Undergraduate Bulletin

Fall 2024

Requirements for the Major in Human Evolutionary Biology

The major in Human Evolutionary Biology leads to the Bachelor of Science degree. Completion of the major requires a minimum of 59 credits. At least 21 credits must be upper division courses (300 level or higher). Students must complete a minimum of 31-32 credits in the Core Requirements (I., A-C) and a minimum of 28-29 credits in the Subfield Courses (II., A-C). Students can either sample broadly across all areas or focus on one of the three subfields. No more than 6-7 credits in the Subfields can be substituted from the area of Related Courses (II., D).

All major courses (including transfer credits) must be passed with a letter grade of C or higher. Courses with S/U grading and courses taken under the Pass/ No Credit option may not be used to satisfy major requirements. EBH 475, 476, 488, 495, and 496 do not count toward the major requirements.

I. Core Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 31 credits from three areas including Biology (A), Related Fields (B), and Major Subfields (C).

A. Biology and Scientific Skills (11-12 credits)

  • BIO 201 Fundamentals of Biology: Organisms to Ecosystems
  • BIO 202 Fundamentals of Biology: Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • BIO 204 Fundamentals of Scientific Inquiry in the Biological Sciences I or EBH 204 Research Skills
  • BIO 354 Evolution

B. Courses Required in Related Fields (11 credits)

  • CHE 131 General Chemistry IB or CHE 152 Molecular Science I (or CHE 129 with CHE 130 and MAT 123)

  • MAT 125 Calculus A  (or MAT 130/MAT 125) or MAT 131 Calculus or MAT 141 Honors Calculus I or MAT 171 Accelerated Single Variable Calculus or or AMS 151 Applied Calculus I

    . Some or all of this requirement may be fulfilled by an appropriate score on the Mathematics Placement Exam, by AP credit, or by comparable means. If students do not place into MAT 125 or higher on the basis of the math placement examination, MAT 123 is a required course for the major. 
  • EBH 230 Computer-Based Biostatistics

C. Courses Required from Major Subfields (9 credits)

II. Subfield Courses

Students must complete a minimum of 28 credits in the Subfield Courses. Students may sample broadly across all subfields, taking classes from Sections A, B and C, or choose to specialize in only one of the three areas. BIO 205 (or BIO 207), EBH 391, EBH 401, EBH 447 (max. 2 credits), and EBH 487 (max. 3 credits) are not specific to one of the Subfields, but can be applied towards the major.

Courses in the Subfields may be supplemented by courses listed in section D (Related Courses), although only a maximum of 7 of these credits can be applied towards the major.

One of the classes in the Subfields must be a 400-level seminar chosen from ANP 401, ANP 404, ANP 405, ANP 406, ANP 407, ANP 410, ANT 417, ANT 418, ANT 419, ANT 420, EBH 401, EBH 404, or EBH 405.

All advanced Biology courses have one or more 200 level courses as a prerequisite. A grade of C or higher is required in each 200 level prerequisite in order to enroll in any 300 level Biology course.

Some of the courses in the Subfields may require additional prerequisites.

A. Human evolution and morphology

Courses in subfield A:

  • ANP 101 Human Biology
  • ANP 250 Forensic Anthropology
  • ANP 300 Human Anatomy
  • ANP 321 Primate Evolution
  • ANP 404 Human Osteology
  • ANP 405 Human Evolution in the Headlines
  • ANP 407 Building Bones: Bone Development and Evolution
  • ANP 410 Comparative Primate Anatomy
  • ANT 104 Introduction to Archaeology
  • ANT 268 Archaeology of Human Origins
  • ANT 273 The Unstoppable Species?
  • ANT 277 Origin of Art
  • ANT 290 Science and Technology in Ancient Society
  • ANT 357 The Agricultural Revolution
  • ANT 358 The Origins of Social Inequality: First Cities
  • ANT 417 Primitive Technology
  • ANT 418 Stone Tools in Human Evolution
  • ANT 419 Zooarchaeology
  • BIO 208 Cell, Brain, Mind
  • BIO 344 Chordate Zoology
  • EBH 316 The Evolution of the Human Brain

B. Human genetics and genomics

Courses in subfield B:

  • BIO 203 Fundamentals of Biology: Cellular and Organ Physiology
  • BIO 312 Bioinformatics and Computation Biology
  • BIO 320 General Genetics or BIO 321 Ecological Genetics 
  • BIO 325 Animal Development
  • BIO 327 Developmental Genetics Laboratory
  • BIO 350 Darwinian Medicine
  • BIO 367 Molecular Diversity Lab
  • EBH 370 Advanced Human Genetics
  • EBH 380 Genomics
  • EBH 381 Genomics Laboratory

C. Evolutionary bases of behavior

Courses in subfield C:

  • ANP 202 People and Pups: Dog Behavior and Human-Canine Relationships
  • ANP 220 Controversies in Human Biology and Behavior
  • ANP 401 Pastoralism under pressure: Savannas, societies, and sustainability in East Africa
  • ANT 377 Animal Tool Use
  • BIO 328 Mammalian Physiology
  • EBH 325 Evolution of Sex
  • EBH 331 Hormones and Behavior
  • EBH 359 Behavioral Ecology
  • EBH 362 Evolution of Social Complexity
  • EBH 404 Evolution of Parenting
  • EBH 405 Life History and Development
  • POL 375 The Political Animal
  • PSY 356 Physiological Psychology
  • PSY 357 Animal Learning

D. Related courses

  • ANP 304 Ecology: Linking People and Nature (with emphasis on the Turkana Basin)
  • ANP 305 Earth and Life Through Time: Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoecology (with emphasis on the Turkana Basin)
  • ANP 306 Human Evolution (and evidence from the Turkana Basin)
  • ANP 307 Comparing Ecosystems in Madagascar
  • ANP 308 Paleoanthropological Field Methods in the Turkana Basin
  • ANP 310 Environments, Ecosystems and Evolution: Evidence from the Turkana Basin
  • ANP 326 Lemurs of Madagascar
  • ANP 350 Methods in Studying Primates
  • ANP 351 Biodiversity Assessment Methods for Tropical Field Research
  • ANP 360 Primate Conservation
  • ANP 387 Independent Biodiversity Research Project in Madagascar
  • ANP 406 Pseudoscience and Anthropology
  • ANT 215 Climate and Culture
  • ANT 307 Prehistoric Archaeology of Africa (with emphasis on the Turkana Basin)
  • ANT 321 Archaeological Field Methods
  • ANT 410 Ethnobotany and Paleoethnobotany
  • ANT 420 Environmental Analysis Using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems
  • BIO 351 Ecology
  • BIO 352 Ecological Laboratory
  • GEO 303 Sedimentary Geology and Geochronology (with emphasis on the Turkana Basin)

E. Double major in Biology and Human Evolutionary Biology

For students electing a double major in Biology and Human Evolutionary Biology 12 credits (4 subfield courses) must be non-overlapping with Biology and chosen from subfields A and C: 

  • ANP 101 Human Biology
  • ANP 202 People and Pups: Dog Behavior and Human-Canine Relationships
  • ANP 220 Controversies in Human Biology and Behavior
  • ANP 300 Human Anatomy
  • ANP 321 Primate Evolution
  • ANP 401 Pastoralism under pressure: Savannas, societies, and sustainability in East Africa
  • ANP 404 Human Osteology
  • ANP 405 Human Evolution in the Headlines
  • ANP 407 Building Bones: Bone Development and Evolution
  • ANP 410 Comparative Primate Anatomy
  • ANT 104 Introduction to Archaeology
  • ANT 268 Archaeology of Human Origins
  • ANT 273 The Unstoppable Species?
  • ANT 277 Origin of Art
  • ANT 290 Science and Technology in Ancient Society
  • ANT 357 The Agricultural Revolution
  • ANT 358 Ways to Civilization
  • ANT 377 Animal Tool Use
  • ANT 417 Primitive Technology
  • ANT 418 Stone Tools in Human Evolution
  • ANT 419 Zooarchaeology
  • EBH 325 Evolution of Sex
  • EBH 331 Hormones and Behavior
  • EBH 362 Evolution of Social Complexity
  • EBH 404 Evolution of Parenting
  • EBH 405 Life History and Development
  • POL 375 The Political Animal
  • PSY 356 Physiological Psychology
  • PSY 357 Animal Learning

III. Upper-Division Writing Requirement

Human Evolutionary Biology students are required to either take one of the elective courses of the major satisfying the WRTD requirement or register for the 0-credit EBH 459 Write Effectively in Human Evolutionary Biology. EBH 459 has to be taken in conjunction with an upper-division elective course in the major (including Reading or Research courses). Students must inform the instructor of the course in advance of their plan to co-register for EBH 459 to satisfy the WRTD requirement. Students must earn a grade of 'S' in EBH 459 to satisfy the WRTD requirement. EBH 459 also satisfies the Stony Brook Curriculum learning objective WRTD. Students completing the DEC requirements may choose to submit a paper written for a 300-level or higher course (including Reading or Research courses) without registering for EBH 459. The paper must be of appropriate length and format and must have been deemed satisfactory by the instructor (graded C or higher). Students who wish to use a paper should present the necessary form to the course instructor and obtain signatures on the form and the paper. The form and the original paper must then be submitted to the director of the program. Students who wish to use this option must consult with the director of the program to ensure that their plan for completing the Upper Division Writing Requirement is consistent with university graduation requirements for General Education.

Students should consult with the department advisor to ensure that their plan for completing the Upper Division Writing Requirement is consistent with  university graduation requirements for General Education.  Students completing the Stony Brook Curriculum (SBC) must complete a course that satisfies the "Write Effectively within One's Discipline" (WRTD) learning objective to graduate.  The Upper Division Writing Requirement is consistent in most cases with the SBC learning outcomes for WRTD.

Honors Program in Human Evolutionary Biology

Graduation with honors in Human Evolutionary Biology requires both of the following:

  1. A cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher in all courses for the major.
  2. Completion of an honors thesis based on a one-year independent research project (EBH 495 and 496) under the direction of a faculty member written in the form of a scientific report (20 pages or more). The completed thesis must be approved by a thesis committee.

A student interested in becoming a candidate for honors should, after asking a faculty member to be a sponsor, submit a proposal indicating the topic and procedure of the planned research to the director of the program. The submission should include a supporting statement by the supervising faculty member and the names and approval of two faculty committee members, one of them from a department different from that of the research sponsor. This must ordinarily be done several weeks prior to the beginning of the student's senior year. The student must present a copy of the finished thesis to each member of the thesis committee for their approval at least 14 days before the date of graduation.