Specific areas of faculty research interests include parasitology, systematics of insects and plants, vegetation mapping, animal, plant and bacterial physiology, cellular signal transduction, genomics, micro and macroevolution, vertebrate reproduction, animal mating systems, entomology, behavioral ecology, and ecology of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

The MS in Biology allows for a specialization in one of several areas of biology and is designed for students planning to pursue careers in research, at the collegiate level, or in environmental biology with governmental agencies and industry. This degree is also appropriate for students planning to continue their training in a PhD program at other institutions or professional schools. The MS is a research-oriented degree and requires the completion of a thesis.