Based on the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ faculty’s longtime awareness of the educational value of engaged learning, the Odyssey Program was implemented in the fall of 2005 to encourage all ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ students to embark on educational adventures in experiential learning. While the graduation requirement includes
the completion of an approved experience in at least three of the six Odyssey categories, the Program importantly allows students to learn more about themselves and the world around them. For more information, visit the
Odyssey Program Info Hub.
Below you will find examples of ways students pursuing a major or minor in this department or program have encountered Odyssey. Remember that these are only suggested opportunities; students are encouraged to propose their own creative Odyssey projects. Further, Odyssey experiences do not need
to be related to your major or minor.
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Established Pathways to Odyssey through the BIOL Major
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Global Awareness
Some BIOL courses have associated trips that make them eligible for GA credit . These include:
- BIOL 355 – Marine Biology with Lab – Belize and Guatemala
- BIOL 480 – Field Ecology with Lab –Costa Rica or Big Bend National Park
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Undergraduate Research
Students in Biology can achieve UR Odyssey credit through research experiences in the following classes:
- BIOL 435 – Cancer Biology with Lab
- BIOL 465 – Molecular Evolution and Bioinformatics with Lab
- BIOL 399/499Ìý – Independent Studies (research done with Biology faculty)
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Additional Examples of Past Odyssey Experiences related
to BIOL
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Professional and Leadership Development
- Places where BIOL students have interned include:
- Other PL experiences have been achieved through the following projects:
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Special Projects
- Riding Dirty with Science: A Summer Science Camp for Middle Schoolers
- Adventures in Insect Taxonomy: Improving BIOL’s Teaching Insect Collection
- Ethical Taxidermy in London, UK
- Nature Appreciation and Conservation through Science, Literature, and Service
- Improving the Marine Biology (BIOL 355) Staghorn and Elkhorn Coral Research Project
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Service to the World
·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Serving Central Arkansas Through Science Experiences
·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Service with the Humane Society of Pulaski County
- Summer Volunteer Project at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary
- Volunteering at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation
- Penguin Conservation: Volunteering with SANCCOB
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Undergraduate Research
Many of our students pursue original research with faculty on our campus and elsewhere. Below you will find examples of research topics and programs that students have used for UR credit on-campus and off-campus.
·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý On-campus
oÌýÌýÌý Form and function of mammalian skeletal muscles (Dearolf)
oÌýÌýÌý Interplay between transcription and chromatin structure (Duina)
oÌýÌýÌý The physiology of stress tolerance in insects (Gantz)
oÌýÌýÌý Evolution of viruses, bacteria, and snakes (Harper)
oÌýÌýÌý Understanding how different components of a tumor alter cancer progression; Understanding factors that lead to increased student success in the sciences (MacDonald)
oÌýÌýÌý Human impacts on wildlife behavior and conservation (McClung)
oÌýÌýÌý Ecology of grasslands, tropical ecology, conservation (Moran)
oÌýÌýÌý (Murray)
oÌýÌýÌý Plant evolution, building and apply phylogenetic trees (Schneider)
oÌýÌýÌý Bdelloid rotifers as a model system for DNA repair (Schurko)
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·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Off-campus
oÌýÌýÌý Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU):
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oÌýÌýÌý University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS):
oÌýÌý Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE):
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