Certificate in Biodiversity Collections
(minimum 21 credits)
Biodiversity is all living things on this planet. By understanding and investigating biological organisms we gain both fundamental understandings of how the planet, ecosystems, and various species works. We also gain important information applicable to human health, agriculture, species conservation, and global change effects. Collections of biodiversity specimens or their sightings, living or dead, are the foundation to such knowledge and are preserved in natural history museums, herbaria, botanical gardens and zoos, and online databases. Each specimen and observation has extended data such as species, place, time, and collector, creating a network of data points that can be arranged through time, and mapped geographically and analyzed on local to global scales using new modeling and statistical methods. Skills in these areas are important for careers in not only museum studies, but also in life sciences, geology, science communication, education, arts, history, agriculture and crop protection.
The Certificate in Biodiversity Collections is available to enrolled Rutgers undergraduate students. It provides a theoretical and practical introduction to the fields of living and preserved biodiversity collections, their curation and preservation, and the data, communications, and outreach methods associated with them. This is done through a combination of coursework, hands-on training, and supervised collections-based internships.
Students completing the Biodiversity Collections Certificate will be able to:
- Understand and explain the curation process and value of biodiversity collections data.
- Collect, prepare, and curate biodiversity specimens and associated data
- Analyze taxonomic, spatial, and temporal data from biodiversity collections for contemporary research questions.
- Communicate effectively the value, policies, and use of biodiversity collections to the public, students, and researchers.
Certificate students must be students who participate in the program in combination with a Rutgers’ bachelor or graduate degree, for example, in Anthropology, Biology, Entomology, Geology, Environmental Science, Marine Biology, Microbiology, Plant Biology, or Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources. Students with other majors and from other schools than SEBS may also participate. The Certificate will be conferred only in conjunction with awarding a B.S. degree in an established department or other degree-granting program of the University.
Home department for certificate: Dept of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources.
Collaborators in this program:
Rutgers:
Chrysler Herbarium & the Herbarium Army, Entomological Museum, Geology Museum, Marine & Coastal Sciences, Rutgers Gardens, Zoological Collection & Zoo Crew, etc.
External:
American Museum of Natural History, Essex County Turtle Back Zoo, NJDEP, Sourlands Conservancy, etc.
Certificate Director
Dr. Lena Struwe
237 Foran Hall, 29 Dudley Road, Cook Campus, Rutgers University
Course Requirements for Certificate in Biodiversity Collections (21 credits)
(A) Mandatory Courses
Mandatory courses (6 credits), must achieve a minimum grade of C.
11:216:210 Nature Journaling: Discovering Biodiversity & Nature in Everyday Life (3 cr, Fall semesters):
Students will explore, learn about and understand everyday biodiversity, environment, and organisms’ structure through lectures, discussions, and hands-on nature journaling, developing creative, written, visual, and quantitative ways to communicate facts and observations.
11:216:311 Biodiversity Collections (3 cr, Spring semesters):
Biodiversity collections are crucial to understand the world, its species, environments, and functions. Learn about biodiversity preservation, analytical data skills, curation of collections, and how to use them for education and communication.
(B) Experiential Learning Internship or Independent Research Project Focused on Biodiversity Collections
Experiential learning internship or independent research project focused on Biodiversity Collections (6 credits), must achieve a minimum grade of C, must include at least two different types or places of experience, and must provide experiences relevant to the certificate. These credits can also count towards other experience-based learning requirements (for SEBS majors, etc.). Additional courses can be approved on a case-by-case basis. All internship credits must be pre-approved by the Certificate Director.
Examples of eligible internship courses, but see policies above:
11:015:497/498 George H. Cook Scholars Program
11:216:440 Practical Experience in Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources [listed in Degree Navigator, but must be approved for certificate credit]
11:216:483/484 Research Problems in Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources
11:216:376 Practicum Fisheries
11:216:377 Practicum Forestry
11:370:493/494 Research Problems in Entomology
11:374:483 Internships in Science Communication
11:550:240 Public Garden Management
11:554:487/488 G H Cook Honors
11:776:495/496 Special Problems in Plant Science
11:902:300/301/400 SEBS Internship
(C) Organisms, Evolution, and Systematics Electives
Organisms, Evolution, and Systematics Electives (minimum 6 credits), must achieve a minimum grade of C. Additional courses can be approved on a case-by-case basis.
Available electives:
01:070:212 Life of Primates
01:460:206 Dinosaurs
01:460:212 Earth and Life Through Time
01:460:303 Paleontology
11:216:199 Trees in the Environment
11:216:251 Fundamentals of Evolution
11:216:272 Dendrology
11:216:323 Ornithology
11:216:324 Invertebrate Zoology
11:216:325 Vertebrate Zoology
11:216:411 Plant Diversity & Evolution
11:370:381 Insect Biology
11:370:402 Aquatic Entomology
11:370:409 Insect Classification
11:550:235 Herbaceous Plants in the Landscape
11:628:321 Ichthyology
11:680:390 General Microbiology
11:680:491 Microbial Ecology and Diversity
11:680:494 Applied Microbiology
11:776:211 Introduction to Horticulture
11:776:391 Weeds, Diseases, and Insects of Plants
11:776:400 Fungi in the Environment
(D) Data Analysis, Policy, and Science Communication Electives
Data Analysis, Policy, and Science Communication Electives (minimum 3 credits), must achieve a minimum grade of C. Additional courses can be approved on a case-by-case basis.
Available electives:
11:216:369 Analytical methods in Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources
11:216:371 Introduction to Remote Sensing Image Analysis
11:374:103 Intro to Science Communication
11:374:240 Visualizing Information: Storytelling with data
11:374:310 Storytelling for Scientists
11:374:311 Environmental Writing: Rhetorical Strategies for Complex Ecological Issues
11:374:312 Environmental History
11:374:314 Natural Resource Policy
11:374:416 Environmental Education
11:374:460 Environmental Law and Policy
11:374:462 International Environmental Law
11:573:232 Fundamentals of Environmental Geomatics
11:628:363 Oceanographic Methods and Data Analysis: Biology/Chemistry
