Environmental and Forest Biology - PhD

The critical importance of natural resources and environmental quality to modern society demands that aspiring biologists both understand natural ecosystems and learn to be effective problem solvers. The Department of Environmental and Forest Biology is committed to ensuring these educational outcomes.

The department offers a dynamic array of professional opportunities in biology via course work enriched by an active program of research. Through a suite of electives in addition to a required core, undergraduate students may customize their studies toward a particular field of interest. Graduate students may pursue master's or doctoral degrees within several areas of study.

The doctor of philosophy degree may be pursued directly from the bachelor’s level, or following a master's degree program. Doctoral study culminates in a dissertation (or its equivalent as refereed publications) based on original research. In many cases this work serves as a foundation for future studies and publications throughout the student's career. Research activity is often funded through extramural grants to the student’s major professor. Abundant opportunities exist to gain teaching experience during the doctoral program. A written and oral examination is required to proceed to doctoral candidacy, at least one year prior to the capstone seminar and defense of the dissertation.