The quality of the faculty in the Francisco J. Ayala School of Biological Sciences has remained high while increasing steadily in number over the past few years, giving students a remarkable range of expertise in biology and with it, a large number of different advanced courses and research opportunities. 

The School has recently redesigned the curriculum to remain on the cutting edge of biological education. All first-year students are introduced to basic concepts in ecology and evolutionary biology, as well as cellular and molecular biology. 

The core set of courses in biology continues into the second year, featuring genetics, biochemistry, and molecular biology, followed in the third and fourth year by a choice of advanced courses in biology. Since biology is a laboratory discipline, students complete a series of laboratory courses in which they learn both the techniques and approaches needed to solve problems in biology.

In the twenty-first century, biologists in fields ranging from medicine to global change biology increasingly incorporate ecological and evolutionary ideas in their research. The major in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology encourages students to understand and appreciate important linkages between biological disciplines. 

The major is very broad, including components of evolutionary biology, ecology, and physiology. Faculty interests are also broad and include the evolution of aging, conservation biology, restoration ecology, biogeography, plant and animal population and community ecology, the evolution of infectious disease, evolutionary physiology, behavioral ecology, host-disease interactions, evolutionary genetics, genetics of invasive species, and plant population biology.