What exactly do you have to do to major in Zoology?

[J3068]

I'm a junior in high school and i was wondering what you have to do to major in Zoology in college. Like do you have to have a bachelors or something in biology first. And if you wanted to go into Mammalogy in particular, how would that work. I really have no idea how college works, even though i should.And also, do most colleges offer majors in Zoology, or do you have to search for special schools.

[oikos5242]

Most large colleges and universities have a Zoology major. The ones that don't probably have a Biology major.You won't get much choice in courses for a year or two. After that, take all the zoology courses you can. Certainly, you want to take Mammalogy, if you can. If you can't, you can probably pick it up when you go for an advanced degree.

[birdgirl2530]

You would transfer to a 4-year university majoring in zoology and would earn your Bachelor of Science degree IN zoology. Usually Mammalogy is one of the required courses for getting your degree (at least it was at my university). If you want to specialize in mammals you would probably have to go on to grad school and earn a Masters Degree, and do your thesis on a mammal you are interested in studying. Look here for schools in the US that offer a zoology major:http://www.a2zcolleges.com/Majors/Zoology.html

[DustinY]

you don't wanna do this. It's not what you may think it is. You learn about the phylum, class, order, and species of specific animals. Zoology was the hardest class I took in college and was somewhat of a bore. I would advise you to just become a vet.

[leo_chick_9]

I'm currently attending Michigan State University and I'm working towards a Bachelor of Science in Zoology with a concentration in Zoo and Aquarium Science. Zoology has several different concentrations (genetics, zoo and aquarium science, marine biology, etc). The first couple years you have to take college requirements and then you start getting into your Zoology courses. Your concentration dictates the classes that you need to take. Depending on what you want to do will determine if you have to go beyond a bachelors. One of my professors said that most zoo keepers only have a BS. About what Dustin said, I haven't had to learn hardly any classes, phylums, etc. and to become a vet it is extremely competitive. If you want to get an idea about what classes are available check out www.zoology.msu.edu, they have the concentrations on there and the classes that need to be taken for that concentration. If you have questions you can shoot me an email and I'll answer them if I can.