Degree Progression

Registration Status

As you progress through your degree, your registration status as an MSc or PhD student may be classified as: (1) full-time; (2) continuing; (3) additional session; or (4) thesis evaluation. Registration status determines the cost of tuition and fees. Typically, as an MSc student, you are required to complete 3 “full-time” terms (with a “continuing” status in the intervening Summer terms). After 3 full-time terms, you are registered for “additional sessions”. As a PhD student, you are required to complete 6 or 8 “full-time” terms (with a “continuing” status in the intervening Summer terms), depending on whether you enter as PhD 2 or PhD 1, respectively. For reference, McGill operates on a cycle of 3 x 4 month-long terms per year (Fall, Winter, Summer).

Overview of Degree Milestones

Over the course of your Biology degree, you will pass several degree milestones such as holding annual supervisory committee (SC) meetings, passing a qualifying examination (QE), and submitting a thesis. The best way for you and your supervisor to track major milestones (e.g., committee meetings) is the web-based platform myProgress. A detailed timeline of your research and administrative milestones is provided in the tables below. [Note: If you are enrolled in the Biology Environment or Neotropical Environment option, you will need to follow the course requirements for your option.]

MSc

^a As of 2021, MSc students are recommended, but not required, to complete a letter of understanding

^b See here for more information on course requirements and taking additional courses

PhD

^a See here for more information on course requirements and taking additional courses

Letters of Understanding

As a PhD student, you and your supervisor are required to complete a letter of understanding, ideally within the first 12 weeks of study. Letters of understanding are recommended but, as of yet, not required, for MSc students. A letter of understanding is intended to ensure that both you and your supervisor are clear about each other's expectations. The letter should follow the Faculty of Science guidelines and you can view other relevant resources collected by GPS. You and your supervisor are encouraged to revisit the letter of understanding at least annually to address concerns and revise expectations.

The letter of understanding should be drafted over the course of a meeting between you and your supervisor. The letter should detail any agreements, expectations, and understandings established between you and your supervisor. Once completed, you both must sign the letter and should keep a copy for your records. Additionally, you must upload the letter to myProgress.

Individual Development Plan

Individual Development Plans (IDPs) are a reflective exercise intended to help you set personal and professional goals, align your activities with these goals and track your progress towards them. IDPs are personal/private documents and, as such, you are not required to submit the actual document or share it with your supervisor; rather, all PhD students admitted after 2019 are required to submit an IDP verification report via myCourses. More information on IDPs, reporting requirements and tools to help you create yours are available through myPath.

Supervisory Committee Meetings (MSc & PhD)

The supervisory committee (SC) oversees your research progress and provides guidance and feedback in support of your studies. Members are typically selected by you, in collaboration with your supervisor. You and/or your supervisor should reach out to prospective members prior to nominating them formally to determine their availability and willingness to serve.

The SC will consist of at least three members - your supervisor, co-supervisor(s) (if any) and at least one other faculty member (two, if you do not have a co-supervisor), usually from the Department of Biology. Faculty members from other departments within McGill or from other institutions may also be selected where relevant. Your supervisor will serve as the Chair of the committee.

You must complete the SC Nomination Form within the first term and hold your first committee meeting within the first two terms (i.e. ~8 months) of your program. For the first committee meeting, the focus should be on your proposed thesis research. Thereafter, you must meet with your committee at least once a year for the committee to evaluate your progress in research and coursework. You can hold your meeting over Zoom, or book a room for the meeting; a two-hour booking is standard.

In advance of all committee meetings, you must prepare a written report, an oral presentation, and a progress tracking form. For your first meeting, you should prepare a ~2 page executive summary of your proposed project. All subsequent SC reports should be no more than 10 pages of text (introduction, specific aims, summary of progress), accompanied by relevant figures, tables, a reference list, and a proposed timeline for the coming year. The goal of this report is to document your research progress and proposed plans, and to provide a reference for discussion during the meeting.

The oral presentation is 15 - 20 minutes long and should cover and complement the material in the progress report. The presentation is followed by a thorough discussion, during which committee members ask questions and provide feedback on your research progress and direction. The committee's recommendations and assessment are summarized on the progress tracking form.

Once completed and signed, you must upload a copy of the tracking form with the written report (and any extra attachments) to myProgress. An electronic copy of the tracking should be retained by you and your supervisor.

Additional resources

Supervisory Committees | Graduate & Postdoctoral Support

The Supervisory Committee | Department of Biology

Courses (MSc & PhD)

Course Requirements

As a new or returning student, you must register on Minerva for both the Fall and Winter terms by adding the registration confirmation course REGN RCGR. You must register continuously in every term during your program, unless you request a leave of absence, regardless of whether you register for other classes. You do not need to register for Summer terms during which you hold continuing or additional session status. Failing to register may delay processing of your support form and stipend payments. The registration deadline is typically mid-August. A late registration fee will apply if you register after the deadline.

MSc students must register for thesis research courses during your first three terms (excluding the summer term). These courses simply confirm that you are engaged in thesis-related research and there are no lectures, assignments, or associated coursework of any kind. The thesis research courses are:

BIOL 697 Master's Thesis Research 1 (13 credits)

BIOL 698 Master's Thesis Research 2 (13 credits)

BIOL 699 Master's Thesis Research 3 (13 credits)

PhD students do not need to register for thesis research courses. Instead, you must register for BIOL 700 Qualifying Examination for the term in which your QE will be held. Additionally, you must register for BIOL 702 PhD Seminar for the term in which your PhD seminar will be held.

As of Fall 2021, all graduate students entering the Biology department are required to take two newly-offered 1.5 credit professional skills courses:

BIOL 601 Introduction to Graduate Studies in Biology (1.5 credits)

BIOL 602 Molecular Biology Research and Professional Skills (1.5 credits)

BIOL 603 Organismal Biology Research and Professional Skills (1.5 credits)

All students must complete BIOL 601. MCDB and CEEB students must take BIOL 602 and BIOL 603, respectively, and NBB students, in consultation with your supervisor, can choose either BIOL 602 or BIOL 603. If you started your program before Fall 2021, you are not required to take these courses but may do so if you wish.

In addition to these required courses, you must take an additional three-credits for your MSc program or an additional six credits for your PhD program. These courses must be at the 500-level or above. You may choose when to complete these additional course requirements, but this typically occurs within the first 2 years of your degree program.

You can choose courses from the Department of Biology, other departments within the Faculty of Science, and from other faculties at McGill. You can also choose courses offered by other universities in Quebec through the Quebec Inter-University Transfer Agreement. In all cases, courses must be approved by your thesis supervisor. You may also choose to solicit your SC members for course recommendations.

You must attain a passing grade (65% or a B- letter grade) in all required courses. You may take additional courses, including those below the 500-level, that are not required for your degree, so long as you maintain a minimum grade average of B-. However, enrolling in extra courses may entail additional tuition charges. Alternatively, you can audit courses, thereby avoiding additional tuition charges, so long as you receive permission from the course instructor. Audited courses will not appear on your transcript.

Course Registration

A tentative course schedule for the coming academic year is posted on Minerva in early April. Once the schedule is released, you can view the course offerings for the Fall and Winter terms and use Class Schedule and Visual Schedule Builder to identify the courses in which you’d like to enroll. A tentative schedule for the summer term is normally published in February.

Course registration will open for newly admitted MSc and PhD students at least a month before the start of the term. Returning graduate students will be assigned a time to register based on the number of outstanding credits for degree completion. You should receive an email stating that registration times have been published. You can then view their assigned time and enroll in courses on Minerva. After course registration, course selections may be changed until the end of the Add/Drop period, which usually ends by the second week of the semester.

Qualifying Examinations (PhD)

The qualifying examination (QE) is a formal evaluation of your ability to proceed to the attainment of a PhD. It is not a “comprehensive” examination, insofar as this term implies that all areas of biology will be covered. Rather, the intent is that the examination will focus on your area of proposed research, as well as related areas.

The QE must be held before the end of your second year in the PhD program. Students entering as PhD1, must complete their QE before the end of PhD2. Students entering as PhD2, must complete their QE before the end of PhD3. You must register for the Doctoral Qualifying Examination (BIOL 700) course in advance of the term in which you intend to hold the QE.

The QE is administered by a committee consisting of your supervisor, the members of your SC, an additional member and a representative from the GTC who will serve as the Chair of the Examining Committee. The additional member can be internal or external to the department, is suggested by your supervisor, in consultation with you, and must be approved by the GTC. The Chair of the Examining Committee will be appointed by the GTC. To establish your QE committee, you must submit a Qualifying Examination Nomination Form.

Once a Chairperson has been appointed, you are responsible for scheduling the meeting and booking a room for the meeting. A 3-hour time booking is recommended although the QE typically lasts around 2 hours.

In Biology, the QE consists of a written proposal, an oral presentation, and an oral examination. Your written proposal must be submitted to the committee at least 7 days prior to the examination. As with the written proposal, the oral presentation defines the research area, forms a basis for questioning, and is part of the evidence upon which the final evaluation will be made. The presentation is typically 20 minutes long. After the presentation, the committee typically proceeds through two rounds of questioning, with each committee member having 10 - 15 minutes per round. You can find the Biology QE guidelines here.

You are strongly encouraged to hold 2 SC meetings prior to your QE, and to use your second SC meeting to discuss with your committee how best to prepare for your QE. SC meetings and the QE target different criteria: the SC meeting evaluates practical progress towards degree, including intellectual development, research progress and other milestones, while the QE emphasizes intellectual development, including critical thinking, knowledge base and independence. The overarching goal of the QE is to evaluate your ability to conduct independent and original research.

The QE will be evaluated as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. If you receive an unsatisfactory evaluation, you must repeat the examination within 4-6 months. If you receive a satisfactory evaluation, you may still be required by the committee to complete additional tasks (e.g., revise their research proposal, complete additional coursework, etc.).

You should bring a hard copy of the QE report (found at the end of the QE guidelines) to the meeting. The Chair is responsible for seeing that the report is completed during or just after the meeting, signed by all members and sent to the GPC. The committee may decide that the QE can also serve as your annual SC meeting.

Research Presentations (MSc & PhD)

All students (PhD and MSc) are expected to give at least 1 research seminar a year to a scientific audience outside of their lab. Students must indicate that they have completed this milestone on the cover page of their annual SC report by writing the date, venue and title of their talk. Acceptable venues include Work in Progress Seminars (WIPS), Ecology and Evolution Lunches (EELS), the NBB seminar series, or an academic conference within your field. Presentations should be at least 15 minutes long. First year students are exempt from this requirement.

Thesis (MSc & PhD)

As an MSc student, you must submit a thesis that demonstrates your ability to carry out research, organize results, and defend your approach and conclusions in a scholarly manner according to disciplinary norms. Additionally, your thesis must show your familiarity with previous work in the field although an exhaustive literature review is not necessarily required. Normally, a MSc thesis does not exceed 100 pages in length.

As a PhD student, you must submit a thesis that demonstrates original scholarship and makes a distinct contribution to the field. Your thesis must demonstrate your ability to plan and carry out research, organize results, and defend your approach and conclusions in a scholarly manner. The research presented in your thesis must meet current standards in the field and you must clearly demonstrate how the research advances knowledge in the field. Your PhD thesis should be as succinct as possible.

Publication in a peer-reviewed journal is not a requirement for either your MSc or PhD thesis.

You can submit your thesis as a traditional monograph or a collection of related manuscripts. Thesis guidelines, including thesis formatting, and FAQs, are available through GPS. For further guidance on thesis expectations, you can also see the theses of former students from the Department of Biology through ProQuest.

Thesis Seminars (PhD)

As a PhD student, you are required to present your research during a 45-min thesis seminar, sometimes called an exit seminar, toward the end of your studies. The seminar will ideally be held at least 3 months prior to the expected date of initial thesis submission. Students from MCDB usually present at the Departmental Work in Progress Seminars (WIPS). You must register for the PhD Seminar (BIOL 702) course for the term in which your thesis seminar will be held. You are encouraged to invite the members of your SC.

The thesis seminar is not an exam. Nevertheless, it is a degree requirement and a grade of "incomplete" will be recorded on your transcript for BIOL 702 if you do not give your seminar during the term in which you are registered for this course. In order to receive a grade for BIOL 702, your supervisor must submit the PhD seminar form after the seminar.

Thesis Evaluation (MSc & PhD)

Your thesis evaluation includes an initial and final submission. For the initial submission, you submit your thesis for review by examiners who assign either a passing or failing evaluation. If your thesis receives a passing evaluation, you then complete a final thesis submission.

The initial and final submission can be accomplished in a single term or spread across two terms. If you intend to complete your thesis submission in one term, you must complete the initial submission early in the term so that your thesis examiners have a minimum of 4 weeks to evaluate the thesis AND you have sufficient time to make any corrections prior to the final submission deadline. If you complete your initial submission late in a term, then you will still need to register for the following term while their thesis is being evaluated. During this ‘thesis evaluation’ term, you pay reduced tuition and fees.

You can find the procedure for thesis submission on the web-based platform myThesis. Step-by-step instructions can be found here. Through myThesis, you declare your ‘Intent to Submit’ at least two months prior to the anticipated date of initial thesis submission. Once you have completed the ‘Intent to Submit’, myThesis will indicate the date by which you need to complete the next step: Nomination of Examiners.

Examiners for your thesis are typically suggested by your supervisor in consultation with you. It is typically your supervisor’s responsibility to informally contact the proposed examiner(s) in advance of nomination to determine their availability and willingness to serve.

As an MSc student, you must secure a single examiner who can be internal or external to the University. As a PhD student, you must secure an internal and an external examiner. Your internal examiner may be from within the Department of Biology or another unit within the University. Your external examiner must be from another institution outside of the University. More information can be found here.

Examiners must be given a minimum of four weeks to evaluate the thesis and return the thesis examination report. For MSc theses, GPS will send copies of the report to you, your supervisor(s), and the Department of Biology. For PhD theses, the report is sent to the members of the Oral Defense committee and the Department of Biology. You will be given the report by your supervisor after the oral defense. You must make any corrections and/or minor revisions in consultation with your supervisor before final submission.

If your thesis does not receive a passing evaluation, then you will not graduate with an MSc or proceed to your oral PhD defense. However, you have the option to revise and resubmit a failed thesis. See the thesis examination failures page from GPS for more information.

The procedure for final thesis submission is the same for both MSc and PhD students. You must upload your thesis to Minerva and have your supervisor approve the submission in advance of the final thesis submission deadline.

Additional resources

Thesis Deadlines | Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies

Thesis Guidelines | Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies

Final Thesis Submission | Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies

Thesis Defense (PhD)

After completing your initial thesis submission, you must complete an oral thesis defense. Your PhD thesis defense is scheduled by the Department and is typically held six weeks after initial thesis submission. The defense is held in a room booked by the Department and can last up to three hours. The defense proceedings are divided into three sections: a private pre-defense meeting, a public open session, and private evaluation session. You are not present at the two private sessions, during which the Oral Defense committee confirms procedures and deliberates on your performance, respectively.

Your thesis defense will be evaluated by a committee that includes a Pro-Dean selected by GPS, who will chair the oral defense; the Department Chair (or a delegate); your supervisor; your internal thesis examiner; and two additional members, one of which must be external to the Department of Biology. The external member may be from another department at McGill, another institution within Montreal, or from an institution outside of Montreal. The external member may be replaced by the external thesis examiner. You nominate the additional members, with input from your supervisor, after your initial thesis submission. Note that the Pro-Dean does not vote on your performance.

The committee will evaluate the written and oral components of the thesis defense. The possible outcomes of an oral defense are "Passed" or three possible "Not Passed" (not passed oral, written or both). If you receive a “Not Passed” outcome, you will have 6 months to revise your thesis and/or re-take your oral defense.

Overview of MSc & PhD Committee Compositions

For ease of reference, the committees for MSc and PhD milestones are detailed below:

^a MSc students only, ^b PhD students only

Changing "Tracks"

MSc-PhD Transfers

As an MSc student, you may decide to transfer or ‘fast-track’ to the PhD program without completing the full requirements of your MSc degree (i.e., submitting a Master’s thesis). You must initiate a transfer during your third or fourth term by applying to the PhD program. To be approved for a ‘fast-track’ transfer, you must have displayed academic excellence thus far in your coursework and evidence that you are capable of successfully completing a PhD thesis.

The MSc-PhD transfer must be approved by your supervisor and your SC. Your thesis supervisor must confirm that sufficient funds are available to provide you with the specified level of support for the duration of the PhD program. The transfer must be approved by the GTC, who will then recommend to GPS that a change of status take place.

PhD-MSc Transfers

In some circumstances, PhD students can transfer or 'back-track' to the MSc program. Back-tracking is strongly discouraged by GPS but, in some circumstances, may be preferable to your failing or withdrawing from the program.

To complete a PhD-MSc transfer, you must have permission from both the Graduate Program and GPS. The GPD must provide specific reason(s) when recommending the change in program to GPS. You then apply to the MSc program according to normal procedures and deadlines.

Professional Development

Seminars

You are expected to regularly attend at least one of the department's weekly seminars. The main seminar series are the Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology (MCDB) seminars, the Organismal Conservation, Ecology, Evolution, & Behaviour (CEEB) seminars, and the Neurobiology & Behaviour (NBB) seminars. Although you will generally attend the seminar series that most closely aligns with your research interests, you are also encouraged to attend other departmental seminars and seminars from other departments, such as:

Physiology seminars

Anatomy and Cell Biology seminars

Quantitative Life Sciences and Medicine seminars

GeoSpectives (Geography) seminars

GeoTop seminars

Centre de recherche en biologie structurale (CRBS) seminars/events

Redpath Museum seminars

Discussion Groups

Discussion groups are a venue for graduate students and faculty to discuss papers related to a particular discipline. Different groups are active each term depending on interest within the department. For info about the CEEB journal club, contact jacob.harvey [at] mail.mcgill.ca. For info about the 2SLGBTQIA+ health sciences discussion group, contact katy.dmowski [at] mail.mcgill.ca. For info about the population genetics discussion group, contact cameron.so [at] mail.mcgill.ca. For more info about the Connectivity and Conservation discussion group, contact laura.pollock [at] mcgill.ca.

Symposia and Conferences

You are encouraged to present your research at academic symposia and conferences over the course of your degree. You should speak with your supervisor to identify potential conferences and to discuss abstract submissions. Some venues worth considering include the:

Local

QCBS Symposium (CEEB)

Department Day (all students)

National

Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution Joint Meeting (CEEB)

Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting (CEEB)

Biophysical Society of Canada Annual Meeting (MCDB)

Canadian Developmental Biology Conference (MCDB)

International

Gordon Research Conferences (MCDB)

American Society for Cell Biology (MCDB)

Genetics Society of America (MCDB)

European Molecular Biology Organization (MCDB)

Workshops & Events

The Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science offers an extensive catalogue of workshops and training opportunities on topics such as statistical analysis in R, meta-analysis, mapping and GIS, and more.

SKILLSETS offers workshops to help you strengthen your knowledge in your field. The workshops offered cover topics including financial skills, leadership, digital literacy, teaching, and grant writing. SKILLSETS also offers EDI-focused teaching assistant (TA) training, includingworkshops on how to be an inclusive TA and how to foster an equity-centered classroom environment.

The PGSS offers French and Spanish courses geared towards various skill levels at the conveniently located Thomson House.

Graphos workshops tackle key writing topics including writing strategy, convention, topic, or genre. You can take these workshops to prepare for a seminar paper, conference talk, dissertation chapter, article manuscript, fellowship proposal, or job application. You may find the Peer Writing Groups to be especially helpful.

The Digital Scholarship Hub provides workshops designed to enhance your research through the use of digital technologies. The workshops offered include R for absolute beginners, making research open access, and project management for research.

The CaPS at McGill offers career development workshops focused on applying for jobs and graduate programs.

Science Outreach

Science outreach is when scientists share their knowledge with the general public to garner interest and an understanding of science. This is a great way to convey the importance of research, inspire public support and the next generation of scientists, and improve your communication skills! There are many ways to engage with science outreach during your graduate degree.

The Office of Science Outreach offers workshops to help students improve their science communication skills. They also organize several events and provide links to other opportunities both within and outside of McGill. You can find current opportunities here.

Diversity in STEMM is an initiative led by students at the Redpath Museum. It connects students together through an online exhibit where students share their experiences in an interview format in collaboration with Student Television at McGill.

The Office for Science and Society also hosts events aimed at improving public understanding of science and may have opportunities for student involvement.

McGill offers a course on science outreach: FSCI 500 Science Communication and Outreach

Science outreach abroad and/or with indigenous communities here in Canada can raise additional ethical considerations. Some resources for the ethical conduct of science outreach within these communities can be found here and here.

Some opportunities to engage with science outreach are listed in the table below:

Internships

Incorporating an internship into your degree depends on many different factors. To make sure an internship is the right fit for you and your degree make sure to discuss your plans with your supervisor, committee, and/or an academic advisor. The value of pursuing an internship, in addition to your graduate studies/research, should be considered carefully, as the time commitment required may delay your degree progression. In addition, keep in mind that some internships require you to be at a certain stage in your degree.

You can start researching internships through the internship section of McGill’s Career Planning Services (CaPS) website.

GPS offers a Doctoral Internship Program that gives McGill PhD students, at the end of their degree, the opportunity to learn and grow outside of academia through a remunerated internship of a period of 1-3 months. You can hear student testimonials here.

Mitacs offers several programs which aim to connect companies, government and academia by coordinating university-industry research projects, including internships and travel funding for projects with international partners.

The Gault Nature Reserve runs a Summer Internship program. Contact the reserve’s Associate

Director David Maneli for more information.

Careers

Exploring careers

McGill’s Career Planning Service (CaPS) is a good place to start exploring possible career options. Their document “What can I do with my studies in Biology” lists many of the possible, diverse career paths a degree in Biology offers.

Start exploring potential careers through myPath – McGill’s Individual Development plan tool, which helps you to identify your interests, values, goals and current skill sets. You can combine this with external tools such as myIDP from Science Careers. In addition, narrative podcasts like PapaPhd and blogs like Roostervane provide many free tips on professional and career development.

McGill’s TRaCE Project looks at career outcomes for PhD students. They organize a speaker series, Pathways for PhDs, and you can find narratives and links to recent reports on career outcomes for PhD students. Scientific organizations like the American Society for Cell Biology and Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science offer professional development resources. Subscription to Nature Careers and Science Careers newsletters are a good way to see the diversity of careers in your field and to find job opportunities when the time comes.

Check your McGill email for relevant workshop series, such as McGill’s Career Planning Service (CaPS) Industry Insider Series. BGSA also organizes Life Sciences Career Seminars – a monthly meeting to shine light on the wide variety of careers in life Sciences through conversation with McGill Alumni.

McGill Resources

1. McGill’s Career Planning Services (CaPS) offers workshops, info sessions, career advising and more. They also help with CVs and interview advice. They have a separate section for MScs, PhDs and post-docs here.
2. McGill’s Alumni Network lets you search alumni according to their major and/or field. You can contact alumni for career advice and/or to hear about their particular career trajectory.
3. You can search for and apply to jobs within McGill through WorkDay.
4. CaPS runs myFuture, where you can search and apply for jobs.

Resources outside of McGill

Traditional job searching websites such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor can be useful for identifying science jobs, especially in industry. When looking for a position within a specific organization, it can be helpful to see if this organization has an internal job postings website. Applying directly through their website may be preferable to applying through a third-party website. Many organizations now post their available positions on Twitter or Facebook, particularly academic positions. To look for jobs using social media apps such as Twitter, it can be helpful to start by identifying a few labs/organizations that you are interested in and looking through their recent posts for any related to hiring information.

Create your CV

Nearly all jobs require information from applicants, including a cover letter and resume or CV. CaPS offers events and workshops on how to write a resume, and provides information on CV and cover letter writing, as well as contact information for career advisors to review your documents. Other universities may make their resume/CV resources publicly available, e.g. Harvard University, which can provide an additional source of information and/or a different perspective.

Program Specializations & Affiliations

Program Specializations

In addition to the regular MSc and PhD programs, the Department of Biology offers specialized programs, known as “concentrations” or options.

The Neotropical Environment Option (NEO) is a research-based concentration ideal if you research environmental issues relevant to the Neotropics and Latin American countries. This option (MSc, PhD) is offered in collaboration with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and includes required courses and potential for additional graduate funding.

The Environment option offers you the opportunity to pursue environment-focused research in an interdisciplinary context. This concentration (MSc, PhD) considers how various dimensions (scientific, social, legal, ethical) interact to define environment and sustainability issues.

Program Affiliations

Certain interdisciplinary programs are affiliated with the Department of Biology, such as Quantitative Life Sciences and the Integrated Program in Neuroscience. The Quantitative Life Sciences program is available only to PhD students and covers the broad application of mathematical, computational, and other quantitative methods to study biological systems at all scales—from single molecules to the environment. The Integrated Program in Neuroscience allows students to conduct research in diverse fields of neuroscience, ranging from cellular and molecular, to behavioral and cognitive.