Graduate Program | Ecology & Evolution

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Department Requirements

The Department of Ecology & Evolution has a diverse group of graduate student researchers with interests that span the analysis of genetic information at the subcellular level to the analysis of emergent ecosystem patterns. All students have in common a set of research questions that examine ecological and evolutionary processes that underlie patterns of life on earth.

Graduate student research is facilitated through a diverse offering of courses and seminars both in the E&E Department and in other entities on the University of Chicago campus. Students have access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, ranging from molecular facilities to greenhouses. On campus students can take advantage of common use facilities such as DNA sequencing and functional genomics centers, the greenhouses, GRID computing resources, and microscopy cores. Our affiliations with Argonne National Lab and The Field Museum also allow E&E access to collections and facilities at these institutions. Field-oriented biologists take advantage of surrounding reserves and restoration areas, as well as numerous distant locales where faculty members have established research programs. Additionally, as one of the founding members of the Organization for Tropical Studies, our students have access to these field-oriented opportunities.

Graduate students are an important component of the Department of Ecology & Evolution. In addition to two key journal clubs that have strong student participation, students administer their own Friday afternoon seminar series. Graduate students are also involved in the selection of weekly seminar speakers from other institutions. Faculty and student interactions are facilitated through these journal clubs and seminars, as well as through our annual Retreat. All of these venues allow students to demonstrate intellectual development and independence, which is further encouraged by individual research stipends.

The potential of E&E graduate students and their accomplishments have been recognized in a number or ways, including external fellowship awards from the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the American Association of University Women, and the Department of Education. E&E graduate students compete successfully for numerous national and international research awards, and contribute significantly to the peer-reviewed scientific literature.

General Timetable for the Ph.D. Program in Ecology & Evolution

Most students in the Department of Ecology & Evolution complete their Ph.D. program in about five years, though students entering with Masters degrees may finish in slightly less time. The first and second years consist largely of coursework and individual reading courses, aiming toward successful completion of the general knowledge examination by the spring quarter of the first year of study and defense of a dissertation research proposal by the end of the second year of study. Work in subsequent years shifts to dissertation-centered research and, finally, preparation and defense of the Ph.D. dissertation. While there is no M.S. program in Ecology & Evolution, students may elect to receive the M.S. degree upon successful completion of their dissertation proposal defense.