Brown's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) is an interactive group of 21 faculty and approximately 25 graduate students engaged in research and coursework that spans the fields of anatomy, behavior, ecology, evolution, genetics, genomics and paleontology utilizing a range of organisms from microbes to dinosaurs. Before enrolling, students typically identify one or two faculty with whom they want to study. Independent research begins early in the program, which is designed to prepare students for careers in research and higher education. Each student develops a program of preparation based on close mentoring by a thesis committee. Until thesis writing begins, students participate in the EEB graduate seminar taught by a pair of faculty members who bring different perspectives to classical and current literature in ecology and evolutionary biology. Weekly colloquia give students contact with visiting scientists from a wide variety of disciplines.

Additional resources: EEB faculty and graduate students are developing new collaborations with researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratories (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. MBL's Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution broadens Brown's opportunities in genetics and genomics. And MBL's Ecosystem center offers a number of collaborative opportunities for engaging in environmental research around the globe. These MBL connections are further strengthened by Brown's recent faculty growth in the Center for Computational Molecular Biology and the Environmental Change Initiative, two programs with strong EEB representation.

Brown's Haffenreffer Reserve in Bristol, Rhode Island, provides a large area of diverse wooded and shoreline habitats where EEB students and faculty conduct field research. The greenhouse provides research space and an award-winning conservatory of plants that are available for instruction, as well as public viewing.

Completion requirements: Ph.D.: Attend the EEB graduate seminar course, maintain a course record in good standing according to the regulations of the Graduate School, pass preliminary exams at the end of year two, defend a thesis proposal to a thesis committee of a minimum of four faculty members, complete the dissertation reporting original research, defend a thesis at a one-hour seminar, and attend a thesis defense meeting with four faculty plus one outside reader.

ADMISSION INFORMATION

Admission requirements: The required GRE subject test is in Biology.

GRE General: Required

GRE Subject: Required

Application deadline: January 5

FACULTY