The M.Sc. program is a two-year program.

Chairperson of the teaching committee at the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies and Co-Chairperson of the program from the Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research: Prof. Oded Berger-Tal; Chairperson of the teaching committee at the Life Science Department and Co-Chairperson from the Faculty of Natural Sciences: Prof. Ofer Ovadia.


Prereq​u​​​​​isites:

Students are required to have earned a B.Sc. in Life Sciences or an equivalent degree.

Students without sufficient background will be required to complete individually-prescribed courses for no academic credit, typically yet not exclusively, including the following courses or their equivalents:​​

Course #LecturerSubjectCredits

201-1-9431

 The Mathematics of Systems 10

204-1-1531 &

204-1-1543

Dr. Arik Mimon

 

Dr. Barak Akabayov

 General Chemistry B

 

General Chemistry - Laboratory

0

205-1-9011

Prof. Jerry Eichler & Prof. Amir Sagi

The cell

0

205-1-1611

Prof. Dan Mishmar & Dr. Ramon Birnbaum

Genetics A

0
205-1-1221 &

205-1-1223

or

205-1-1021 &

205-1-1031

Prof. Khalil Kashkush

Mr. Liron Goren

 

Prof. Uri Abadi

Prof. Amos Bouskila

Plant science A

&

Plant Sciences A Laboratory

 

Invertebrate Zoology

&

Vertebrate Zoology
0
205-1-3211Prof. Ofer Ovadia and Ms. Ella Pachter ZafrirEcology B0
001-2-3037

 

or

 

205-1-3171

Prof. Ariel Novoplansky

 

 



Dr. Shimon Bershtein

Tutorial in Evolution (can be completed during the program)

 

 

Evolution

0
001-2-3021


or



205-2-9681

 

Prof. Itamar Giladi

 


Prof. Ofer Ovadia

Biostatistics (can be completed during the program)

Statistical Principles in the Analysis of Research Data

0

Students are required to complete the following courses during the two-year program:

 

Subject Credits

A. Mandatory program courses

B. Mandatory track courses

C. Limited choice – program courses

D. Limited choice – track courses

E. Elective courses within the program

F. Elective courses outside the program

30
Thesis Writing12
Total42

 

A.    Mand​​atory Pr​​​ogram C​​​​ourses:

 

Students are required to attend at least 80% of the Departmental Seminars and Workshops in each semester, throughout their studies.

Course #LecturerSubjectCredits
001-2-6666Dr. Shirli Bar–David

Departmental Seminar

(every semester)

0
205-2-2524Prof. Itamar Giladi & Prof. Yaron ZivWorkshop in Ecology and Environmental Science 0.5
​205-2-2522Prof. Itamar Giladi & Prof. Yaron ZivWorkshop in Ecology and Environmental Science ​0.5
205-2-2523Prof. Itamar Giladi & Prof. Yaron ZivWorkshop in Ecology and Environmental Sciences 0.5
​205-2-2521Prof. Itamar Giladi & Prof. Yaron ZivWorkshop in Ecology and Environmental Sciences0.5
205-2-5021 Dr. Moshe KiflawiMethods in Ecology (An eight-day intensive course offered during the FALL break)3
205-2-1601

Prof. Ofer Ovadia



Ecology of Populations3

In the third and fourth semesters, students must register for 'Thesis Writing':

Course #SubjectCredits
001-2-9991

Thesis Writing A

 

6
001-2-9992

Thesis Writing B

 

6

Students who have completed the above Thesis Writing courses and continue their studies for a fifth semester must register for the following course:

 

Course # SubjectCredits
001-2-1000

Thesis Writing – Continuation

 

0

 

B.    Mandatory Track​​ ​​​​​Courses​​

Course #LecturerSubjectCredits
001-2-3087
Prof. Oded Berger-TalConservation Ecology4
001-2-3085Prof. Uri RollConservation Biology: Philosophy and Ethics2

Limited Choice Courses:

Limited choice courses belong to two course lists:

List C: Limited choice–program courses

List D: Limited choice –track courses

 

Students are required to complete at least 1 courses from list C and a total of 4 courses from lists C and D. 

C. Limited Ch​​oice – Program C​​​​​​​o​urses

 

Course #LecturerSubjectCredits
001-2-3083Prof. Merav Seifan

Community Ecology

 

3
001-2-3084Prof. Michal Segoli

Evolutionary Ecology

 

4
205-2-8031

Prof. Yaron Ziv



Spatial Ecology3


D. Limite​​d Choice – Tra​​​ck C​​ourses


Course #LecturerSubjectCredits
​001-2-3001​Prof. Ariel Novoplansky
​Evolutionary Ecology of Phenotypic Plasticity
​3
001-2-3020Prof. Merav SeifanThe Ecology of Plant-Animal Interactions3
001-2-3039Prof. Boris KrasnovEvolutionary Ecology of Parasitism3
001-2-3045Dr. Shirli Bar-DavidConservation Genetics3
001-2-3082Prof. Itamar GiladiEcology and Evolution of Dispersal3
001-2-3086Prof. Hadas HawlenaMicrobial Ecology3
001-2-3089Prof. Oded Berger-TalAnimal Behavior in Conservation Biology

3
001-2-3093Prof. Michal SegoliArthropod Behavior and Agroecology2
​001-2-3094Prof. Uri Roll​​Macroecology​2
​001-2-3335​Prof. Ariel Novoplansky
​Camp Evolution
2​
​205-2-7031​Prof. Amos Bouskila
Mathematical Models for the Study of Animal Behavior​​3


E. Elective Courses within the Program

Course #LecturerSubjectCredits
001-2-3023Prof. Carmi Korine & Prof. Berry PinshowEcholocation and Bat-Insect Interactions in Desert Habitats3
001-2-3035Prof. B. Pinshow, Prof. Scott Turner and Dr. Eugene MaraisBiophysical Ecology in the Namib Desert: Online Course 2
001-2-3047​Prof. Merav Seifan
Global changes and the biodiversity crisis​2
001-2-3099​Dr. Shirli Bar-David
​Molecular Ecology and Evolution
​2
001-2-3135Prof. B. Pinshow, Prof. Scott Turner and Dr. Eugene MaraisBiophysical Ecology in the Namib Desert: Field Workshop  (it is not sure if or when it will be able to travel to Gobabeb Namib Research Institute for the workshop) 2
001-2-3041Prof. Burt KotlerTopics in Ecology2
001-2-3078Prof. Ariel NovoplanskyPersonal Projects in Evolutionary Ecology3
001-2-3091Prof. Merav SeifanContemporary Topics in Israeli Nature Conservation –Workshop3
001-2-3092Prof. Oded Berger-TalThe Use of Animal Cognition Principles in Conservation3
001-2-3333Prof. Boris KrasnovGuided Reading on the Ecology of Parasites and Parasitism2
001-2-3344Dr. Shirli Bar-DavidGuided Reading on Molecular Ecology2
001-2-3355Prof. Hadas HawlanaGuided Reading in Microbial Ecology2
​205-2-1609​Dr. Shai Pilosof
​Networks in Biology-Ecology
​3
205-2-2281Prof. Amos BouskilaBehavioral Ecology of Equids3
205-2-4162Prof. Michal SegoliInsect Ecology

3
205-2-7031Prof. Amos BouskilaMathematical Models for the Study of Animal Behavior3
205-2-7032Prof. Amos BouskilaSolving Problems with R2

Courses from the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences at Eilat (IUI):

You may participate in one course per semester and in no more than two courses during the 2-year program. Students might register to more elective courses in the IUI, with the recommendation of the advisor and the approval of the teaching committee. 

For more information please refer to: http://www.iui-eilat.ac.il/Courses/Courses.aspx

Courses are in Hebrew except international courses. 

Elective Courses outside the​​ ​Program

Course #LecturerSubjectCredits
001-2-3079Prof. Ariel NovoplanskyScientific Presentation2
001-2-0153Dr. Scott Hansen and  Dr. Christopher J. ArnuschWriting a Scientific Paper2
001-2-4022Prof. Ehud MeronPattern Formation and Spatial Ecology3
001-2-4028Prof. Arnon KarnieliRemote Sensing for Agriculture, Rangelands, and Forestry (no prerequisites required)3
001-2-2038Prof. Naftali LazarovitchSoil Physics3
001-2-4029Prof. Yosef AshkenaziIntroduction to Statistics and Probability3
001-2-5041Dr. Menachem SklartzPractical Bioinformatics for Environmental Studies3
001-2-7007Prof. Amos ZemelStatistical Methods3
001-2-7010Dr. Menachem SklartzHands-on Introduction to R: Programming, Graphing and Statistical Exploration2
001-2-6002Dr. Aviva PeetersTheory and Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)3
205-2-9531Dr. Tal Shai and Dr. Alal EranIntroduction to Bioinformatics3