Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology
Colleges award this field under 12 named programs, from Ecology to Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology, Other.
Inside the major
Programs within this field
Colleges may offer this field under 12 more specific program names. The program you choose affects the courses you take.
- Ecology
- Focuses on the scientific study of the relationships and interactions of small-scale biological systems, such as organisms, to each other, to complex and whole systems, and to the physical and other non-biological aspects of their environments. Covers biogeochemistry; landscape and/or marine/aquatic dynamics; decomposition; global and regional elemental budgets; biotic and abiotic regulation of nutrient cycles; ecophysiology; ecosystem resilience, disturbance, and succession; community and habitat dynamics; organismal interactions (co-evolution, competition, predation); paleoecology; and evolutionary ecology.
- Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
- Focuses on the scientific study of the ecology and behavior of microbes, plants, and animals inhabiting oceans, coastal waters, and saltwater wetlands and their interactions with the physical environment. Covers chemical, physical, and geological oceanography; molecular, cellular, and biochemical studies; marine microbiology; marine botany; ichthyology; mammalogy; marine population dynamics and biodiversity; reproductive biology; studies of specific species, phyla, habitats, and ecosystems; marine paleocology and palentology; and applications to fields such as fisheries science and biotechnology.
- Evolutionary Biology
- Focuses on the scientific study of the genetic, developmental, functional, and morphological patterns and processes, and theoretical principles; and the emergence and mutation of organisms over time. Covers molecular and morphological systematics; genetics and development; evolutionary transformation; paleobiology and paleontology; morphogenesis; mutation; locomotor, biomechanical and craniodental form and function; evolutionary theory; and systematic biology.
- Aquatic Biology/Limnology
- Focuses on the scientific study of the ecology and behavior of microbes, plants, and animals inhabiting inland fresh waters such as lakes, ponds, rivers, creeks, estuaries, and wetlands. Covers geology and hydrology; aquatic ecosystems; microbiology; mycology; botany; ichthyology; mammalogy; population biology and biodiversity; studies of specific species, phyla, and habitats; and applications to fields such as natural resources conservation, fisheries science, and biotechnology.
- Environmental Biology
- Focuses on the scientific study of the origins, functions, relationships, interactions, and natural history of living populations, communities, species, and ecosystems in relation to dynamic environmental processes. Covers biodiversity, molecular genetic and genomic evolution, mesoscale ecology, computational biology and modeling, conservation biology, local and global environmental change, and restoration ecology.
- Population Biology
- Focuses on the scientific study of the natural history, life cycle behavior, and ecosystem dynamics of single species and multi-species communities, and the patterns and causes of diversity within and among such populations. Covers biostatistics, population dynamics, population and quantitative genetics, RNA and DNA sequences, genomics, evolutionary ecology, natural adaptation and hybridization, geographic differentiation, life history and life cycle studies, and animal and plant demography.
- Conservation Biology
- Focuses on the application of the biological sciences to the specific problems of biodiversity, species preservation, ecological sustainability, and habitat fragmentation in the face of advancing human social, economic, and industrial pressures. Covers ecology, environmental science, biological systems, extinction theory, human-animal and human-plant interaction, ecosystem science and management, wetland conservation, field biology, forest and wildlife biology, and natural history.
- Systematic Biology/Biological Systematics
- Focuses on the theoretical and empirical study of the principles and processes underlying the origin and maintenance of biological taxonomic diversity; related biogeographical and evolutionary patterns; and studies of the origin, diversification, distribution, and extinction of species and lineages. Covers phylogenetic analysis, structural development and molecular evolution, classification and taxonomic theory, biological nomenclature, taxonomic assignment, evolutionary theory, biological surveys and inventories, computer modeling, and database building.
- Epidemiology
- Focuses on the scientific study of disease, disability, and trauma patterns within and across populations and the development of health management mechanisms to prevent and control disease outbreaks and injurious behaviors. Covers biostatistics, biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, disease and injury determinants, genetic disease and disability factors, behavioral studies, health services research, environmental disease and injury factors, and population studies.
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Focuses on the scientific study of the relationships and interactions across levels of biological organization--genes and genomes, organisms, species, and ecosystems--and how these change over time, including the origins and history of species, the processes by which biodiversity has evolved, and the ecological context in which this evolution takes place. Covers animal, plant, population, functional, evolutionary, and ecosystem ecology; ecological and evolutionary genetics; molecular evolution; population and conservation biology; animal and plant diversity; biometry; and scientific and research ethics.
Also called Ecosystem Science
Also called Aquatic Ecology
Also called Environmental Microbiology
Where it can lead
Careers this field can lead to
Explore related careers, starting with the closest connections and the occupations hiring the most people.
Growing
Natural Sciences Managers
- Median pay
- $167,220
- Hiring change through 2035
- 8.2%
- Job openings a year
- 9,200
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career Growing with the economyBiological Scientists, All Other
- Median pay
- $98,920
- Hiring change through 2035
- 4.7%
- Job openings a year
- 4,300
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career GrowingBiological Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- Median pay
- $84,620
- Hiring change through 2035
- 7.3%
- Job openings a year
- 4,700
To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree
Explore this career Growing fastHealth Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary
- Median pay
- $107,310
- Hiring change through 2035
- 17.9%
- Job openings a year
- 24,900
To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree
Explore this career GrowingBiological Technicians
- Median pay
- $57,510
- Hiring change through 2035
- 7.4%
- Job openings a year
- 9,400
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career GrowingConservation Scientists
- Median pay
- $73,010
- Hiring change through 2035
- 5.3%
- Job openings a year
- 2,100
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career Growing fastMedical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
- Median pay
- $103,410
- Hiring change through 2035
- 12.6%
- Job openings a year
- 10,500
To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree
Explore this career Growing with the economyZoologists and Wildlife Biologists
- Median pay
- $76,780
- Hiring change through 2035
- 3.6%
- Job openings a year
- 1,400
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career Growing with the economyEnvironmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- Median pay
- $94,980
- Hiring change through 2035
- 2.7%
- Job openings a year
- 600
To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree
Explore this career Growing fastEpidemiologists
- Median pay
- $87,220
- Hiring change through 2035
- 18.7%
- Job openings a year
- 800
To get hiredMaster's degree
Explore this career Growing fastStatisticians
- Median pay
- $105,650
- Hiring change through 2035
- 11.0%
- Job openings a year
- 1,900
To get hiredMaster's degree
Explore this career GrowingLife Scientists, All Other
- Median pay
- $93,750
- Hiring change through 2035
- 6.3%
- Job openings a year
- 400
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this careerAll work is projected to grow 3.5% between 2025 and 2035; read every hiring-change figure against it. The figures beside each career are the pay of that work, across everyone doing it. Graduates of this field earn $26,034 one year after completing the program, which is the start of a career rather than the shape of one.
Working style
How and where the work happens
Related careers can feel very different from one another. Compare the specific occupations to understand the work each one involves.
0%of related openings involve substantial in-person or active work
Few of the careers connected to this field are measured as substantially in-person or active work. Compare the specific occupations to see how much time each one involves with people, equipment, and movement.
College options
Where to study it
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