Beyond the Classroom - Department of Organismal and Environmental Biology - Christopher Newport University

Department of Organismal and Environmental Biology

Beyond the Classroom

We sponsor several social and academic opportunities where you can learn more about organismal and environmental biology and interact with your classmates, faculty and staff in meaningful ways.

We support the ethical and humane treatment of animals.

There are nearly limitless opportunities to work directly with faculty on research projects, both in the field and in the lab. Student research at Christopher Newport is unique because you’ll get to work directly with faculty – as an undergraduate – on projects. Opportunities like this are usually reserved for graduate students at other schools.

Our faculty are active in many areas, including:

  • Ecological restoration
  • Applied conservation biology
  • Wetland conservation
  • Oyster restoration
  • Marine biodiversity and conservation
  • Evolutionary ecology
  • Macroevolution
  • Function morphology and biomechanics
  • Insect diversity
  • Population dynamics of rare plant species and fishes
  • Evolution of plant life histories
  • Nutrient cycling in estuarine systems
  • Remote sensing in wetlands

Each spring we offer the Harold Cones Speaker Series. Students and faculty are invited to learn from leading experts on local, regional, national and global issues important to our natural world.

Our department also sponsors the Wednesdays 4 Work Speaker Series where environmental professionals share details of their professional journey and offer career advice.

We lead study abroad trips each year to exotic locations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. You can learn about tropical ecology and island biology in ways that will expose you to the issues facing scientists in other places and allow you to explore the fragility and diversity of life on our planet.

Our location in Virginia’s Coastal Plain means there are many rewarding internship opportunities where you can get your hands dirty and develop skills and experience that will prepare you for success after graduation.

We host a chapter of Beta Beta Beta, the national biology honor society, which sponsors networking opportunities as well as regional and national conventions.

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