This course provides an introduction to all aspects of fungal biology, including: biodiversity, genetics, ecology, and the importance of fungi to society. Fungi are ubiquitous, and students will learn to recognize and identify fungi as well as to study the myriad roles they play in ecosystems as saprobes, parasites, and mutualists. Fungi are also excellent model systems and we will investigate their use as genetic models and study how the dawn of the post-genomic era has impacted the field. The course will be composed of one hour of lecture followed by two hours of laboratory exercises, experiments or field trips.