An Undergraduate Minor in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

Campus-wide Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) programs have been highly successful in improving evolution education and expanding the reach of evolutionary theory in higher education, yet challenges to initiating such programs remain a barrier for many faculty. When these programs are developed by social scientists, for example, there can be resistance among faculty in the biological sciences. A notable issue has been the perceived ownership over the general instruction of evolution, which has derailed efforts to develop EvoS programs at some institutions. This paper describes an alternative program: a minor in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences (EBS). While not intended to replace the traditional EvoS model, a program in EBS may provide a viable alternative for faculty in the social sciences that have struggled to obtain interdisciplinary collaboration in biology. With an explicit emphasis on human behavior, this program fits more squarely within the social sciences yet holds many of the same features and goals of traditional EvoS programs.