Learning the Skills of a Field Botanist
You will do much more than learn about plants. Through coursework in plant taxonomy, dendrology, forestry, plant ecology, aquatic botany, soils, ecological research methods, and quantitative analysis, you will learn how botanists and ecologists study plants where they actually grow. You may identify native plants using botanical keys, survey vegetation, measure plant communities, collect ecological data, and investigate how soils, water, disturbance, and other environmental conditions shape the landscape
Make the Outdoors Your Laboratory
Ball State’s Field Station and Environmental Education Center manages six properties totaling approximately 425 acres, including forests, wetlands, tallgrass prairie, successional habitats, and agricultural land. Fieldwork can also begin right on campus. Christy Woods provides 17 acres of mature deciduous forest and tallgrass prairie just steps from Ball State’s science facilities.
These are not simply places to visit. They are places to learn how to be a botanist.
Research and Plant Collections
Field Botany faculty involves undergraduate students in research on topics such as plant systematics and species discovery, plant diversity and evolution, plant community ecology, floristic inventories, vegetation monitoring, invasive plants, forest ecology, conservation, and landscape analysis. Some projects also incorporate molecular, genomic, and quantitative approaches.
You will also have access to the Don and Brenda Ruch Herbarium, the Teaching and Research Greenhouse, and the Dr. Joe and Alice Rinard Orchid Greenhouse, giving you opportunities to study preserved specimens, living collections, and entire plant communities.
Prepare for What Comes Next
Field Botany develops practical skills in plant identification, vegetation assessment, ecological data collection, and natural-resource management.
Those skills can prepare you for careers in botany, ecology, conservation, forestry, environmental consulting, horticulture, natural-resource management, and related fields, as well as graduate study in botany, ecology, conservation biology, forestry, environmental science, and related disciplines.
Small Class. Faculty Who Know You.
Field Botany is a close-knit concentration within Ball State’s broad Biology program. Upper-level botany classes are usually under 24 students and are hands-on, giving you opportunities to work directly with faculty in the classroom, laboratory, greenhouse, and field.
Faculty can also help you explore your interests, develop practical skills, and connect with research, internship, and career opportunities.