The first step to become a zoologist is to major in zoology or biology as undergraduate. The Department of Zoology at Oregon State University is one of the institutions that grant undergraduate degrees. Zoology majors can apply for the bachelor's degree in zoology and meet the requirements for professional schools, including medicine, dentistry, optometry, or veterinary medicine. The undergraduate program includes cellular and developmental biology, organism biology, or ecology, population biology, and behavior. Undergraduate students must have 180 hours of study to get their bachelor's degree.
The department of zoology at Oregon State University offers Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The graduate areas include behavioral ecology, behavioral endocrinology, cell biology, chemical ecology, comparative immunology, conservation biology, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, genetics, marine ecology, neurobiology, parasitology, physiology, and population biology. Students are required to have wide biology knowledge. Interdisciplinary degrees in cell and molecular biology and genetics are also available.
Generally, master's degree programs focus on the scientific study of an animal and research involving molecular and cellular systems, anatomy, physiology and behavior. Successful graduates typically produce a thesis. The program may include molecular and cell biology, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, evolutionary biology, ecology and behavior. The Oregon State University offers Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees.
To be qualified for a teaching job or become a researcher, a person needs to get a doctoral degree. The PhD program puts an accent on independent thesis research on a major topic, which leads to a dissertation. Advanced zoology degrees can open up additional job opportunities in fields like environmental research, agricultural lab work or medical research.