Founded in 1975, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) was the first department of its kind in the world, pioneering a model for the organization of biology that is now in use in many of the world’s leading universities. Our goal is to inspire, educate, and produce world class research that is accessible to everyone. We accomplish this by guiding our undergraduates and graduate students, our faculty, and the biological community worldwide to discover the nature and principles underlying ecological and evolutionary processes, the origin and maintenance of biodiversity, and the diversity and dynamics of the world’s natural systems.

We are excited about building an inclusive and diverse environment for research, education and service. We believe that is the path to achieving the full potential of our institution and the people who make it what it is.

We are the primary home of basic ecological and evolutionary education and research on campus. Our focus is broad, spanning levels of organization from molecular genetics and organismal function as they relate to evolution and ecology, from population and community ecology to biological diversity, phylogeny and macroevolution. Our methods involve mathematical models and high performance computations, field work, comparative analyses, laboratory experiments, and the use of museum and collections. We study a diversity of habitats (including deserts especially the local Sonoran desert, oceans, islands, and mountains) and taxonomic groups (including microbes, protists, fungi, plants, and animals).

EEB’s international reputation has been based on our strength in ecology, theoretical biology, and evolutionary biology. Our program’s unique personality comes from our faculty members who take an integrative approach to blending several disciplines in their research and teaching. We have a strong theoretical vein that is balanced well by empirical work in the field and laboratory. One of our greatest strengths is an attitude fostering interaction and interdisciplinary exploration, which is reflected in our extensive interactions with other units on campus.