A weekly conference arranged around a current topic. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

This course introduces grad students to a breadth and depth of concepts and theories in modern ecology and evolutionary biology. The couse is co-taught by two BIOL faculty each fall, with different faculty rotating into the course in alternate years, providing expertise in molecular population genetics, genomics, phylogenetics, integrative biology, speciation, microevolution, life-history evolution, and mating systems.

Introduces professional skills to first-year graduate students in the life sciences. This includes personal skills such as research management, ethics training and career awareness. Skills for communicating in science include small grant writing, poster creation and presentation. Emphasis will be placed on developing a scientific community that recognizes and values diversity.

Developing skill in communicating scientific principles and writing compelling research proposals is essential for successful graduate training in the biological sciences. This seminar and workshop course will focus on how to create effective grant and research proposals in preparation for thesis research. Students will be actively involved by presenting their research progress and plans, and critiquing each other's written proposals.

This course will explore case studies of research on phenotypes that emphasize the insights and advances gained by bringing a multilevel integrative approach to a target question. Students will learn to apply an integrative perspective to their own research topics by developing a research proposal that expands across levels. This class is open to all life science PhD students with recommendation for those in their 1st or 2nd year.

This course uses a student-centered approach to explore the diverse careers available to life science PhD students. Students will identify their skills and experiences that match with professional opportunities, and they will develop a career individual development plan to guide their career planning. This class is open to all life science PhD students after the 2nd year in their program. This class is part of the PhD Plus Career Design series.

For master's thesis, taken under the supervision of a thesis director.

An exposure to the working techniques and interactions of the modern Biological Laboratory. Required of all first-year biology graduate students.

Independent research with a member of the Biology faculty in preparation for thesis or dissertation research.

For doctoral research, taken before a dissertation director has been selected.