Biology

The Biology graduate program encompasses a broad spectrum of research areas, including bioinformatics, cell biology, developmental biology, ecology, evolution, genetics, neuroscience, phylogenetics, and physiology. The courses of study are planned individually by the student and a Graduate Faculty adviser, often with input from the student’s doctoral committee. Typically, tenure-line and tenured faculty in Biology have 1 to 5 graduate students in their laboratories, leading to a low student/adviser ratio for both doctoral and master’s students.

Admission Requirements

Applicants apply for admission to the program via the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School application for admission. Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-300 Admissions Policies.

Admission is restricted to students who have the baccalaureate degree in a biological science or related field and who present a cumulative undergraduate average of at least 3.00 on a scale of 4.00. Each applicant must provide a personal statement of interests and objectives, curriculum vitae/cv/resume, and letters from three persons verifying the applicant's academic preparedness and readiness for graduate study. GRE scores will not be accepted.

Degree Requirements

Master of science (M.S.)

Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-600 Research Degree Policies.

A minimum of 30 credits at the 400, 500, 600, or 800 level is required, with least 18 credits at the 500 and 600 level, combined. Students are required to write a thesis, and at least 6 credits in thesis research (BIOL 600 or BIOL 610) must be taken in conjunction with completing the thesis. The thesis must be accepted by the advisers and/or committee members, the head of the graduate program, and the Graduate School, and the student must pass a thesis defense. The master’s program in Biology is usually completed within two years.

Four Biology courses are curricular requirements for all master’s students, as is the successful completion of ethics training administered by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). Additional course work is tailored to the student’s research interests after advance consultation with their adviser, and specific courses may be required by the adviser depending on the student’s background and research plans.

The culminating experience for the Master of Science degree is a research-based thesis that generally results in a peer-reviewed publication. The student will present and defend the thesis to a committee of three tenured or tenure-line Graduate Faculty members, consisting of the adviser and two other members of the Graduate Faculty. At least two members of the committee, including the adviser, must be members of the Graduate Faculty in the Biology graduate program.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-600 Research Degree Policies.

The doctoral program in Biology is first and foremost a research-oriented program. The single most important component is the successful completion and defense of an original research project  –  the dissertation. Additionally, the Biology graduate program and Graduate Council policies require that students meet certain residency requirements, maintain satisfactory scholastic performance, demonstrate competency of the English language, and successfully pass qualifying, comprehensive, and final oral examinations, outlined in the link above. To earn the Ph.D. degree, doctoral candidates must write a dissertation that is accepted by the Ph.D. committee, the head of the graduate program, and the Graduate School.

Four Biology courses are curricular requirements for all doctoral students, as is the successful completion of ethics training administered by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). Although doctoral students are required to complete 4 credits of BIOL 602 Supervised Experience in College Teaching, these 4 credits cannot be counted towards the degree requirements.

Additional course work is tailored to the student’s research interests after advance consultation with their adviser and Ph.D. committee, and specific courses may be required by the adviser and/or Ph.D. committee depending on the student’s background and research plans. All doctoral students must pass a written and oral qualifying examination that is usually administered during their third semester of study. After a student has completed all of their course work and made substantial progress on the design and execution of their dissertation research, a comprehensive examination is administered by their Ph.D. committee. The dissertation must represent a significant original contribution suitable for publication, and will usually require between two and four years of laboratory and/or field research. When complete the dissertation must be defended before the student's Ph.D. committee (the final oral examination). The defense is normally immediately preceded by a public presentation of the thesis research by the student.

Molecular Evolutionary Biology OPtion

The department awards graduate degrees in Biology covering the full spectrum of subjects represented by our diverse faculty in the base degree programs described above. If desired, a student may also elect to pursue the following option as part of his/her program of study.

1. The student must meet the criteria for the M.S. or Ph.D. in Biology.
2. The student's research adviser must be a member of the Graduate Faculty in the Biology graduate program and/or a full member of the Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics. Other committee members may be chosen as needed providing that a majority of the committee is associated with the IMEG.
3. In addition to the normal Biology program requirements, the student must take (for both an M.S. or Ph.D. in Biology):

   Course List

   Code	Title	Credits
   Required Courses
   BIOL 591	Molecular Evolutionary Biology Seminar	3
   9 credits from among the following courses (selected in consultation with the student's committee):		9
   BIOL 405	Molecular Evolution
   BIOL 422	Advanced Genetics
   BIOL 427	Evolution
   BIOL 428	Population Genetics
   BIOL 514	Topics in Systematics and Evolution
   Total Credits		12

4. The student must complete any other course work or training deemed appropriate by the student's committee.

Dual-Titles

DUAL-TITLE PH.D. IN Biology AND Microbiome Sciences

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in GCAC-208 Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs (http:// gradschool.psu.edu/graduate-education-policies/gcac/gcac-200/gcac-208-dual-title-graduate-degree-programs/).

Biology Ph.D. students with research and educational interests in Microbiome Sciences may apply for admission to the Microbiome Sciences Dual-Title Degree Program. Students must first apply and be admitted to the Biology graduate program and The Graduate School before applying for admission to the dual-title program. To apply, a student should send to the MBIOM Graduate Program Advisor (microbiomesciDT@psu.edu) a written personal statement that explains their interest in Microbiome Sciences; the career goals they hope to work toward by attaining the dual-title degree; and describe actual or potential research objectives that integrate microbiome sciences. This statement should be signed by their major adviser or dissertation adviser, if assigned. Students should also send the MBIOM Graduate Program Advisor their undergraduate and graduate transcripts for review by the MBIOM Faculty-in-Charge, who will notify the Graduate School and student about the enrollment decision.

The result of the BIOL qualifying examination serves to qualify the student’s entrance to the MBIOM dual-title program. The application for the dual-title degree program may be completed after the qualifying examination in the major program, as long as the application takes place before the end of the fourth semester.

To obtain this dual-title, students must satisfy the degree requirements for the Ph.D. in Biology, listed in the BIOL Degree Requirements section. In addition, students must complete the degree requirements for the MBIOM dual-title, listed on the Microbiome Sciences Bulletin page. Students must complete a total of 15 credits including 2 credits of MBIOM 550 and at least 13 credits chosen in consultation with the adviser from an approved list of courses, with at least 3 credits in each of the following areas: Microbial Sciences, Ecology and Evolution, and Bioinformatics and Research Tools. Eight of the 15 total credits must be taken at the 500-level. No more than six of the 15 total credits can be offered by the BIOL program.

In addition to the general Graduate Council requirements for Ph.D. committees, the Ph.D. committee of a Biology and Microbiome Sciences dual-title Ph.D. student must include at least one member of the Microbiome Sciences Graduate Faculty. Faculty members who hold appointments in both programs’ Graduate Faculty may serve in a combined role. If the chair of the Ph.D. committee is not also a member of the Graduate Faculty in Microbiome Sciences, the member of the committee representing Microbiome Sciences must be appointed as co-chair. The Microbiome Sciences representative on the student’s Ph.D. committee will develop questions for and participate in the evaluation of the comprehensive examination.

Students in the dual-title program are required to write and orally defend a dissertation on a topic that is approved in advance by their Ph.D. committee and reflects their original research and education in Biology and Microbiome Sciences. Upon completion of the doctoral dissertation, the candidate must pass a final oral examination (the dissertation defense) to earn the Ph.D. degree. The dissertation must be accepted by the Ph.D. committee, the head of the graduate program, and the Graduate School

Minor

A graduate minor is available in any approved graduate major or dual-title program. The default requirements for a graduate minor are stated in Graduate Council policy GCAC-218 Minors.

Student Aid

Graduate assistantships available to students in this program and other forms of student aid are described in the Tuition & Funding section of the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School’s website. Students on graduate assistantships must adhere to the course load limits set by the Fox Graduate School.

In addition, several graduate fellowships and scholarships are available for students within the Department of Biology.

Programs of study are planned to require no more than two years for the M.S. degree and five for the Ph.D. degree. A student transferring to the department with the M.S. degree should plan on four additional years. Financial support from teaching or research assistantships or from fellowships is available to students in good standing, but not awarded beyond these limits except in unusual cases.

Courses

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

Biology (BIOL) Course List

Learning Outcomes

Master of Science (M.S.)

1. KNOW: Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge essential for conducting research in the biological sciences. This includes at least one specific concentration area of biology, such as evolutionary biology or neuroscience, and proficiency in relevant supporting disciplines, such as statistics.
2. APPLY/CREATE: Apply a combination of experimental, quantitative, or computational methodologies to analyze biological data.
3. COMMUNICATION: Communicate research findings and their context within biological sciences literature, adhering to the professional standards for written and oral presentations.
4. THINK: Employ critical thinking skills to formulate hypotheses, evaluate experiments, and draw scientifically sound conclusions in addressing biological inquiries.
5. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: Uphold the highest ethical standards and best practices within the field of biology, demonstrating integrity and ethical conduct in all aspects of research, scholarship, and professional interactions.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

1. KNOW: Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge essential for conducting research in the biological sciences. This should include deep knowledge in at least one specific concentration area of biology, integrate other relevant areas of biology, and proficiency in relevant supporting disciplines, such as statistics.
2. APPLY/CREATE: Independently produce a novel insight or discovery by applying a combination of experimental, quantitative, or computational methodologies to generate and analyze biological data.
3. COMMUNICATE: Communicate research findings and their context within biological sciences literature, adhering to the professional standards for written and oral presentations.
4. THINK: Employ critical thinking skills to independently formulate hypotheses, design experiments, and draw scientifically sound conclusions in addressing biological inquiries.
5. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: Uphold the highest ethical standards and best practices within the field of biology, demonstrating integrity and ethical conduct in all aspects of research, scholarship, and professional interactions.

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