Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Program Description
The Ecology & Evolutionary Biology graduate program faculty members are committed to training and mentoring graduate students to reach their full potential as scientists. We seek to facilitate students’ progression towards fulfilling, exciting careers in academia, industry, private sector, or government, and to develop their skills as future leaders in science and society. Our program is designed to foster close working relationships between students and faculty. Graduate study is tailored to the individual student. The program has a unique emphasis on research, where students have the possibility to start research during their first year. In addition, it includes formal class work such as classroom lectures, discussions, seminars, laboratory tutorials, and field studies. Students also have access to a number of courses in other departments to provide them with additional skill sets that complement their research interests.
Students have access to well-equipped research areas housed in attractive facilities, which include laboratories, a 3500 sq. ft. greenhouse, and an experimental field site. In addition, within a two-hour drive of the campus are many federal, state, and private refuges, parks, experimental stations, and preserves available for field research. Habitats include southeastern coastal plain forests; coastal prairies; fresh, brackish, and saline marshes; estuaries; temporary to permanent ponds and lakes, and near-shore marine environments. Slightly further away is the Hill Country (Austin, San Antonio) where a number of faculty members also do research. In addition, faculty members conduct research in other areas of the United States including Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Indiana, New Mexico, Michigan, and Guam as well as abroad in Madagascar, Germany, and China. Houston is also host to numerous institutions within the Texas Medical Center, located across the street from Rice University, that provide additional opportunities for research in evolutionary genomics and bioinformatics.
The Rice Ecology & Evolutionary Biology graduate program is is designed for students who wish to pursue the Ph.D. degree. In particular cases, the program may offer an MA (with thesis) degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The most current version of the EEB Graduate Program Handbook (pdf version is available from this website's menu) provides a detailed description of the graduate program, including all degree requirements and program expectations. For general university requirements, view the Rice University General Announcements.