The following list contains the graduate courses routinely offered by the Biology Department, and professional courses for Teaching Assistants and for first-year graduate students. Many graduate courses are offered on alternate years. A number of courses are cross-listed with other UCR departments. Course instructors may vary from year to year.
To obtain the latest course information, you need to consult the most recent version of the UC Riverside course catalog.
Graduate Courses
Lecture, three hours; seminar, one hour. Prerequisite(s): BCH 110A-BCH 110B (may be taken concurrently); BIOL 102 or equivalent; for BIOL 200A: CBNS 111 or equivalent; for BIOL 200B: BIOL 107A or equivalent. 200A: a detailed presentation of the interrelationships between structural and functional elements of the living cell; 200B: structure and inheritance of genetic material, gene expression at the cellular and molecular level.
BIOL 203. Cellular Biophysics. (3)
Lecture, three hours. Prerequisite(s): CHEM109 or equivalent, and BIOL 200A-BIOL 200B; or consent of instructor. Biophysical principles that determine cellular structure and function including diffusion, electrochemical gradients, transport, macromolecular interactions, and genetic recombination. Illustrative examples are used to highlight the importance of these principles in modern cell biology and physiology.
BIOL 208. Host-Parasite Relationships. (3)
Lecture, three hours. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 100/ENTM 100 or BIOL 157 or consent of instructor. Explores the fundamental biochemical and developmental requirements for "successful" host-parasite relationships in insects. Emphasizes wasp and nematode parasites of insects and vector-parasite interactions involved in transmission of parasites in malaria, trypanosoma, and Lyme disease. Cross-listed with ENTM 208.
BIOL 212. Ecological Systems in Space and Time. (4)
Lecture, two hours; discussion, one hour; field, thirty hours per quarter. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 117 or BIOL 152/GEO 152 or equivalent or consent of instructor. Focuses on how ecological systems are interpreted and reconciled at the community, landscape, and paleontological scales and on the role of extrinsic factors operating at each of these scales. Examines the historical development of our understanding of ecological systems at various scales. Cross-listed with ENTM 212 and GEO 212.
BIOL 213. Behavioral Ecology. (4)
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 160 or consent of instructor. Examines animal behavior in an evolutionary context. Traces the historical development of the study of behavior, drawing from ethology, comparative psychology, and sociobiology. Topics include evolution of sociality, sexual selection, predator-prey behavior, and parental care.
BIOL 214. Population Genetics. (4)
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 108 or consent of instructor. Traces the historical development of modern ideas in Population Genetics. Focuses on the influence of Fisher, Haldane and Wright on current views of genetic variation in natural populations, by examining recent research in the context of their classic works.
BIOL 216. The Theory of Evolution. (4)
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 105 or consent of instructor. Traces the historical development of modern ideas in Evolutionary Theory. Focuses on the influence of Darwin and of the various authors of the Modern Synthesis on current views of macroevolution, by examining recent research in the context of their classic works.
BIOL 217. Population and Community Ecology. (4)
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 117 or BIOL 127/ENTM 127 or consent of instructor. Traces the development of the major concepts in ecology. Focuses on the influence of pioneers in the field, historical roots of key concepts, and key controversies. Current research is evaluated with reference to these historical origins.
BIOL 218. Field Course in Evolutionary Ecology. (4)
Lecture, one hour; discussion, one hour; field, eight hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing and consent of instructor. A series of field exercises related to topics of current interest in evolutionary ecology. Topics include the effects of competition, predation, and mutualism on populations and communities; and theories of optimal behavior, morphology, and life history. Emphasis will be placed on the design, execution, and analysis of field experiments.
BIOL 219. Theory of Systematics. (4)
Lecture, two hours; discussion, two hours. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 112/BPSC 112/ENTM 112 or equivalent or consent of instructor. Examines topics developed around a series of classical and recent papers on the principles, philosophy, and methodology of modern systematics and phylogenetic methods. Cross-listed with ENTM 219 and GEO 219.
BIOL 220. Evolutionary Physiology. (4)
Lecture, 4 hours. Prerequisite(s): an upper division course in evolution and animal physiology or behavior, an upper division course in statistics that covers analysis of covariance; or consent of instructor. Covers evolutionary approaches to the study of animal physiology. Includes organismal and organ-system physiology, biomechanics and locomotor mechanisms, cell physiology, the development of physiolgoical systems, and behavioral neuroscience.
BIOL 221. Microbial Genetics. (4)
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Prerequisite(s): BCH 110C or BIOL 107A; BIOL 102. An in-depth coverage of the genetics of microbes with emphasis on the primary data and the foundation of modern techniques using Escherichia coli and other prokaryotic systems. Topics include genome organization, plasmids, restriction-modification systems, mutation, transposable elements, regulation of gene expression, viruses, recombination, repair, and response to stress. Cross-listed with MCBL 221.
BIOL 222. Developmental Genetics. (3)
Lecture, two hours; seminar, one hour. Prerequisite(s): BCH 110A-BCH 110B; BIOL 107A or BIOL 200B. Study of molecular genetic strategies and developmental mutations that reveal genetic mechanisms controlling development in higher eukaryotes. Topics include chromosome inactivation and rearrangement, temporal patterns and developmental-lethal mutants, behavioral genetics, oncogenetics, and immunogenetics.
BIOL 230. Analysis of Ecological Communities. (5)
Lecture, three hours; discussion, two hours. Prerequisite(s): PSYC 212 or STAT 100B or equivalent; consent of instructor. Principles of multivariate analysis and its application to the interpretation of ecological community data. Topics include multiple and partial correlation and regression, canonical correlation, detrended and canonical correspondence analysis, multidimensional scaling, similarity indices and cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis.
BIOL 232. Plant Development. (4)
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Prerequisite(s): BCH 110C or BIOL 107A; BIOL 102; BIOL 104/
BPSC 104; or consent of instructor. An examination of plant development, with emphasis on the genetic mechanism used in patterning plant form. Topics are taken from current literature and focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms. Cross-listed with BPSC 232.
BIOL 250. Special Topics in Biology. (1-2)
Seminar, one to two hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing and consent of instructor. Oral presentations and intensive small-group discussion of selected topics in the area of special competence of each staff member. Course content will emphasize recent advances in the special topic area and will vary accordingly. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). May be repeated for credit.
BIOL 252. General Colloquium in Biology. (1)
Seminar, one hour; discussion, one hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing. Oral reports by visiting scholars on current biological research. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). May be repeated for credit. For a list of Seminars, see Seminars.
BIOL 257. Graduate Seminar in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology. (1)
Seminar, one hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing. Lectures by visiting scholars on current research in cell, molecular, and developmental biology. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable. Cross-listed with BCH 257, BMSC 257, BPSC 257, ENTM 257, ENTX 257, NEM 257, NRSC 257, and PLPA 257.
BIOL 261. Seminar in Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics. (1)
Seminar, one hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate status or consent of instructor. Oral reports by visiting scholars, faculty and students on current research topics in recombinant DNA. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable. Cross-listed with BCH 261, BPSC 261, ENTM 261, and PLPA 261.
BIOL 262. Advances in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology. (1-2)
Seminar, one hour; outside research, three hours (for 2-unit enrollees). Prerequisite(s): graduate status or consent of instructor. Oral reports by visiting scholars, faculty, and students on current research topics in cellular, molecular and developmental biology. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). May be repeated for credit.
BIOL 265. Advances in Population and Evolutionary Biology. (1-2)
Seminar, one hour; outside research, three hours (for 2-unit enrollees). Prerequisite(s): graduate status or consent of instructor. Oral reports by visiting scholars, faculty, and students on current research topics in population and evolutionary biology. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). May be repeated for credit.
BIOL 281 (E-Z). Seminar in Cell Development, Structure, and Function. (2)
Seminar, two hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing and consent of instructor. Lectures, discussions, and demonstrations by students, faculty, and invited scholars on selected subjects concerned with the principles of cell development, structure, and function. E. Cell Biology; F. Molecular Biology; G. Developmental Biology. Courses are repeatable.
BIOL 282. Seminar in Genetics and Evolution. (2)
Seminar, two hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing and consent of instructor. Lectures, discussions and demonstrations by students, faculty and invited scholars on selected subjects concerned with the principles of genetics and evolution. May be repeated for credit.
BIOL 283. Seminar in Organismal Physiology and Physiological Ecology. (2)
Seminar, two hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing and consent of instructor. Lectures, discussions and demonstrations by students, faculty and invited scholars on selected subjects concerned with the principles of organismal physiology and physiological ecology. May be repeated for credit.
BIOL 284. Seminar in Biology. (2)
Seminar, two hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing and consent of instructor. Lectures, discussions and demonstrations by students, faculty and invited scholars on selected subjects concerned with the principles of biology. May be repeated for credit.
BIOL 285. Seminar in Animal Behavior and Neurobiology. (2)
Seminar, two hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing and consent of instructor. Lectures, discussions, and demonstrations by students, faculty and invited scholars on selected topics concerned with animal behavior and its neural and hormonal basis. Course is repeatable.
BIOL 287. Colloquium in Neuroscience. (1)
Colloquium, one hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing or consent of instructor. Oral reports on current research topics in neuroscience with presentations by visiting scholars, faculty, and students. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable. Cross-listed with BCH 287, BMSC 287, CHEM 287, NRSC 287, and PSYC 287.
BIOL 289. Special Topics in Neuroscience. (2)
Seminar, two hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing or consent of instructor. An interdisciplinary seminar consisting of student presentations and discussion of selected topics in neuroscience. Content and instructor(s) vary each time course is offered. Letter grades will be assigned to students presenting formal seminars; others will be graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable. Cross-listed with BCH 289, BMSC 289, CHEM 289, ENTM 289, NRSC 289, and PSYC 289.
BIOL 290. Directed Studies. (1-6)
Variable hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing and consent of instructor. Individual studies on specially selected topics in biology under the direction of a staff member. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable.
BIOL 291. Individual Studies in Coordinated Areas. (1-6)
Variable hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing. A program of studies designed to advise and assist candidates who are preparing for examinations. Open to M.A. and Ph.D. candidates; does not count toward the unit requirement for the M.A. degree. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable.
BIOL 292. Concurrent Analytical Studies in Biology. (2-4)
Research, six to twelve hours. Prerequisite(s): consent of instructor. The course will be elected concurrently with an appropriate undergraduate course, but on an individual basis. It will be devoted to one or more graduate papers based on research or criticism related to the course. Faculty guidance and evaluation will be provided throughout the quarter. May be repeated for credit.
BIOL 297. Directed Research. (1-6)
Variable hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing and consent of instructor. Directed research in biology. Experimental studies on specially selected topics in biology under the direction of a staff member. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable.
BIOL 299. Research for Thesis or Dissertation. (1-12)
Variable hours. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing and consent of instructor. Original research in an area selected for the advanced degree. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC). Course is repeatable.
Professional Courses
BIOL 301. Teaching of Biology at the College Level. (1) Seminar, one hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing. A program of weekly meetings and individual formative evaluations required of new Biology Teaching Assistants. Covers instructional methods and classroom/section activities most suitable for teaching Biology. Conducted by the TA Development Program. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC).
BIOL 400. Introduction to graduate study in Biology. (2) Lecture, one hour; discussion, one hour. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing; consent of instructor. Introduces students to opportunities and requirements for successful graduate study through a series of lectures and discussions. Emphasis is placed on effective strategies for developing and implementing a program of professional development and graduate research. Graded Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC).