Zoology

Zoology, College of Letters and Science
The taxidermy specimen, legally hunted and imported by a private citizen many years ago, was donated to the Zoological Museum’s permanent collection. Barnes is staff with the Department of Zoology, and Vogtschaller is staff with the Department of Botany. (Photo by Jeff Miller/UW-Madison)

Advisor: Joel Gruley (jgruley@wisc.edu) and Kayla Pelland (kpelland@wisc.edu). Departmental Office: 145 Noland Hall (608-262-1051), http://www.zoology.wisc.edu

Field of Study: The study of animals and their role in the biosphere, ranging from the study of activities at the molecular and cellular level to whole organism and community interactions.

Possible Careers: The Zoology major is flexible and can be tailored to help students prepare for advanced study and careers in many different areas. Some careers closely related to Zoology include: medicine and allied fields; life sciences research in multiple disciplines within university, government, non-profit, and industrial settings; teaching in secondary school, college, museum, and environmental education settings; natural resource management; scientific writing; government service positions; sales and management positions in industry (e.g. biotechnology, pharmaceutical firms); museum curator, zookeeper; technical positions in biological supply houses; illustrator; environmental lawyer.

Special Opportunities & Additional Information

  • Summer research fellowships are available for outstanding zoology majors in the junior year.
  • Student Organization: Undergraduate Zoological Society  
  • Faculty advisors can help students choose courses appropriate for specialized areas (e.g., conservation, developmental biology, neurobiology, animal behavior, marine biology)

Selected Required Courses

  • Intro Biology: Biology 151-152 (preferred); Biocore (preferred); or Zoology 101-102 (in addition, Botany 130 recommended)
  • Calculus: Recommended; Statistics is also recommended
  • General Chemistry: General Chemistry equivalent to or more advanced than 103-104
  • Organic Chemistry: Recommended
  • Physics: Physics 103-104; or Physics 201-202; or Physics 207-208; or any first and second semester combination