"Biology: A life experience!"
Biology
In the Biology program we study the theories, techniques, and processes related to the evolution, ecology, and behavior of living beings and the ecosystems of which they are part. At the same time, we help our students acquire skills for the development of research and conservation of biodiversity, the responsible use and management of natural resources, and, in general, the analysis of the factors that intervene in the relationship between environment and society. Our program has a high-level faculty with diverse specialties such as marine and aquatic ecosystem ecology, behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology, zoology, plant ecology, and conservation biology. Additionally, throughout the program, our students address topics related to the analysis, implementation, and evaluation of proposals and strategies for the design and implementation of projects and research. Using USFQ's infrastructure in the Amazon and in the Galapagos Islands (Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Galapagos Science Center) our students have access to practical and personalized education, supported by an extensive scientific research and conservation program implemented by our faculty. Based on USFQ's Liberal Arts philosophy, we hope to contribute to the development of our students and professors in such a way that teaching and research in our programs contribute to the social, scientific, and economic development of our country.
Advantages
- Professors of the highest professional and personal quality, with extensive academic, scientific and graduate-level training (Ph.D. and MS) from internationally renowned universities. Two of our professors have been awarded the Matilde Hidalgo National Research Prize and we have five active members from the Ecuador Academy of Sciences.
- Highly personalized education.
- A curriculum that provides theoretical and practical experiences with extensive opportunities in the field, laboratories, and management in all geographic regions of Ecuador.
- Opportunity to study abroad for one or two semesters at one of the more than 100 universities that are part of the USFQ International Network of Student Exchanges.
- Three scientific stations in the areas of greatest biodiversity and endemism in the country: Tiputini, Galápagos, and Mindo. We are the only university in the world with stations in the Amazon, Galapagos, and the cloud forest.
- Teaching laboratories equipped with the latest technology in Biology, Molecular Biology, Botany, Genetic Engineering, Microbiology, Zoology.
- Research centers and laboratories that develop various scientific research programs where undergraduate and graduate students actively participate: Aquatic Ecology, Behavioral Ecology, Galapagos Science Center, Herbarium of Botany
Professional Profile
Our USFQ Biology graduates are leaders, entrepreneurs, creatives, all with strong personal values. They have a solid understanding of the biological and environmental sciences with a multidisciplinary perspective based on the USFQ philosophy of Liberal Arts. USFQ biologists have a high ability to plan, implement, and lead scientific research programs, biodiversity conservation, and natural resource management. Their professional field is very broad, and they also have an academic background that opens the doors of the best universities in the world to continue their graduate studies (Master, Ph.D., Postdoctoral).
Professional Field
Given the academic background the Biology major gives our students, the job market is broad and includes the scientific field and laboratory studies, biotechnology, environmental management, biodiversity conservation, education, politics, and environmental economics, bioinformatics, scientific journalism, and scientific dissemination, among others. Our graduates are ideal candidates to work in public and private companies and institutions whose activities are related to biological diversity, the management of natural resources and the quality of life of living beings (e.g., universities, agricultural industries, floriculture, zoos, pharmaceuticals, NGOs, ministries, municipalities, oil companies, service companies).
Testimonials
"The COCIBA-USFQ school is an excellent option to study different biological areas. The scientific, socio-economic, and political knowledge imparted by leading avant-garde professors, students, and scientific institutions located in places of great demand for biological knowledge such as the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, located in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the GAIAS-GSC institute, in the Galapagos, had an unrivaled contribution to my academic-professional development. It is important to highlight the responsibility that COCIBA takes with students due to the incentive and engagement that they generate towards us for the development of innovative scientific research with the mission and vision of being applied theoretically and empirically in our country and elsewhere."
- Juan de Dios Morales - Graduate of Applied Ecology and Marine Ecology, 2012 -
"To be a COCIBA graduate is to broaden our perspective of the world, from the moment we as living beings come to this planet, to how we will end. It is to find in science and research a way to ask ourselves about what we are and why we are, and a way of living our life. It is to be born again and become romantic beings with ideas that many people have already lost and fight to change this world. It is not just an experience, it is a change in our definition of who we are now and what we will be from now on."
- José Fernando Pontón Cevallos - Graduate in Biology, 2012 -
Best Graduate of the Promotion USFQ 2012
Academic Faculty
Scholarships
