Undergraduate Advising and Program Planning Information for Evolution, Ecology & Biodiversity (EEB) Students
All undergraduate major advising for students in the Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity major is available in the Biology Academic Success Center (BASC) located in 1023 Sciences Lab Building, (530) 752-0410, https://basc.biology.ucdavis.edu/majors/evolution.
ADVISORS FOR THE EVOLUTION, ECOLOGY AND BIODIVERSITY MAJOR
To help you meet your Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity major program goals, the following advisors are available to you:
Master Advisor: Dr. Laci Gerhart-Barley
Office: 2345 Storer Hall, (530) 752-9814
Office Hours: Please contact Dr. Gerhart.
Email: lgerhart@ucdavis.edu
The Master Advisor for the EEB major is Dr. Laci Gerhart-Barley. She is knowledgeable in the material taught in the major and in the courses offered. Dr. Gerhart-Barley 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 the master advisor as well. She also has the authority to assign a faculty advisor for undergraduates.
Undergraduate Advisors: Yasmine Jefferson, Joyce Fernandez
Yasmine Jefferson
Academic Advisor, Biology Academic Success Center (BASC)
Email: yvjefferson@ucdavis.edu
Office: Room 1023 Sciences Lab Building, (530) 752-0410
To Schedule an Appointment: https://cbsapps.ucdavis.edu/Advising
To Visit the BASC / EEB Website: https://basc.biology.ucdavis.edu/majors/evolution
Joyce Fernandez
Assistant Director and Academic Advisor, Biology Academic Success Center (BASC)
Email: jfernandez@ucdavis.edu
Office: Room 1023 Sciences Lab Building, (530) 752-0410
To Schedule an Appointment: https://cbsapps.ucdavis.edu/Advising
To Visit the BASC / EEB Website: https://basc.biology.ucdavis.edu/majors/evolution
BASC General Office: (530) 752-0410
Yasmine Jefferson and Joyce Fernandez are the undergraduate advisors for students in the Evolution, Ecology & Biodiversity major. They can evaluate study plans for proper course sequences, perform major degree checks, and provide general information on graduate school and various careers. Visit the BASC website to schedule an appointment or attend drop-in hours. It is essential that you meet with the undergraduate advisor as needed, and also at least well before the quarter in which you plan to graduate. You will be able to go over a final degree check and confirm that all major and non-major requirements will be fulfilled.
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 will be offered. Remember, not all courses are offered each quarter or even each year! Many upper division courses are offered on an alternate year basis. Please see the website for courses offered in the current year.
Plan your program by noting all your requirements, for your major and for graduation, and tick them off as you schedule the appropriate courses in the appropriate quarter. Keep in mind flexibility in scheduling courses: there may not be enough room in a particular course, they might be canceled or shifted to another quarter, or there might be a time conflict. If in doubt about when a course will be offered, verify this with the office of the department offering the course.
Check in with the Undergraduate Advisor frequently to be sure you are on track toward graduation. Remember, your advisor does your EEB major degree check and must know your schedules and plans. In especially difficult cases, or where there is a dispute about interpretation of the rules, consult the EEB Master Advisor.
Major Modifications
Contact the Undergraduate Advisor if you’d like to discuss and/or make any major coursework modifications, i.e...
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substitute a course for a required course in the Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity major
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satisfy a requirement with a course not listed as satisfying that requirement
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intend to undertake any study abroad and wish to have it count toward the EEB major
Your advisor can approve these changes if they are in your best interest, but we do not provide outright waivers of course requirements. Immediately upon matriculating, transfer students should have their transfer work validated in the major by the undergraduate advisor. Contact Yasmine Jefferson or Joyce Fernandez via the BASC website http://basc.ucdavis.edu/ to schedule an appointment.
Special Study for Undergraduates: Research Units (EVE 99 and 199)
These are EVE courses that put you together with a professor and/or graduate student. You can assist a professor or graduate student with their research, or perhaps 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 Department of Evolution and Ecology faculty on the EVE website. By clicking on the faculty member's name, you will see their research interests.
The EVE 99 or 199 courses offer a unique opportunity to acquire special knowledge or skills and to establish a personal working relationship with a faculty member. (See an EEB Advisor and/or the General Catalog for credit limitations on special study courses in the College of Biological Sciences.) See Sherri Mann, smmann@ucdavis.edu, or visit her in 2320 Storer if you have questions about the process or need instructions on obtaining a CRN number for EVE research units.
You might find research opportunities in a variety of ways:
- Contact faculty and graduate students directly to see if they are in need of volunteers/interns.
- Review listerv announcements sent out by the EEB advisors.
- The Internship and Career Center posts jobs/internships, and offers assistance in finding jobs/internships. The ICC also holds regular workshops to help students become more marketable to employers. Visit the ICC's website for more information.
- The Undergraduate Research Center offers guidance in obtaining research opportunities. Consider meeting with an adviser at this center, and see the URC's website for more information.
Internships (EVE 92 & 192)
The Department of Evolution and Ecology offers unit credit for internships under the Internship and Career program. Such internships are arranged jointly through the Departmental Office and the Internship and Career Center. The following guidelines apply to all 92 and 192 courses:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Unit credit may not be figured as more than 1 unit per 3 hours/week for work, and will normally be less.
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192 units may not be applied to the upper division laboratory requirement in the B.S. program.
Research Honors (EVE 194HA/HB/HC)
The EVE Research Honors 3-quarter series - EVE 194HA, EVE 194HB, and EVE 194HC - is available to students who have completed 135 units, qualify for the Honors Program (as defined by the current catalog/a 3.5 GPA), and are undertaking research with a Department of Evolution and Ecology faculty member. Students pursue intensive research under the guidance of an EVE faculty member advisor. Students will complete the full three-quarter sequence culminating in the writing of an honors thesis. Deferred grading only pending completion of the sequence. Letter graded.
To participate in the EVE Research Honors 3-quarter series of coursework, EVE 194HA/HB/HC, you will contact and work with a Department of Evolution and Ecology faculty member, and complete an EVE research unit form describing your intended research honors thesis and process.
Transcript Notation
Transcript notation is obtained through the Internship and Career Center (ICC), with cooperation from your employer/faculty mentor. See the ICC's instructions for students and for employers/faculty mentors for information; and meet with your intended employer/faculty mentor to ascertain their availability to participate in transcript notation.
