Department of Biology Resources + Information: biology.colostate.edu/resources-guidelines/
Main Office Contact Information: Monday – Friday | 7:30am – 4:30pm | CNS-Bio_Info@colostate.edu | 970-491-7011
Fall 2024 Office Hours: August 12th – December 20th | Monday – Friday | 8:30am – 4:30pm
Closed for Fall Break: November 25th – November 29th
ASC Drop-In Hours:
August 19th – December 13th | Monday – Friday | 1:00pm – 3:00pm
August 19th – 30th | Monday – Friday | 9:00am – 11:00am & 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Welcome to the Department of Biology at Colorado State University. Our internationally-recognized research and education programs focus on organisms, diving into mechanistic detail about how they work, or stepping back to consider how they interact with each other and with their environment. From cells to the biosphere, we make discoveries about fundamental questions in Biology, and we use this new knowledge to make the world a better place. CSU Biology is a place where everyone is welcome to indulge their curiosity about the living world.
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| Ren Hellmuth | Campus | Campus | Campus | Remote | Campus | |||||
| Sydney Spiller | Remote | Campus | Campus AM Remote PM |
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| Tyler Heyne | Campus | Remote AM | Campus | Remote AM | Campus | |||||
Rams Support Rams
Give to Your Passions at CSU!
Every Giving Tuesday, Rams rally together to fight food insecurity in our community. By giving to the Rams Against Hunger meal swipe program, you ensure that CSU students are not just surviving – they’re thriving.
Last year, the collective generosity of more than 1,000 donors provided over 10,000 nourishing meals to students in need. This Dec. 3, let’s make it 12,000!
The reality is, 1 in 3 CSU students experiences food insecurity. While anyone can experience it, everyone can fight it. Through food pantries, community programming, and more, Rams Against Hunger meets students where they are to ensure their basic needs are met. With your support, Rams Against Hunger can meet students in the dining hall by providing RamCard meal swipes to the students who need them most.
Thriving means feeding my brain to fuel my success.
Thriving means preparing for my future.
Thriving means paying it forward.
What does thriving mean to you? Any student can answer, but they can only do so when their basic needs are met. When you give what you can on Giving Tuesday, you help students answer in inspiring, powerful ways.
Gifts of every size make a difference. $10 provides one meal swipe, $140 fills a RamCard for a week, and $570 supports a student with nourishing meals for a whole semester. Join in, and help Rams thrive!
Video Credits
Videography: CSU University Advancement Engagement | YouTube: col.st/llqTe
Student Highlights
Marissa Martinez’s stay-curious energy earned her a feature in @natgeotv’s new show, “Science Fair: The Series,” and propelled her all the way to the International Science and Engineering Fair, securing her a full-ride scholarship through the @boettcherfdn to study biology right here at @CSUNaturalSciences 📚🥼
Catch #ScienceFairTheSeries on @hulu and @disneyplus, out now 📺 👀
“Biology graduate student promotes importance of self in lab”
by Allie Ruckman, featuring Mel Morado
“Recognizing and addressing oppression in the sciences”
by Allie Ruckman, featuring Marina Rodriguez, Amir Alayoubi and Beth Wittmann
“Q&A with Boettcher Scholar and International Science and Engineering Fair participant”
by Allie Ruckman, featuring Marissa Martinez
“Amphibian Week Highlights Critical Conservation Research at CSU”
by Elizabeth Rylance, featuring grad student, Katherine Stroh, & Biology professors, Chris Funk, and Rachel Mueller
Program Highlights
The Department of Biology houses the Biology Teaching Collections. The program maintains a large collection of specimens that we use in our classes. There are over 13,000 specimens, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, representatives of most invertebrate groups, and plants of all kinds. This collection has been an important part of instruction for the past century and is being reorganized to help better serve this purpose through volunteers.
Interested in volunteering or seeing the collections? Contact Tanya Dewey (tdewey@rams.colostate.edu) or Jennifer Brady (jbrady94@rams.colostate.edu) for more information on getting involved. This program showcases the amazing volunteers, graduate students and professors who are part of keeping this collection thriving. Joining as a volunteer includes learning what we do to keep this place running while also discussing what the collections are all about.
Video Credits
Music: Summer Somewhere In Cuba | Artist: Cumbia Deli | Videography: CSU Natural Sciences | YouTube: col.st/Ywk5i
Class Highlights
Course Snapshots
LIFE 102 – Attributes of Living Systems: This course is an introductory biology course that works well for both incoming Freshmen and outgoing Seniors. It not only provides a basis for more-advanced courses in life sciences, but also serves as an effective review for more-advanced students.
BZ320 – Biogeographic Approaches to Conservation: This is an opportunity to learn about the dynamic field of conservation biogeography!
BZ415 – Marine Biology: This course explores marine life from the microscopic single cell organisms to the largest whales and describes how they are all connected.
BZ440 – Plant Physiology: Who is this course for?
- Students who are interested in understanding various facets of plant functions at cellular, organellar and whole plant level during its life time.
- Students who also want to learn various physiological aspects at the molecular level and how these processes regulate the plants response to changing environment conditions which in turn influences their growth and productivity.
- The main target groups are upper-division undergraduate students with backgrounds/career interests in Biology, Horticulture, Soil and Crop Science, Forestry, Rangeland Ecology, and related areas. Graduate students conducting research in similar fields are also welcome.
- Those students who want to pursue plant research related jobs in private sector, federal and state institutions are encouraged to enroll as this course fulfils their basic requirements.
BZ460 – Genome Evolution: For upper-level undergraduates interested in the synthesis and evolutionary biology and molecular biology.
Course Snapshots
LIFE 102 – Attributes of Living Systems: This course is an introductory biology course that works well for both incoming Freshmen and outgoing Seniors. It not only provides a basis for more-advanced courses in life sciences, but also serves as an effective review for more-advanced students.
BZ223 – Plant Identification: With the ecological and environmental issues we are facing as a society, plant Identification skills are more important than ever. Learn how to identify flowering plants in a way that will serve you no matter where you live/work in the future!
BZ300 – Animal Behavior: For anyone interested in understanding how and why animals do what they do!
Course Snapshots
LIFE 102 – Attributes of Living Systems: This course is an introductory biology course that works well for both incoming Freshmen and outgoing Seniors. It not only provides a basis for more-advanced courses in life sciences, but also serves as an effective review for more-advanced students.
BZ223 – Plant Identification: With the ecological and environmental issues we are facing as a society, plant Identification skills are more important than ever. Learn how to identify flowering plants in a way that will serve you no matter where you live/work in the future!
BZ311 – Developmental Biology: The details of life are important. Join us in developmental biology, where we discuss how organisms form.
BZ300 – Animal Behavior: For anyone interested in understanding how and why animals do what they do!
BZ440 – Plant Physiology: Who is this course for? • Students who are interested in understanding various facets of plant functions at cellular, organellar and whole plant level during its life time. • Students who also wants to learn various physiological aspects at the molecular level and how these processes regulate the plants response to changing environment conditions which in turn influences their growth and productivity. • The main target groups are upper-division undergraduate students with backgrounds/career interests in Biology, Horticulture, Soil and Crop Science, Forestry, Rangeland Ecology, and related areas. Graduate students conducting research in similar fields are also welcome. • Those students who want to pursue plant research related jobs in private sector, federal and state institutions are encouraged to enroll as this course fulfils their basic requirements.
BZ339 Section 001 – Animal Behavioral Ecology Field Course: Study Behavioral Ecology in the Field this Summer!
BZ339 Section 002 – Field Methods in Plant Ecology: Great opportunity for gaining experience in field-based plant research this summer!
Our Education Abroad programs are as diverse as they are enticing! Check out our programs and learn more about these incredible opportunities here: CSU | Education Abroad | Recommended CNS Programs Abroad
Learn more about CSU’s Education Abroad Programs here: CSU | Education Abroad
Speak with an advisor to see if these programs are right for you!: CSU | Biology | Advising
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Marine Biology in Mexico: For Fall 2024, apply by April 15th – APPLY
Dolphin Behavior & Physiology in Honduras: For Winter 2024, apply by May 1st (priority deadline) and September 15th (final deadline) – APPLY
Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation of Biodiversity in Ecuador: For Winter 2024, apply by May 1st (priority deadline) and September 15th (final deadline) – APPLY
Behavior and Biology of African Mammals in Kenya: For Summer 2025, apply by December 1st (early deadline) and February 15th (final deadline) – APPLY
A successful specimen prep day! These ground squirrels are ready to be used for instruction in BZ330: Mammalogy. Keep an eye out for these specimens in our teaching collection.
Learn more about specimen prep here: YouTube | Museum Prep 101
Warning: The linked video explains the process of preparing museum specimens. The content may be considered graphic by some.
“Pursuing new educational frontiers” – by Allie Ruckman, Elements
A brand-new course in the Department of Biology, Behavior and Biology of African Mammals, brought 16 students to Kenya summer 2023 to practice fieldwork and observational skills in an environment very unlike that of Northern Colorado.
News
Diana Wall’s legacy of supporting students lives on through $2.5 million gift
True to her nature, Wall left behind a planned gift to CSU: $2.5 million to endow the Sustainability Leadership Fellows Program within the School of Global Environmental Sustainability and the Graduate Fellowship Program in Ecology within the College of Natural Sciences’ Department of Biology.
Embrace Confusion, Reduce Ignorance: Meena Balgopal Meeting the Dalai Lama
Biology Professor Meena Balgopal met the Dalai Lama to share her science pedagogy book and came back with a fresh perspective on teaching.
College of Natural Sciences Dean Nerger taking on new role in the CSU System
Professor Jacob Roberts, chair of the Department of Physics, has been named interim dean of the college.
NSF funds research on the effects of evolution and food webs in climate change response
Colorado State University is leading a new interdisciplinary research project into the ways predators and prey in sensitive ecosystems may react to climate change based on their physiology, genetics and relationships to each other.
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Find Us
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
Colorado State University
Biology Building, Room 111
1878 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins, CO 80523
Telephone: 970-491-7011
Fax: 970-491-0649
Email: CNS-Bio_Info@colostate.edu
