Summer 2023 Courses
Registration & Textbooks: Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Classes Begin: Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Classes End: Friday, August 11, 2023
Students may enroll in lower-division OR upper-division/graduate courses, but not both. Laboratory/field experiences are required for all courses. One summer term (10 credits) at the WWU Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory is required for WWU biology majors during which at least one upper-division, marine-oriented course must be taken.
Lower-Division Courses
General Biology (BIOL 141, 142, 143). Study of the basic principles of biology of animals, plants, and microorganisms. Topics include cell biology, physiology, genetics, development, taxonomy, and ecology. High school chemistry strongly recommended.
- Course Instructor: Jonathan Cowles, M.S. Columbia Basin College
- Credits: 4
- Limit: 24 students
Upper-Division and Graduate Courses
Upper-division and graduate courses are offered in two blocks. Block A courses run concurrently and typically meet the first half of each week; Block B courses run concurrently and typically meet the last half of each week. Thus, students may register for only one course in each block.
BLOCK A
You may take ONE of these two Block A courses
- Natural History of Vertebrates (BIOL 405):
- Course description: Study of vertebrates with emphasis on natural history, ecology, physiology, and taxonomy. One laboratory per week. A weekend field trip is required. Offered alternate years.
- Course Instructor: Jim Nestler, PhD
- Credits: 5
- Medical Toxinology (BIOL 400):
- Course description: In this course we will discuss natural toxins produced by animals, plants, and microbes; emphasizing animals. We will begin this course by discussing the discipline of toxinology, focusing on classification and the terminology involved. We will then spend the majority of the semester taxonomically reviewing natural toxins, emphasizing the following questions:
1. What is the taxonomic distribution of venomous and otherwise chemically defended organisms?
2. What are the ecological roles of biological toxins?
3. How are the toxins produced/acquired, maintained, and stored?
4. What are venoms, and other biological cocktails, composed of?
5. What is the pathophysiology of intoxication and its treatment?
6. Are there any actual/potential uses for these toxins? - Course Instructor: David Nelsen, PhD; SOU
- Credits: 5
- Course description: In this course we will discuss natural toxins produced by animals, plants, and microbes; emphasizing animals. We will begin this course by discussing the discipline of toxinology, focusing on classification and the terminology involved. We will then spend the majority of the semester taxonomically reviewing natural toxins, emphasizing the following questions:
BLOCK B
You may take ONE of these two Block B courses:
- Marine Invertebrates (BIOL 475):
- Course description: A study of the biology of selected groups of marine invertebrates.
- Course Instructor: David Cowles, PhD; WWU
- Credits: 5
- Histology (BIOL 449):
- Course description: Study of the microscopic anatomy of cells, tissues, and organs, including reference to their functions. Emphasis placed on vertebrate tissues. Two laboratories per week.
- Course Instructor: Brian Wong, Ph.D; Andrews University
- Credits: 5
Upper-division students are required to take two courses during their first upper-division summer at Rosario. A scholarship is available for WWU biology majors taking upper-division classes at Rosario. During subsequent summers upper-division students may take one course, provided they are actively participating in an academic activity (such as research or internship) during their non-course time; documentation of specific plans for the academic activity is required prior to acceptance. Graduate students may take zero or one course during the summer, provided they are actively participating in an academic activity (such as research or internship) during their non-course time; documentation of specific plans for the academic activity is required prior to acceptance.