The PBE Program

The College of the Sciences at CWU is home to a unique primatology degree program. The PBE program is designed to provide majors with interdisciplinary perspectives on the behavior and ecology of nonhuman primates in both captive and free-ranging settings. This is the only such program in the US that offers a multidisciplinary, dual-major curriculum. PBE students must complete the requirements for the PBE major as well as for a 45-100 credit major in anthropology, biology, or psychology and thus simultaneously earn two bachelor's degrees. In addition to specific coursework, the PBE program requires research participation at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute at CWU and participation in a workshop on using Observer software. Participants attend job fairs and the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students. Graduates are well prepared to continue graduate studies in biology, psychology, anthropology, or primatology; to begin careers in laboratory or other captive settings; to conduct fieldwork on free-ranging primates; or to develop solutions needed for complex conservation challenges.