What is Ecology and Evolutionary Biology?
What is it like being an EEB major?
What are common misconceptions about EEB majors?
What kind of internships and international experiences have majors had?
How will EEB majors save the world?
Why would anyone want to date an EEB major?
What is Ecology and Evolutionary Biology?
An easy way to distinguish between EEB and MOL is that EEB encompasses everything larger than the cell whereas MOL focuses on dynamics within a cell. This means that EEB students get to explore biology as it relates to life processes—an incredibly diverse topic that includes everything from physiological mechanisms to interactions between organisms to the creation and maintenance of ecosystems and diversity.
There are three groups of core classes that EEB majors have to take: ecology/conservation, evolution/genetics, and behavior/physiology. So no matter what particular branch of biology you're most interested in, there's a spot for you in the EEB department. Undergrads can do research on a wide range of topics, from developmental genetics to behavioral ecology to biological systems like endocrinology.
EEB really gives you the freedom to explore whatever facet of life science you find to be most interesting, all while grounding your study in a fundamental appreciation and understanding for the processes that are responsible for the diversity of life.
Even more so than in most departments, EEB is what you make of it. You can choose to focus your studies on the macro scale (animal behavior, climate change, epidemiology), the micro scale (genetics, viruses, crickets) or some combination of the two. How much you learn is typically proportional to how passionate you are about the topic you ultimately choose to focus your independent work on and how many resources you take advantage of (in the EEB department and beyond) while at Princeton.
EEB faculty are happy to involve you in their exciting research programs, however you need to take the initiative and contact them about your interest. Getting involved in a research team is a great way to learn about biology at an advanced level. There are generous research funds available for summer research. The semester abroad program is an incredibly rewarding experience that enables you to explore many aspects of biology that are simply unavailable in laboratories at Princeton. From chasing schools of fish through the warm waters of the Caribbean in order to study their behavior, to taking a transect across Vulcan Baru and tracking the circadian rhythm of golden collared manikins, we had a fantastic introduction to field research.
EEB is an extremely flexible department which will enable you to tailor its curriculum to your interests and needs.
What is it like being an EEB major?
Being an EEB major means having the freedom to follow your interests. The EEB department has loose requirements which require you to gain a general background in the life sciences without interfering with your independence and ability to design your own course of study. For instance, as an EEB major, you can take courses in the Molecular Biology, Anthropology, Woodrow Wilson School, and Chemistry departments (to name a few), and the best part about it is that those courses can actually count as departmentals! Furthermore, the EEB department offers two study abroad programs in Kenya and Panama. Students get to take courses with Princeton professors in a foreign country and don't have to worry about fulfilling departmentals or being able to transfer course credits. Not to mention, Princeton professors are pretty fun to hang out with outside of the classroom/country. Seriously!
As for the JP and thesis, the same freedom students have with their courses applies to independent work. Got an idea? There's a professor who is willing to work on it with you, and if your topic relates to another department, you can work with a second advisor in that department. You even get guidance on choosing an advisor. In the fall of your junior year, all juniors get together for Junior Tutorial, a weekly seminar that introduces students to the different EEB professors and their research as well as how to use the library system. Oh, and there is always cookies and juice! So you can think of it as a weekly study break! At the end of the Tutorial, students submit the name of their preferred advisor, and most students get their first choice. With the guidance of their advisors, students write two JP's (one in the fall and one in the spring) in their junior year and a thesis in their senior year. The length of these works varies from student to student. That's right! There is no required length for independent work. Also, if you ever have a question or get lost in all of your freedom, there is always someone to talk to, especially Lolly O'Brien, the best program administrator EVER. Send her an e-mail if you have any questions and she will immediately write back with an extremely helpful response. EEB majors are happy with their choice in major. Just ask any of us what we think!
What are common misconceptions about EEB majors?
1. It is all simple and boring memorization. This misconception seems to spring up as a result of frustrating introductory classes like EEB 211. Try taking an upper level and you'll see that its much more about understanding important concepts and principles than memorizing meaningless facts.
2. We are all modern-day tree-hugging, animal-loving hippies. About half of EEB majors are also pre-meds so you can think of them as people loving more than animal loving. Although there are many with environmental concerns in the department, the department is much more diverse than a clan of hippies.
3. We are the easier biology major (thus the moniker "Easy Easy Biology"). Any major at Princeton is what you make of it. Whether or not you choose to challenge yourself is a function of your own attitude as much as the department in which you focus.
What kind of internships and international experiences have majors had?
EEB majors have had interesting summer experiences: one recently spent the summer before junior year interning at an NGO just outside of Rome, Italy called Bioversity International. Bioversity is an independently operated organization that works to promote the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity across the globe. Sponsored by Princeton's International Internship Program (IIP), this intern worked for the Public Awareness unit, composing articles for 'Geneflow Magazine', a publication released once a year which showcases Bioversity's successes in improving the lives of marginalized farmers and the health of children, families and the environment.
Other majors have spent part of the summer in Bermuda taking a course in Marine Biology through the EEB department. Examples of internships that have been held include working for Friends of Princeton Open Space (right by campus) and an Environmental Health position at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA.
How will EEB majors save the world?
We will become professors, physicians, veterinarians, lawyers, entrepreneurs and environmental policy-makers and activists. We will protect both human and non-human lives and the environment on which they depend.
Why would anyone want to date an EEB major?
We are a diverse group of fun, loving people who know how to wild out (just ask the Panama '08 crew) and care about our surroundings.
