Research Opportunities
Students in the Zoology Concentration have opportunities to work alongside faculty who are actively engaged in research involving animals, ecosystems, and environmental processes. Undergraduate and graduate students can gain valuable experience developing research questions, conducting field and laboratory investigations, analyzing data, and communicating scientific findings.
Areas of faculty research and student involvement include:
- Behavioral ecology of freshwater fish
- Bird migration and song patterns
- Wildlife disease ecology, including white-nose syndrome in bats
- Urban wildlife ecology and management
- Disease monitoring in white-tailed deer
- Physiological and ecomorphological mechanisms shaping animal communities
- Parental investment behavior in wild songbirds
- Insect biodiversity, ecology, and conservation
- Aquatic ecosystem assessment using aquatic insect communities
- Entomological applications in environmental and forensic investigations
These experiences allow students to develop practical scientific skills, strengthen their résumés, and prepare for employment, graduate school, and professional programs.
Classrooms Indoors and Out
Zoology education extends beyond the traditional classroom. Ball State offers access to teaching collections, laboratories, natural areas, greenhouse facilities, and field sites that allow students to study animals in both laboratory and natural environments.
Animal Diversity Collections
Located in the Foundational Sciences Building, the Animal Diversity Collections include thousands of specimens representing birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, insects, and other invertebrates. These collections provide students with valuable opportunities to examine animal diversity, anatomy, adaptation, identification, classification, and evolutionary relationships through direct observation of specimens.
Environmental Education Classroom
The Environmental Education Classroom supports environmental education and community outreach while providing students with opportunities to develop science communication skills and experience presenting biological concepts to diverse audiences.
Christy Woods and the Teaching and Research Greenhouse
Ball State's Christy Woods, a 17-acre natural area, together with the Teaching and Research Greenhouse, provides an accessible outdoor laboratory for field-based learning, ecological research, wildlife observation, and biodiversity studies.
Field Properties and Regional Parks
Students may also use Ball State field properties and Indiana's regional and state parks for hands-on activities such as:
- Wildlife surveys and monitoring
- Ecological investigations
- Animal behavior studies
- Insect collection and identification
- Fisheries studies
- Biodiversity assessments
- Conservation research
These experiences give students opportunities to apply concepts learned in the classroom to real organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems.
Student Organizations
The Ball State chapter of The Wildlife Society provides students interested in wildlife, zoology, ecology, and conservation with opportunities for professional development, networking, leadership, and career exploration.
Students can benefit from:
- Networking with fellow students, alumni, faculty, and professionals
- Guest speakers from state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and environmental consulting firms
- Leadership, outreach, and service opportunities
- Exposure to career paths in wildlife biology, conservation, zoology, and environmental science
Small Class Sizes. Meaningful Mentoring.
Small class sizes allow students to interact closely with faculty in lecture courses, laboratories, field experiences, and research settings. This individualized learning environment provides opportunities for faculty mentoring, undergraduate research, career guidance, and preparation for graduate and professional programs.
Students are not simply learning about animals. They are developing the skills to observe them, identify them, investigate them, understand their biology, and contribute to their conservation and management.
What Can You Do With This Concentration?
Graduates of the Zoology Concentration are prepared for careers involving the study, management, conservation, education, and scientific investigation of animals and their environments. The combination of broad zoological training, specialized coursework, hands-on laboratory and field experiences, and opportunities for undergraduate research provides a strong foundation for a variety of career paths.
Potential Careers
- Wildlife Biologist or Technician
- Conservation Biologist
- Environmental or Ecological Consultant
- Research Technician or Taboratory Assistant
- Natural Resource Specialist
- Zoo or Aquarium Educator
- Fisheries Biologist or Fisheries Technician
- Entomologist
- Forensic Entomology Technician
- Environmental Educator
- Biological Field Technician
- Wildlife or Environmental Research Assistant
Graduate and professional study options include:
- Zoology or Animal Biology
- Wildlife Biology or Conservation Science
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Entomology
- Fisheries and Aquatic Biology
- Environmental Science
- Veterinary Medicine and Related Professional Programs
Graduates may pursue opportunities with state and federal agencies, nonprofit conservation organizations, environmental consulting firms, research institutions, museums, zoological parks, educational institutions, and other organizations focused on animals and the environment, or continue their education through graduate and professional degree programs.