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Apply Ecological and Evolutionary Principles to Environmental Issues
The Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology (EEEB), Ph.D., is a multidisciplinary, interdepartmental program of study and research with a major focus on the application of ecological and evolutionary principles to environmental issues.
The program provides educational experiences that reflect this emphasis, and facilitates collaborations and interactions among students and faculty. All students are supported with teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or fellowships.
Curriculum and Courses
- BIO 522 Evolutionary and Population Genetics
- BIO 671 Population and Community Ecology
- BIO 672 Ecosystem and Global Ecology
- BIO 467 Conservation Biology
- GEO 544 GI Science Techniques in Landscape Ecology
Facts and Stats
College for Producing Fortune 500 CEOs Nationwide
National Public University
Best Public Colleges for Future Leaders
TIME
Carbon Neutrality on the Oxford, Ohio campus, a decade sooner than all other public Ohio universities
Academics
The EEEB program emphasizes basic and applied research and training, with a major focus on the application of ecological and evolutionary principles to environmental issues. The program provides students with educational experiences that reflect this emphasis, and facilitates collaborations and interactions among students and faculty. All students are supported with teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or fellowships.
Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Faculty and Staff
Students interested in applying to the EEEB program should review the research interests of the faculty associates, each of whom can serve as a dissertation advisor. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact faculty to learn more about their research programs.
Karl E. Limper Geology Museum
The Karl E. Limper Geology Museum, located in Miami University’s Shideler Hall, provides displays of quality geological specimens intended to help students and visitors better understand and appreciate basic geological concepts. The Limper Museum contains hundreds of specimens of the world-famous fossils of southwestern Ohio as well as minerals, rocks, fossils, and meteorites from all over the world.
Centers
Center for Advanced Microscopy and Imaging
The Center for Advanced Microscopy and Imaging (CAMI) is an all-university research, teaching, and service facility located in Upham Hall on Miami University’s main campus, in Oxford, Ohio. CAMI serves the microscopy needs of both the biological and materials communities.
Geospatial Analysis Center
The Geospatial Analysis Center (GAC) serves as the hub of geospatial research and activities in support of education, research, and outreach activities at Miami University. Housed in the Department of Geography, the GAC supports individual students, faculty, and staff with geospatial data and analysis needs. It is the access point for licensed geospatial software and geographic information systems (GIS) data.
Center for Animal Behavior
Miami University’s Center for Animal Behavior (CAB) provides opportunities to study animal behavior at many levels. Whether you investigate individuals within a population or study behavior at the neuronal level, your work at the CAB may help us better understand how animal and human behavior is generated and how it has been maintained over time.
Cecilia Berg Center for Environmental Education
In partnership with local and international organizations—including The Oxford Society, Miami University’s Hefner Museum and Institute for the Environment and Sustainability, and Costa Rica’s Tasbayam—the Center restores habitats, delivers inquiry-based education for all ages, and supports conservation initiatives in Tortuguero, Costa Rica.
Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics
The Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics is a state-of-the-art research and training facility at Miami University that advances molecular biology and big data research through cutting-edge sequencing technologies, robotic systems, qPCR instrumentation, NGS library preparation equipment, and high-capacity bioinformatics computing resources.
Ecology Research Center
The Ecology Research Center (ERC) is the focal point for ecological field research at Miami University and provides a venue for educational opportunities for middle, high school, and university students. This 69-hectare field station contains a diversity of field sites and facilities that support both aquatic and terrestrial research.
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Willard Sherman Turrell Herbarium
The Willard Sherman Turrell Herbarium (MU) is a broad collection, both taxonomically and geographically. Holdings include specimens of vascular plants, mosses, fungi, and algae, along with our special collections of type specimens, plant fossils, wood collection, and a microscope slide collection of wood sections, stem sections, root sections, and pollen. Active exchange programs are ongoing with many herbaria worldwide to ensure the continued breadth and depth of the collection.
The Conservatory at Miami Hamilton
The Conservatory supports the instructional and research programs of Miami University, to maintain a scientifically verified collection of plants and flowers, to enhance the knowledge and appreciation of plants and flowers through public education and interpretive programs, and to promote the conservation of natural resources. Our vision is to promote the betterment of the academic programs of Miami University and the schools and citizens of the region.
Natural Areas and Parks
Hueston Woods State Park
Hueston Woods State Park, located five miles north of Oxford, spans approximately 1,200 hectares (2,950 acres) and includes the 800-hectare Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve, which protects remnant beech-maple forest once common across Ohio. At its center is the 250-hectare Acton Lake, part of a statewide reservoir system studied by Miami ecologists to examine how agricultural practices influence reservoir structure and function.
Miami University Natural Areas
Miami’s Natural Areas, within walking distance of the Oxford campus, consist of over 1000 acres and 15 miles of trails. Habitats available for research and teaching include old-growth and secondary forest, old fields, ponds, and streams.
Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Ph.D. Program Requirements
A formal plan of study, including courses to be taken to satisfy the following requirements, must be approved by the student’s committee. Equivalent courses taken in another graduate program may satisfy course requirements, at the discretion of the student’s dissertation committee. In the event that a student has not yet formed a committee, s/he can seek approval from the EEEB Program Executive Committee. The faculty have developed very general guidelines that are used to help us quantify the quality of our program by evaluating students at two milestones in their graduate careers: the defense of their research proposal (usually written in the second year) and the defense of their dissertation (at end of their program). We use these rubrics to evaluate the success of our program (and the performance of students); the rubrics are available upon request by emailing Hank Stevens, Ph.D.
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Students must earn at least 12 credit hours of formal coursework, including:
- Two core courses, from the following:
- Evolutionary and Population Genetics (BIO 522)
- Population and Community Ecology (BIO 671)
- Ecosystem and Global Ecology (BIO 672)
- One course focused on the application of ecology or evolution to environmental problem solving, such as Conservation Biology (BIO 467), GIScience Techniques in Landscape Ecology (GEO 544), or other course approved by the EEEB Executive Committee.
- One additional graduate course that is useful for progress toward the degree and is approved by the student’s dissertation committee.
- Two core courses, from the following:
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Students must take the two-semester introductory graduate seminar sequence in EEEB, consisting of BIO 601 (1cr., Fall) and BOT 710 (1 cr., Spring).
Each Fall, BIO 601 provides an introduction to a variety of skills needed to succeed in graduate school.
Each Spring, BOT 710 is offered to provide an introduction to the breadth of scientific disciplines in EEEB in a journal-club style forum.
Students must also take three more 1-credit graduate seminars.
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Students must pass a comprehensive written and oral exam, given by the student’s dissertation committee.
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Students must complete a dissertation. The dissertation committee must include at least five faculty members; at least three must be EEEB Program Faculty Associates.
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In addition to program requirements, EEEB students may complete a graduate minor or certificate program.
Admission Overview
Deadline
For full consideration, applicants must have all materials (including those required by the Graduate School) submitted no later than 1 January of the year of entry.
Find a Dissertation Advisor
Prospective students should review the research interests of faculty associates to identify a potential advisor. Students in the EEEB program have access to excellent research equipment and facilities, both in the lab and in the field. Research labs house state-of-the-art equipment, and many shared facilities promote a spirit of collaboration.
Applicants must identify at least one faculty associate who is willing to serve as the dissertation advisor. Therefore, it is essential that applicants contact potential faculty advisors directly before the Jan. 1 deadline. To help identify potential advisors, please see our list of EEEB Faculty Associates. For general advice regarding applications to Ph.D. programs in ecology and evolutionary biology, see “A Primer on How to Apply to and Get Admitted to Graduate School in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.” W.P. Carson (1999) Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 80:246-250.
Admission Requirements
- Incoming students are expected to have completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree and have an appropriate academic background in science and mathematics.
- Successful candidates often have completed courses in general biology, genetics, ecology, evolution, calculus, statistics, and one or more system specific courses that focus on particular organisms (e.g., mammals or vascular plants) or ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs, streams). Successful candidates typically have professional experience, completed an M.S. in a related field, or completed an undergraduate research project.
Application Requirements
- Official transcripts from previous schools.
- A personal statement. This explains your plans for graduate school, including your current research interests and career goals. In addition, it should identify clearly one or more possible faculty advisors that would be appropriate for your research interests.
- Resume or academic CV.
- Contact information for three references willing to submit letters of recommendation. (The Graduate School will contact these references and request electronic submission of letters of recommendation.)
Admission and Funding
This is Where Your Journey to Miami University Begins
Explore what it means to be a graduate student at Miami University, where students prepare to go anywhere and everywhere. We’ll be here to help every step of the way as you prepare for college admission, enrollment, and success.
Contact Us
Graduate Admission
513-529-GRAD (4723)
[email protected]
Department of Biology
Dr. Hank Stevens
Associate Professor
Biology Pearson Hall
338 Oxford, OH 45056
[email protected]
513-529-4206