Doctor of Philosophy with Specialization in Systematics and Evolution (Biological Sciences)

Thesis

• Registration in 900-level THES. Students must present their thesis research to the Department in the form of a public seminar either on the same day, or the day before, the thesis defence. In addition, students are strongly  encouraged to present annual progress reports to their supervisory committee.

Coursework and Seminar Component

Individual programs will be developed by agreement between the student and the supervisor/supervisory committee.

• Two 3-unit graded courses.
  • Students are encouraged to select graded courses from the following, after consultation with their supervisor:
    • BIOL 335 - Principles of Systematics  
    • BIOL 380 - Genetic Analysis of Populations  
    • BIOL 430 - Statistical Design and Analysis in Biology  
    • BIOL 521 - Advanced Molecular Evolution and Systematics  
    • BIOL 592 - Laboratory Techniques in Molecular Ecology and Systematics  
• Students must register in BIOL 506  at least once and BIOL 631  at least twice during their program.
• Project courses or individual study courses may not be included in the minimum requirements, but may be taken for credit in addition to the minimal graded requirement on the recommendation of the supervisory committee with approval of the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies).
• Generally, coursework should be completed in the first year of the program.

Candidacy Exam

Students are required to complete a written and oral candidacy exam by the end of their third year.

Teaching

• Hold a 0.5 (6 hour per week) graduate teaching assistantship for one semester.

Ethics

• Complete 8 hours of approved ethics activities.
• Ethics hours are approved by the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies).

Professional Development

• Complete 8 hours of approved professional development (PD) activities.
• PD hours are approved by the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies) but cannot include any activity for which the student has previously received credit, cannot be required for the student’s thesis research, cannot be required training, and cannot reasonably be an expected part of the students graduate program.