Graduate Programs

The Department of Biological Sciences offers programs leading to the Master of Sciences and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The Department's graduate program is highly interactive, and students move easily between fields within the department and interact with other programs and institutions on and off campus. Graduate research is generally in one of two areas:

1. Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology
2. Systematics, Evolution, and Ecology

The Department is involved in several special graduate programs taking advantage of other researchers, faculty, and facilities at GW and elsewhere in the Washington area. Financial support is available on a competitive basis. Applications for the Fall semester are due January 2.

For detailed information on procedures for fulfilling graduate degree requirements see the Biology Graduate Student Handbook and the Columbian College's Graduate Student Handbook. A memorandum outlining all of these procedures can be downloaded here.

Thesis and Dissertation research in the Department is generally in one of the two areas:

Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology

Graduate research opportunities in cell, molecular, and developmental biology cover a wide variety of topics, but most are linked through common interests in protein-protein, receptor-ligand interactors. Research projects involve well-studied model systems and comparisons among different types of organisms, and often include active collaborations with biologists at the GW Institute for Biomedical Sciences, NIH, FDA, and USDA. Faculty with research interests in this area include Professors Brown, Church, Donaldson, Hernandez, Jeremic, Johnson, Morris, Packer, and Smith.

Systematics, Evolution, and Ecology

Graduate research in systematics and evolution includes comparative studies of many different kinds of organisms. Our curriculum is one of the few in the world specializing in the principles and methods of systematics and comparative biology, putting us at the forefront of biodiversity studies. The program is enhanced by a formal agreement with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History enabling curators to co-advise students and facilitating access to its extensive collections. In addition, some of our faculty and their students work extensively with colleagues at the American Museum of Natural History (New York), the Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard University) and the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco). Faculty with research interests in this area include Burns, Church, Clark, Forster, Hernandez, Hormiga, Johnson, Lipscomb, Smith, and Wells.

Graduate research in ecology emphasizes the accumulation of baseline data and assessment of potential biological indicators of ecosystem disturbances. Both field- and laboratory-based methods are used to assess the degree and impact of natural and human-generated changes in a variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Faculty with research interests in this area include Professors Lill, Merchant, Tollo, and Wells.

The research interests of the Department's faculty are described on their individual biography pages in Faculty & Staff section of the website.