Are there any colleges that teach arachnology?

[Godsmack1934]

I'm not really sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'm wanting to know and felt it would fit best here. I'm currently in the process of finding some good options for college, and as spiders and arachnids are a strong interest of mine I'm wanting to try and make a career out of it. If anyone knows of any (preferably in the northern US, and/or offer a doctoral program) please let me know, and thank you in advance to anyone who can help!

 

[BoyFromLA]

A bit old post, but might be helpful.

Entomology/Arachnology Colleges?

Alright guys, I'm a sophomore in high school and I'm looking for some good colleges to go to to get a degree in Entomology, or preferrably Arachnology. What are the best U.S. colleges for this field?

arachnoboards.com

 

[fcat]

Solely arachnology? I don't know.

Entomology, heck yes, and please do!

Undergraduate Entomology Programs

The following universities offer full undergraduate bachelor’s degree programs in entomology: Cornell University Kansas State University

www.entsoc.org

 

[Arachnopotamus Rex]

I'm not really sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'm wanting to know and felt it would fit best here. I'm currently in the process of finding some good options for college, and as spiders and arachnids are a strong interest of mine I'm wanting to try and make a career out of it. If anyone knows of any (preferably in the northern US, and/or offer a doctoral program) please let me know, and thank you in advance to anyone who can help!

I'm actually curious about this as well.

 

[Fini]

UC Davis has a strong entomology program that has produced some arachnid enthusiast scientists. Cornell is also notable.

You might scour the American Arachnological Society pages. Lots of academics there. https://www.americanarachnology.org/

 

[Arachnopotamus Rex]

I've been studying the findings on both molecular and fossil phylogenetic relationships of ecdysozoa the past several months, when I get stuck I message people I the field and ask them deductive questions.

I've been trying to piece together the found relationships into one reference material. Its very daunting, but it's like an itch I need scratched, I can't stop myself O-O It's not my job or anything, its more or less just an interest of mine.

It's effectively just a lot of typing, reading, cross referencing, and copy pasting, but trying to fit everything in one place for every known species is.... well its not fast lol. Chelicerata is a mess still, as is Trilobita, Dinocaridida, Megachiera, and several other clade groups. Acari (mites and ticks) is apparently polyphyletic (its not one group but many that convergently evolved to seem like its one group, much like the many different types of crabs), and insects it turns out are actually crustaceans, in the same way that birds are dinosaurs. And crustaceans are a sister group to myriapods, which might also just be a branch of crustaceans.

Hymenocarina are also crustaceons. I'd not be shocked if chelicerata was found to be a part of pancrustacea as well, since megacheira is likely an offshoot of hymenocarina, and megachierans are thought to be early chelicerates by some.

All this studying and I only just yesterday found out what tarantula poop is supposed to look like.

Do I feel shame? No, but I definitely see the irony.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

I'm not really sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'm wanting to know and felt it would fit best here. I'm currently in the process of finding some good options for college, and as spiders and arachnids are a strong interest of mine I'm wanting to try and make a career out of it. If anyone knows of any (preferably in the northern US, and/or offer a doctoral program) please let me know, and thank you in advance to anyone who can help!

First you need the right expectations. Arachnology isn't a job, it is a field of study. You will need to get a degree in biology, specialize in a subfield, and apply that to the study of spiders. Do you like evolutionary biology? Maybe ecology? Or perhaps you are hardcore and biochemistry is your jam? An arachnologist is anyone one who has an expertise any of the subfields of biology and applies it to a group of arachnids. For example, a biochemist who studies the venom of widow spiders and works at a pharmaceutical company to develop antivenom would be an arachnologist. Even the stock boy at the grocery store who spends his free time collecting, identifying, and mapping the distribution of his local spiders and reporting it in a scientific journal can be considered an arachnologist.

The job- or what you would actually get paid for- with a degree in biology and specializing in an arachnid group can be varied. I provided two examples above, but other examples can be a professor, museum collections manager, or something else not related to arachnids at all. Of course I'm not including any stipend you may receive as a grad student working in the lab of a professor who is working on a study involving arachnids. The best way to figure out what all of these PHDs who publish in academic journals do for a living is to look them up. At the top of every reputable journal article you will see the organization the corresponding author belongs to (if any). Then if they have an online presence, or a webpage for their lab, you can read about what they do "behind the scenes."

Since arachnology is the application of a subfield of biology to an arachnid group, you won't find an academic institution that provides courses in it. You need to figure out what field of biology interests you the most, find the best university for it, then use your skills and knowledge for its application to better understanding your target arachnid group.

 

[viper69]

No

 

[Godsmack1934]

First you need the right expectations. Arachnology isn't a job, it is a field of study. You will need to get a degree in biology, specialize in a subfield, and apply that to the study of spiders. Do you like evolutionary biology? Maybe ecology? Or perhaps you are hardcore and biochemistry is your jam? An arachnologist is anyone one who has an expertise any of the subfields of biology and applies it to a group of arachnids. For example, a biochemist who studies the venom of widow spiders and works at a pharmaceutical company to develop antivenom would be an arachnologist. Even the stock boy at the grocery store who spends his free time collecting, identifying, and mapping the distribution of his local spiders and reporting it in a scientific journal can be considered an arachnologist.

The job- or what you would actually get paid for- with a degree in biology and specializing in an arachnid group can be varied. I provided two examples above, but other examples can be a professor, museum collections manager, or something else not related to arachnids at all. Of course I'm not including any stipend you may receive as a grad student working in the lab of a professor who is working on a study involving arachnids. The best way to figure out what all of these PHDs who publish in academic journals do for a living is to look them up. At the top of every reputable journal article you will see the organization the corresponding author belongs to (if any). Then if they have an online presence, or a webpage for their lab, you can read about what they do "behind the scenes."

Since arachnology is the application of a subfield of biology to an arachnid group, you won't find an academic institution that provides courses in it. You need to figure out what field of biology interests you the most, find the best university for it, then use your skills and knowledge for its application to better understanding your target arachnid group.

That's very useful to know, biochemistry was actually going to be my back up if I couldn't find anything for arachnology, so I already have a few schools in mind for that one. Thank you so much!

 

[The Snark]

What @AphonopelmaTX said. To be more specific, Arachnology is a sub field of Zoology which is a sub field of Biology. Examine the word Biology. From the Greek; Bio, life, - logy, the study of. So you have to start from the ground up.
Classical example, a physician. Every doctor is just a physician. After about 7 years, once the person obtains a doctorate, they can branch into a specialty field.
Arachnology may be more tolerant. A masters degree in biology with a minor in zoology then the specialist field. That would qualify a person for a professorship. If the person wanted to publish a paper their institute would normally require a doctorate. Peer review boards.

For example: Dr. Peter Jäger, Doctor of Natural Sciences, Senckenberg Research Institute, Department of Terrestrial Zoology, with one specialty being Arachnology. 317 publications.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

That's very useful to know, biochemistry was actually going to be my back up if I couldn't find anything for arachnology, so I already have a few schools in mind for that one. Thank you so much!

I'm glad I could be of some help. About three years ago I decided to go back to school as an adult with an established career in IT to study biology and to actually contribute to the science of tarantulas or other spiders. The idea is to go to school to end my IT career and have something to do in retirement as opposed to the more traditional route of going to school to start a career.

The first thing I did was research the exact same topic you are asking about. My conclusion was that your undergraduate degree is focused on either biology or chemistry, then things get more fun in a graduate program when you actually start applying your knowledge to spiders, or whatever. Since I work full time, I'm still working on my undergrad- which is taking forever- but I'm having fun with it because university and college staff actually take me seriously and I have access to cool tools, like a scanning electron microscope, and very knowledgable people to help guide me on my journey. Since my college's SEM is not associated with any one lab or professor, I can and have used it to do my own tarantula research. That's arachnology! I will say it one more time. Arachnology is the application of a biological science to arachnids, not a course, not a degree, and not a career path.

Unfortunately, not very many university staff out there actually have a lab that study spiders and arachnids, but there are plenty of labs out there for undergrads and grads where you can on your own if it relates to a professor's own goals. Also being enrolled in a university or college as a STEM student will give you access to programs at other institutions for experience. For example, the American Arachnology Association (americanarachnology.org) sometimes makes available summer training programs in various topics of arachnology that are only available to students. The American Museum of Natural History and Denver Museum of Natural history does the same thing from time to time. The Denver Museum a couple of years ago was soliciting applications for students to help with taxonomy research on the Solifugae. I was so mad I couldn't apply because I have to work during the summer.

 

[Fini]

Congratulations for being brave enough to dive in on a new career path. After 30 years in IT, I too have considered a return to university for a second life after ending this chapter. Best of luck to you.