UNITY COLLEGE ECOLOGY PROGRAM

The Ecology Program at Unity College is unique. Working one-on-one with ecologists in the field allows students to get outside, think critically, and get dirty. Having time with your professor in small classes and in the field, creates an active, engaged, individualized learning experience.

The Ecology Program has several components to it. First, courses. The courses that students take build on each other. Ecology is a quantitative science, so students are expected to take math and chemistry. Students are also offered a selection of diverse ecology-based courses to choose from based on their interests (plants, animals, marine, etc.), plus population, community, ecosystem and evolutionary ecology. We also offer travel courses that allow students to study ecosystems that are not found in Maine (e.g., desert ecology and tropical ecology). Ecology students are encouraged to conduct individual ecology-based research as a senior thesis. This capstone experience is typically a project created and conducted by the student and guided by their professor. Above all, the Ecology Program at Unity College is flexible, guided, challenging, and timely for students interested in studying the environment.

Defining Ecology

Ecology is the scientific discipline that is concerned with the relationships between organisms and their past, present, and future environments. These relationships include physiological responses of individuals, structure and dynamics of populations, interactions among species, organization of biological communities, and processing of energy and matter in ecosystems.

Program Mission

There is an ever increasing need in our society for people who understand and practice ecological science. In the B.S. in Ecology at Unity College students develop the skills to use ecological science to address a wide range of environmental issues. This program prepares students for careers in research, environmental consulting, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and teaching.

Program Vision Statement

Producing graduates who are passionate, articulate, skilled explorers of environmental issues.

 Program Goals

1. Competency in the concepts underlying the four primary areas of ecology:  population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, and evolutionary ecology.

2. Ability to apply ecological concepts to conservation.

3. Ability to understand and study environmental issues through reading and understanding the primary literature, experimental design, and data analysis.

4. Competency in oral communication, scientific writing, problem solving, and quantitative reasoning.

5. Life-long learning skills and perspective developed through a liberal-arts education.