The Pennsylvania State University © 2004
DOUGLAS R. CAVENER, Head of the
Department
208 Erwin W. Mueller Building
814-865-4562
gradinfo@email.bio.psu.edu
Degrees Conferred: Ph.D., M.S.
The Graduate Faculty
Hiroshi Akashi, Ph.D. (Chicago)
Assistant Professor of Biology
Sarah M. Assmann, Ph.D. (Stanford) Waller Professor of Biology
Ottar Bjørnstad, Ph.D. (Oslo) Assisant Professor of Biology and Entymology
David M. Braun, Ph.D. (Missouri) Assistant Professor of Biology
Douglas R. Cavener, Ph.D. (Georgia) Professor of Biology
Gong Chen, Ph.D. (Shanghai) Assistant Professor of Biology
Daniel J. Cosgrove, Ph.D. (Stanford) Eberly Chair and Professor of Biology
Richard J. Cyr, Ph.D. (California, Irvine) Professor of Biology
Claude W. dePamphilis, Ph.D. (Georgia) Associate Professor of Biology
Alan D. Ealy, Ph.D. (Florida) Assistant Professor of Biology and Molecular Endocrinology
Bertrand D. Eardly, Ph.D. (Oregon State) Associate Professor of Biology (Berks-Lehigh
Valley)
Nina V. Fedoroff, Ph.D. (Rockefeller) Evan Pugh Professor; Willaman Professor
of Life Sciences
Charles R. Fisher, Ph.D. (California, Santa Barbara) Professor of Biology
Michael Gannon, Ph.D. (Texas Tech) Associate Professor of Biology (Altoona)
Simon G. Gilroy, Ph.D. (Edinburgh) Associate Professor of Biology
Mark J. Guiltinan, Ph.D. (California, Irvine) Professor of Biology and Plant
Molecular Biology
Kyung-An Han, Ph.D. (SUNY, Buffalo) Assistant Professor of Biology
Lauraine Hawkins, Ph.D. (New Mexico) Assistant Professor of Biology (Mont Alto)
S. Blair Hedges, Ph.D. (Maryland) Professor of Biology
Rod M. Heisey, Ph.D. (California, Davis) Professor of Biology (Schuylkill)
Dale Holen, Ph.D. (Wisconsin, Milwaukee) Associate Professor of Biology (Worthington
Scranton)
Peter Hudson, Ph.D. (Oxford) Willaman Professor of Biology
Zhi-Chun Lai, Ph.D. (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) Associate Professor
of Biology
Bernhard Lüscher, Ph.D. (Zürich) Associate Professor of Biology, and
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Hong Ma, Ph.D. (MIT) Professor of Biology
Wojciech Makalowski, Ph.D. (Poznan) Associate Professor of Biology
Kateryna Makova, Ph.D. (Texas Tech) Assistant Professor of Biology
James H. Marden, Ph.D. (Vermont) Professor of Biology
Paula C. McSteen, Ph.D. (East Anglia) Assistant Professor of Biology
Webb C. Miller, Ph.D. (Washington) Professor of Biology, and Computer Science
and Engineering
Robert B. Mitchell, Ph.D. (Penn State) Professor of Biology
Masatoshi Nei, Ph.D. (Kyoto) Evan Pugh Professor; Director, Institute of Molecular
and Evolutionary Genetics
Richard W. Ordway, Ph.D. (Mass Medical Inst) Associate Professor of Biology
Eric S. Post, Ph.D. (Alaska) Assistant Professor of Biology
Steven W. Schaeffer, Ph.D. (Georgia) Associate Professor of Biology
Katriona Shea, Ph.D. (London) Assistant Professor of Biology
Sharon P. Shriver, Ph.D. (Case Western Reserve) Assistant Professor of Biology
Andrew G. Stephenson, Ph.D. (Michigan) Professor of Biology
Graham H. Thomas, Ph.D. (Edinburgh) Associate Professor of Biology, and Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology
Christopher F. Uhl, Ph.D. (Michigan State) Professor of Biology
Nandini Vasudevan, Ph.D. (Indian Inst Science, Bangalore) Assistant Professor
of Biology
Alan Walker, Ph.D. (London) Evan Professor of Biology and Anthropology
Kenneth M. Weiss, Ph.D. (Michigan) Evan Pugh Professor of Anthropology and Genetics
Matthew Whim, Ph.D. (Cambridge) Assistant Professor of Biology
James A. Winsor, Ph.D. (Michigan) Professor of Biology (Altoona)
The department directs graduate programs in a broad spectrum of research areas, including bioinformatics, cell biology, developmental biology, ecology, evolution, genetics, neuroscience, phylogenetics, and physiology. The department houses the Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics. The Ph.D. in Biology may be taken with an option in Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Plant Biology, or one of the Integrative Biosciences options adopted by the department (Molecular Medicine, Cell and Developmental Biology, Chemical Biology, Ecological and Molecular Plant Physiology, or Neuroscience). The courses of study are planned individually by the student and an adviser.
Admission Requirements
Scores from the Graduate Record
Examinations (GRE) are required for admission. At the discretion of a graduate
program, a student may be admitted provisionally for graduate study in a program
without these scores. Requirements listed here are in addition to general Graduate
School requirements stated in the GENERAL
INFORMATION section of the Graduate Bulletin.
Admission is restricted to students who have the baccalaureate degree in a biological
science 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 and letters from three persons verifying the applicant's academic
competence.
Master's Degree Requirements
Students obtaining an M.S. degree in Biology must complete course work as described in the General Information section of this bulletin, with guidance from their academic adviser. A thesis is usually required and must be defended before a faculty committee. The research must represent an original contribution, and the time allotted to it is about one year.
Doctoral Degree Requirements
The only courses required across the department are Biology 592, Critical Evaluation of Biological Literature, and Biology 590, a colloquium covering the Biology Seminar Series. Course work specific to individual plans of study are decided upon by the student in consultation with their graduate adviser and Ph.D. committee. All doctoral degree students must pass a written and oral candidacy 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 thesis research, a comprehensive examination is administered by their Ph.D. committee. The Ph.D. thesis must represent a significant original contribution suitable for publication, and will usually require between two and four years of laboratory or field research. When complete the thesis must be defended before the student’s graduate committee. The thesis defense is normally immediately preceded by a public presentation of the thesis research by the student.
The department awards Ph.D. degrees in Biology covering the full spectrum of subjects represented by our diverse faculty. If desired, a student may elect to pursue one of the following options as part of his/her program of study.
Molecular Evolutionary Biology
option: (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 Biology
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)
3 credits of course work in BIOL 591; 9 credits from among the following courses
(to be selected in consultation with the student’s committee): BIOL 405,
BIOL 410, BIOL 422W, BIOL 427, BIOL 428, BIOL 501, BIOL 504, BIOL 514, BIOL
524, BIOL 533, BIOL 542, BIOL 590. (4) Any other course work or training deemed
appropriate by the student’s committee.
Plant Biology option: (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 Biology program. Other committee members may be chosen as needed to assure
that a well-rounded graduate advisory committee is established. (3) In addition
to the normal Biology program requirements, the student must take the required
colloquia in the field of specialization and (for both an M.S. or Ph.D. in Biology)
a minimum of 6 credits from among the following courses (to be selected in consultation
with the student’s committee): BIOL 410, BIOL 414, BIOL 422W, BIOL 427,
BIOL 441, BIOL 448, BIOL 513, BIOL 514, BIOL 515, BIOL 516, BIOL 544, BIOL 591,
BIOL 597, B M B 514, HORT 444. (4) Any other course work or training deemed
appropriate by the student’s committee.
Integrative Biosciences options are available in Molecular Medicine, Cell and
Developmental Biology, Ecological and Molecular Plant Physiology, Chemical Biology,
and Neuroscience. Requirements for these options that are in addition to the
basic criteria for a Ph.D. in Biology are described under Integrative Graduate
Program in Biosciences in this bulletin.
Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 599 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.
The Pennsylvania State University
© 2004
The University reserves the right to change the requirements and regulations listed here and to determine whether a student has satisfactorily met its requirements for admission or graduation, and to reject any applicant for any reason the University determines to be material to the applicant's qualifications to pursue higher education. Nothing in this material should be considered a guarantee that completion of a program and graduation from the University will result in employment.
This electronic Graduate Bulletin is a version of the official bulletin of The Pennsylvania State University. It is suggested that users refer to this electronic bulletin when seeking the latest information about the University's academic programs and courses. Printed versions of the Bulletin are also official copies of the programs, courses, and policies in effect at the time of printing.
DATE LAST REVIEWED BY GRADUATE SCHOOL: 5/25/04
DATE LAST REVIEWED BY PUBLICATIONS: 6/30/05