The Department of Biology

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Measuring tundra greenhouse gases in Alaska
Measuring tundra greenhouse gases in Alaska
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Sampling on campus
Sampling on campus
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Isolated phage
Isolated phage
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Flowering cactus
Flowering cactus
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Paradise jumping spider
Paradise jumping spider
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Planarians feeding
Planarians feeding
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Orb weaving spider
Orb weaving spider
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Western tanager
Western tanager
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collecting ascidians at a marina
Collecting ascidians at a marina
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Alaskan tundra
Alaskan tundra
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Night lizard
Night lizard
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Students at the bench
Students at the bench

About the Department

The Department of Biology at San Diego State University has excellent degree programs with courses taught by over 35 full time, research active faculty members. We serve and mentor approximately 1300 undergraduate majors in Biology and Microbiology, 80 minors, 150+ graduate students, and thousands of students from other departments. SDSU offers a rich variety of coursework in cellular and molecular biology, ecology, evolution, and related fields. In a typical semester, undergraduates have access to over 50 courses. Nearly all of these have class sizes less than 30, or have associated laboratory sections with less than 25 students. We have a large number of laboratory and field-based courses compared with Biology departments at other institutions. The lower division laboratories are taught by graduate students (rather than undergraduates), and many of the upper division laboratories are taught by the professors themselves.

Because of our emphasis on laboratory courses, hands-on activities and research opportunities, our graduates are uniquely prepared for a career in biology or the health professions, or postgraduate education.

Statement of Solidarity

A Message to the Members of our Biology Community

The ongoing violence perpetrated against the Black community, compounded by the devastating, disproportionate loss of Black lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, have been painful reminders of the structural inequities faced by Black people. The Department of Biology faculty, staff, and students condemn all acts of discrimination, hate and violence against the Black community. We are deeply saddened and outraged by the injustices and damage caused by bias and systemic racism in our society. We acknowledge that bias and systemic racism exists within our department and university, and we have a responsibility to foster a more respectful, inclusive, and diverse environment for our Biology community

We reject all forms of bias and racism, including systemic and institutional. As a department, we will not condone any acts of hate, discrimination or violence. We are opposed to injustices against the Black community and all underrepresented minorities

We commit to eliminating the barriers and injustices that our Black community and members of all our diverse populations encounter. We pledge to listen to you, learn from you, and establish a supportive environment to make the department and greater university community inclusive and equitable places. We have established a Diversity and Inclusion Committee in our Department that is developing an action plan to foster a respectful, inclusive, and diverse environment for our Biology community. All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use the Inclusive SDSU system to report any instances of bias that they may witness or experience.

To our students, we acknowledge that these are challenging times for you. It is understandable that you might struggle with your ability to focus on your education in the context of this anguish. Please take your time. Know that we are here for you.

Points of Contact and Resources

Department of Biology
SDSUBiology@sdsu.edu
Emails can be directed to the Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Center for Inclusive Excellence
https://diversity.sdsu.edu/cie

Economic Crisis Response Team (ECRT)
https://sa.sdsu.edu/ecrt

Counseling and Psychological Services
https://sa.sdsu.edu/cps

Biology Graduate Student Association (BGSA)
http://sdsubgsa.weebly.com

Department of Biology Calendar