Introduction to OEB Undergraduate Studies: Integrative Biology

OEB is all about life. The department's faculty share a common interest in understanding the structure, function, and variation of biological systems both now and in the past. To capture this range of interest in, and approaches to, biological problems, we have called the OEB's undergraduate concentration Integrative Biology.

We ask questions about life and the natural world.

What kinds of organisms are there and how are they related?
How is an organism's functional design and behavior related to its environment?
What are the genetic and morphological mechanisms underlying an organism's development?
How is evolution influenced by development?

Integrative Biology has a highly flexible set of requirements, meaning that students are free to explore areas in the Life Sciences they find most interesting. In a way, then, students can create their own specialized mini-concentration within Integrative Biology's requirements. To illustrate, we have put together some sample pathways (i.e. suggested combinations of mid-level and upper-level courses) for perennially popular areas:

Plant Sciences
Marine Biology & Biological Oceanography
Vertebrate Anatomy & Physiology
Mathematical & Computational Biology

Options in the Life Sciences

Students who are interested in the Life Sciences at Harvard may choose among nine concentration options, of which Integrative Biology is one. The cluster of life sciences concentrations share a common set of foundation courses and a common advising structure.