After nearly two decades, SDSU’s Biology of Dinosaurs course will return from extinction in spring 2026 with John Cook at the helm.

Biology of Dinosaurs (BIOL 239) was last offered to students in 2007 and was discontinued due to the departure of the previous instructor.

Jeremy Chambers, head of the Department of Biology and Microbiology, suggested bringing the course back after learning about Cook’s background with extinct species research.

“My first love was dinosaurs, as a kid,” Cook said. “I never grew up.”

The class will take a natural history approach to dinosaurs, focusing on their taxonomy and classifying species based on anatomical differences. Students will examine fossil models of eggs, teeth, horns and skulls, Cook said.

New technology will allow students to interact with digitally scanned 3D models of rarer specimens as well.

“Paleontology has changed,” Cook said. “We’re trying to get students to realize that we have taken that step into the 21st century.”

Cook also hopes to secure funding for student fossil digs in northwestern South Dakota. However, student interest in the course must increase for that to happen.

“So many significant specimens have been found here in South Dakota, and one of the largest universities in the state isn’t really a part of that,” Cook said.

Two of the six students currently registered for the course, juniors Raegan Salgado and Anabel Stock, expressed their anticipation for the course to begin.

“Dinosaurs, since they’re no longer around, have this kind of really unique biology, and that’s super interesting to me,” Salgado, a pre-veterinary medicine and animal science major, said.

Stock, an animal science major, said “I’m interested in what could be uncertain about the biology aspect of it all, because they are extinct, and we only know so much about it.”

The class will be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1-1:50 p.m. this spring.