EEB313: Quantitative Methods in R for Biology

Welcome!

Welcome to the online home of EEB 313, Winter 2026. We created this website as an easy-to-navigate resources where we can share all the course details, detailed lectures notes, homework assignments, and other resources. Most of the files are created as interactive R Markdown documents, which you can download and run yourself.

EEB 313 was originally developed as a student-led course, and over the years many contributors have helped to develop the course material in its current form. See the About Us page for more details on our current and past teaching team/course developers.

Course overview

EEB313 covers foundational concepts in scientific computing and data analytics using the programming language R, with applications in ecology and evolutionary biology. Using interactive instructional sessions and group work, students will learn to program mathematical calculations and simple algorithms, to analyze and visualize complex datasets, to implement models to simulate biological population dynamics, and to document and disseminate their code. No prior programming experience is required.