Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• CAS BI 611: Microbiome: Our Intimate Relationship with Microorganisms
  Graduate Prerequisites: CASBI203 (or equivalent) & CASBI206 (or equivalent) or consent of inst ructor. - The microbial community - referred to as "microbiome" - that colonizes the human body plays an important role in our health. Topics include (1) the human microbiome; and (2) fundamental aspects of the interactions between animals and the microorganisms that reside with them. Three hours lecture; one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 613: Microbial Ecology
  Microorganisms are the most abundant, diverse form of life on Earth. Through lectures and discussions, this course views microbes in coordination with their environments, exploring how they evolve, move, metabolize, and interact in relation to their abiotic and biotic surroundings.
• CAS BI 614: Ornithology
  Examines the behavior, ecology, and morphology, physiology, classification, and evolution of birds. Flight, navigation, migration, territorial courtship, nesting, and parental behavior. Field trips. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion and demonstrations.
• CAS BI 623: Marine Biogeochemistry
  Oceanic nutrient and biogeochemical cycling in the context of the marine response to global change. Links between local and global scales are emphasized. Topics include oceanic productivity, iron limitation, oceanic glacial carbon dioxide budget, biogenic particle fluxes, oceanic glacial-interglacial biogeochemistry.
• CAS BI 643: Terrestrial Biogeochemistry
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASBI107 OR CASES105) and CH 101/102, or consent of instructor. - The patterns and processes controlling carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Links between local and global scales are emphasized. Topics include net primary production, nutrient use efficiency, and biogeochemical transformation.
• CAS BI 645: Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: graduate standing. - Cellular and molecular basis of neural excitability and synaptic transmission. The molecular understanding of ion channels is extrapolated to higher brain functions such as learning, memory, and sleep. Three hours lecture, three hours laboratory, one hour pre-lab.
• CAS BI 648: Biodiversity and Conservation Biology
  The study of biological diversity and modern methods to protect endangered plant and animal species. The environment, population, and genetic and human factors that affect the survival of species are examined for temperate and tropical communities, as well as terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Ethical Reasoning.
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  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
• CAS BI 649: Neuroscience Design Lab
  Design and build devices for neuroscience experiments. Interface sensors with computers using Arduino microprocessors. Guided exercises followed by independent design projects to quantify human sensory and motor performance, or emulate animal sensory-motor circuits. All levels of programming experience accepted. Also offered as GRS NE 649.
• CAS BI 655: Developmental Neurobiology
  Fundamental principles of developmental neurobiology. Course stresses molecular mechanisms that underlie early neural development, differentiation, process outgrowth, and behavior. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.
• CAS BI 671: Survey of Ecology, Behavior, Evolution, and Marine Biology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Biology graduate students, who have not yet taken their qualifying exam, in areas of Ecology, Behavior, Evolution, and Marine Biology. Other s will be permitted at the discretion of the instructor. - Introduces graduate students to current faculty and graduate student research in ecology, behavior, evolution, and marine biology. Students and faculty share expertise and establish collaborations, helping the Department of Biology to leverage its most important asset: intellectual capital.
• CAS BI 681: Molecular Biology of the Neuron
  Topics include electrical properties of single neurons, how neurons propagate electrical signals and communicate in synaptic transmission. The course will also examine the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopment and study synaptic plasticity in relation to learning and memory and disease. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Scientific Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Scientific Inquiry II
• CAS BI 696: First Year Graduate Seminar in Biology
  A seminar designed to help guide first-year Biology PhD students through their first semester as graduate students at BU.
• CAS BI 697: A Bridge to Knowledge: A Practical Seminar for First-Year Graduate Students in Biology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: first-year MA or PhD students in Biology or MCBB, or first-time teach ing fellows in Biology or MCBB. - A seminar for first-year biology and MCBB graduate students. Basic pedagogical theory and professional development topics are covered. The course is intended to help students become effective teachers and members of the graduate community. Also offered as GRS MB 697.
• CAS BI 701: Graduate Readings in Biology
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor, limited to BA/MS students and graduate students in the scholarly paper MS program. - Library research on well-defined subjects determined in consultation with faculty member. Two such half courses may be used to partially satisfy the eight-full- course requirement for the MS degree in Biology.
• CAS BI 702: Graduate Readings in Biology
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor, limited to BA/MS students and graduate students in the scholarly paper MS program. - Library research on well-defined subjects determined in consultation with faculty member. Two such half courses may be used to partially satisfy the eight-full- course requirement for the MS degree in Biology.
• CAS BI 708: Systems Developmental Biology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: graduate student standing (or consent of instructor). - Processes in developmental biology are discussed using a quantitative systems biology approach. Through interactive lectures and discussions of the literature, the class will explore the challenges and solutions to developmental processes that differ in time scale, complexity, and error tolerance.
• CAS BI 714: Professional Development for Biology PhDs
  This course is targeted at post-advancement Biology/MCBB PhD students. It aims to help students develop or update Individual Development Plans and gain the skills and information to successfully complete their PhD and explore diverse career paths.
• CAS BI 719: Colloquium in Biogeoscience
  Graduate Prerequisites: MA or PhD standing. - Introduction to the field of Biogeoscience through weekly research presentations and discussions with GRS faculty and distinguished guests. Students also meet weekly with lead faculty member to discuss primary literature related to each presentation. Also offered as GRS ES 719 and GRS GE 719.
• CAS BI 720: Practicum in Biogeoscience
  Graduate Prerequisites: MA or PhD standing. - Analysis and synthesis of the primary literature via in-depth case studies in biogeoscience. Students meet weekly with faculty to read papers from the primary literature, synthesize results, and prepare a peer-review quality paper on the case study. Also offered as GRS ES 720 and GRS GE 720.
• CAS BI 735: Advanced Cell Biology
  Current understanding of essential topics and important problems in modern cell biology, with emphasis on recent experimental findings, research strategies and approaches, and new techniques for investigating how cells work. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.