unit credit for internships under the Internship and Career program {(see page 59 in the 2006-08 General Catalog)}. Such internships are arranged jointly through the section office and the Internship and Career Center. The following guidelines apply to all 92 and 192 courses:

1. All internships must be of demonstrable intellectual merit and must supplement regular course work and be consistent with a reasonable definition of the discipline of Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity.

Thus, museum or aquarium internships will usually merit credit. Work in the Vet School, Vet Med Teaching Hospital, or Primate Center is potentially appropriate if it involves intellectual content, i.e., routine maintenance of lab animals or performance of simple research procedures should not get credit, but reading in the primary literature or carrying out actual research with exposure to methods of experimental design and data interpretation may. Work such as volunteer time at a hospital emergency room or as a "veterinary assistant" does not qualify.

2. Whether on or off campus, all 92's and 192's must include some form of written work. This may take the form of a paper, a daily journal, etc.

3. Indirectly-sponsored internships must incorporate some formal basis for credit. Your immediate on-site supervisor should provide your faculty sponsor with a written evaluation of your performance and what you got out of it. You may request that this evaluation become part of your advising file.

4. Unit credit may not be figured as more than 1 unit per 3 hours/week for work, and will normally be less.

5. 192 units may not be applied to the upper division laboratory requirement in the B.S. program.

Honors in the Major

It is important to check with the undergraduate advisor during your senior year to see if you are eligible for Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors at graduation. CBS requires a minimum GPA that changes quarterly (based on previous graduating classes and the amount of units completed at UCD).

Additionally, the Section of Evolution and Ecology awards citations to graduating seniors who have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in the major. Students must have a GPA of 3.6 or better and have completed undergraduate research of some kind. If you think you may qualify, point this out to your advisor at the end of Winter Quarter of your senior year, or sooner if you graduate in an "odd quarter."

Life Lines

All Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity students: The College of Biological Sciences, 202 Life Sciences Addition of Briggs Hall, can bail you out of scrapes involving red tape. Call 752-0410 from any University phone. There is no longer drop-in advising and so you have to make an appointment to meet with an advisor.

Transfer students: The Transfer Student Services Office provides information and referral assistance and coordinates transfer-student matters among existing student services. They are located in 160 South Silo (752-2200).

Pre-Health majors: Contact the Health Sciences Advising Office, 111 South Hall, 752-2672. It is extremely important for pre-health majors to stay ahead of things.