Entering students will meet with a faculty advisor to form a course of study for the first year. All first year students will complete the core course in ecology and evolutionary biology (EBIO 569) in their first year. All graduate students are required to complete EBIO 585/586 (Graduate Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) each academic year. Students are additionally required to complete two semesters of EBIO 591 (Graduate Teaching) and two semesters of EBIO 561 / 563 (Special Topics in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology). Students must maintain a grade average of B in courses taken in the department and satisfactory grades in courses taken outside the department.
In consultation with their faculty advisor and advisory committee students should identify additional courses to build areas of expertise or to address potential deficiencies.
Students must demonstrate satisfactory progress in their degree program in annual reviews by a departmental committee. The review process requires that each student present a public seminar on their research during our annual graduate student science day once per year and, prepare a short written report on their progress once per year, and participate in an interview with the departmental committee. For general university requirements, see Graduate Degrees (in General Announcements).
We encourage you to contact faculty and/or graduate students in your area of interest to obtain further information about graduate study in our department.
The list of faculty indicates those faculty members that anticipate admitting new students to their groups in Fall 2014.
MS Program
In addition to the general university requirements and those listed above, the master of science in ecology and evolutionary biology requires at least 10 hours of research credit..
MA Program
In addition to the general university requirements and those listed above, the master of arts in ecology and evolutionary biology requires the completion and public defense of a thesis embodying the results of an original investigation.
In addition to the general university requirements and those listed above, the PhD degree in ecology and evolutionary biology requires:
- Passing the admission to candidacy examination given by the Graduate Thesis Committee. The committee will be composed of at least 4 members. At least 3 must be members of the EEB graduate faculty; the 4th member must be from a different (non-EEB) Rice department. Additional committee members may be added from on or off campus.
- Complete an original investigation and a doctoral thesis with the potential to produce publications in reputable, peer-reviewed scientific journals
- Present a departmental seminar on the research
- Publicly defend the doctoral thesis