Biological Sciences (Environmental)
B.S. Degree, Biology, Environmental Biology Option
Our mission is to educate a new generation of scientists and practitioners in the theory and methods of ecology, evolution, and environmental biology. Our educational programs emphasize a multi- and trans-disciplinary approach to understand life on Earth from the level of organisms to global processes that sustain humanity and all life. All students graduate with internship and/or research experience in their field of choice so they have skills and experience that prepare them for their future.
The Environmental Biology program in the DESS at Kean University has been rapidly growing since its establishment in 2014 and now it has an internationally diverse student body with a broad network of supporters throughout the state of New Jersey and beyond. This program is offered at our Union, Skylands and Kean Ocean Campuses. Each campus has its own area of focus based on the surrounding ecosystems and student research is always the central part of coursework. For example, students take an experiential learning approach to learning about urban ecology and sustainable agriculture at the Union Campus; forest ecology, and bird and wildlife biology at the Skylands Campus; and marine biology and marine conservation at the Ocean Campus. Students are welcome to take courses at each of the three campuses through this program and gain a diverse skillset including species identification, biodiversity assessment, animal population surveying, experimental design, and soil analysis.
The DESS Environmental Biology program recognizes the multi-disciplinary perspectives of the fields and the complexity of the dynamics in the natural environments. Our program covers a vast area of inquiry into the evolutionary, genetic, and ecological relationships among all living things, so our graduates will be prepared to pursue advanced graduate or professional degrees within the many areas of the environmental and life science.
Students interested in pursuing careers in the private and public research sector specialized in conservation and restoration, wildlife biology, ornithology, invasive or rare species management, ecological modeling, environmental and community health, medicinal botany and other areas of health care should consider the Environmental Biology as majors.