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Santa Barbara: Departments

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
There is no history currently available for this department.

Biological Sciences
When Santa Barbara State College became a part of the University in 1944, 30 courses and one major, in biology, were offered by the natural sciences department. Several courses emphasized fundamental disciplines, whereas others were intended for education majors. A major in zoology was added in 1945, and one in botany in 1947. A separate Department of Biological Sciences was established in 1948. Although composed of several distinct disciplines, the department later elected to remain one entity since it was felt that modern biology was best presented by a single department where an interchange of ideas regarding curricula and courses might occur.

After 1948, the department maintained a core of biology courses available to all majors. In 1949, the department began introductory courses (emphasizing the relations of biology to humanity) for the general education program. In 1950, students in all departmental majors were required to take one course in physiology and one in genetics. This policy was extended in 1964 to require students in all biological sciences majors to select two courses from biological disciplines of development, ecology, and diversity. Other curricular trends tended toward gradual acquisition of specialized courses; toward requirements for all biological sciences majors of courses in mathematics, physics, and chemistry; and to the division of the biology major into: cell biology, emphasizing the molecular mechanisms underlying life; and environmental biology, stressing the relationships of organisms to each other and their environments.

The graduate program was initiated in 1958 with the introduction of the M.A. degree; the Ph.D. program in biology was authorized in 1961. Departmental philosophy discouraged the development of isolated facilities, but the recent addition of a permanent marine laboratory and temporary biochemistry and microbiology laboratories represented responses to contemporary activities. source

Black Studies
There is no history currently available for this department.

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Last updated 06/18/04.