University of Oklahoma Biological Station

The University of Oklahoma Biological Station (UOBS) is a remote campus of the University of Oklahoma, and a unit of the School of Biological Sciences located on the shores of Lake Texoma in southern Oklahoma. Our mission is to provide excellence in education, research, and service for students and faculty of both the University and broader community. We provide educational opportunities to students through courses, research involvement, and outreach activities. We have a seven-decade history of research in biology and the environment that has contributed to a better understanding of our planet. Service activities at UOBS foster learning through activities for K-12 students and teachers, scientific conferences, workshops, student and faculty informal education, and more.  

Our station is open for events year-round! We have dormitory style housing, and each room has its own bathroom and a refrigerator. We also have a kitchen, dining hall, recreation room, library, boat dock, classroom and research buildings with plant, insect, fish, mammal, reptile, and amphibian collections, in addition to pollinator gardens and access to forested and grassland habitats as well as wetlands, streams, and Lake Texoma.  

If you are a student looking for summer field courses. We are the place for you!  Our summer college courses are taught in an immersive format over two weeks and are highly acclaimed by students. Courses provide hands-on experience and emphasize learning-by-doing in disciplines like ecology, herpetology, ornithology, ichthyology, conservation, entomology, and more. Courses include extensive fieldwork in nearby natural areas and occasional field trips to sites across Oklahoma and Texas. All courses are upper division with labs and are 3 credit hours. If you are interested in learning more, click for more details.

The UOBS was established in 1949 following donation of the property by Norman and Mildred Brillhart. Carl D. Riggs, a faculty member in the Department of Zoology, was the station’s first Director, and was instrumental in its early success and significant expansion from one building to the campus of today. Over its nearly seventy year history, the University of Oklahoma Biological Station has taught biology to thousands of college students; its researchers have published hundreds of scientific papers; and research leading to two hundred PhD and Master’s degrees have provided a new understanding of nature.