The course is designed to provide students with a general introduction to the fundamental concepts of evolutionary thought and theory.

Lecture classes: Students acquire the scientific knowledge of the subject by attending theoretical lectures.

Seminars with various activities aimed at reinforcing key theoretical concepts in evolutionary biology: Problem-Based Learning (PBL) activities, discussion of scientific articles, and problem-solving.

Practical sessions to review and consolidate the concepts introduced in the lectures.

Tutorials for resolving doubts and offering personalized support.

Seminars:

Attendance to seminars is mandatory. Most seminars will be dedicated to conducting a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) activity. Students will be provided with texts describing a biological curiosity, which they must investigate to determine the most plausible evolutionary explanation. To do this, students will organize into groups (and subgroups) and carry out a coordinated and structured information search. In the first phase, they will collect information using reliable sources and redefine the questions to be addressed. This information will be presented to the rest of the class, and the instructor will provide feedback. Students will continue working until they complete a final presentation, which they will deliver to classmates who haveworked on different topics. Assessment will consider: the group grade for the presentation, individual performance on a questionnaire covering all PBL cases, and individual participation in class. In addition to the PBL activities, students will also discuss scientific articles and solve problems. Seminars will be evaluated through questions included in the course exams.

Practical sessions:

Attendance to practicals is mandatory and each practical will be evaluated separatedly as indicated by the teacher.

1. Simulation of evolution using the Populus software (computer lab, 3 hours).
2. Interpretation of population data, phylogenetic reconstructions, and evolution of nucleotide variability using epidemiological data from viruses (computer lab, 3 hours).
3. Identification and characterization of evolutionary processes (laboratory session).

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

• First partial exam, 50% of the syllabus and 35% of the grade.
• Second partial exam, 50% of the syllabus and 35% of the grade.
• Practices: exercises to be delivered during the practice or a few days later according to the practice, 15% of the grade of the subject.
• Seminars, 15% of the grade. The assessment of the ABPs will be based on the presentation grade (group assessment), the responses to a questionnaire covering all ABPs (individual assessment), and class participation (individual assessment). Problems and debates will be assessed through multiple-choice questions included in the course exams.

Students must obtain a grade of 5 or higher (out of 10) in each of the midterm exams in order to average them with the grades from seminars and practicals. Any midterm exam with a grade below 5 must be retaken in the resit exam. To pass the course, students must achieve a minimum overall grade of 5, based on the weighted average of theory, seminars, and practicals.

To participate in the recovery, students must have been previously evaluated in a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of two thirds of the total grade of the subject or module. Therefore, students will obtain the grade of \"Non-Evaluable\" when the assessment activities performed have a weighting of less than 67% in the final grade.

This subject considers the single evaluation system. In this sense, this comprises a single synthesis exam that includes: 1) the contents of the entire theory program with a weight of 70%, 2) questions corresponding to seminars with a weight of 15%, and 3) questions corresponding to the laboratory and computer classroom practices with a weight of 15%. The grade obtained in this synthesis exam is 100% of the final grade for the subject. The single evaluation test will be carried out coinciding with the same date set in the calendar for the last continuous evaluation exam (2nd partial) and the same system will be applied in case of recovery.

For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translations. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in this evaluable activity will be considered a breach of academic honesty and will result in a partial or total penalty on the activity’s grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.

Any irregularity committed during an assessment activity (academic misconduct, plagiarism, or improper use of AI, unless such use is expressly authorized in the course syllabus) that may lead to a significant alteration of the grade will result in that activity being graded as 0. If the course syllabus stipulates that obtaining a minimum mark in this assessment is an essential requirement to pass the course, or if multiple irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course, the final grade for the course will be 0. Furthermore, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against any student who incurs any of these irregularities.