Organismic & Evolutionary Biology - PhD

Organismic & Evolutionary Biology (OEB) provides interdepartmental training for MS and PhD students in ecology, animal behavior, organismal biology and evolutionary biology. Graduate students, post-docs, and faculty study biological processes ranging from the molecular to the ecosystem level, often bridging the gap between basic and applied research. Our faculty and students conduct research in four broad areas:

Animal Behavior: Behavioral ecology, communication, learning
Ecology: Community ecology, population ecology, landscape ecology, conservation biology
Evolutionary Biology: Evolution, phylogenetics, population genetics, molecular evolution
Organismal Biology: Physiology, morphology, paleontology

OEB includes more than 75 faculty from nine departments within the College of Natural Sciences and other on- and off-campus institutes and organizations. Additional members are drawn from the other campuses in the Five College Community (Amherst, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke, and Smith Colleges). Three other interdepartmental programs train graduate students in the life sciences (Molecular and Cellular Biology, Neuroscience and Behavior, and Plant Biology).