生理学是对生物功能的研究，它代表了现代生物学中各个学科，方法和观点的融合。生理学家寻求对功能机制及其调节，这些机制的适应性意义，影响机体功能的生态因素以及影响其功能的进化过程的理解。在追求这种理解时，使用了广泛的科学领域的概念和方法，涵盖了从单个分子，细胞器，细胞，组织，器官到整个生物的生物组织水平。物理，化学，生物化学，分子生物学以及生物学中其他各个领域的工具和技术将用于生理研究，其范围可能包括光在细胞膜水平对视觉系统的影响，蚂蚁的呼吸，新陈代谢等方面。在蜥蜴奔跑过程中，荷尔蒙控制着鱼类繁殖。
UCSB's undergraduate program in biology is jointly administered by two academic departments: Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB) and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB). Each department offers several specialized majors leading to a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree, and the departments share a general biological sciences major leading to either a B.S. or a B.A. degree. Research and teaching programs cover the full spectrum of biological science from molecular biology and biochemistry to community and ecosystems ecology. Over 150 upper division biology courses are offered to support our majors. These courses include lectures and seminars, laboratory and field studies, and independent studies and group projects.