Biological Sciences
| Program and Application Information | |
|---|---|
| Department Head: | Dr. Wendy Reed |
| Graduate Coordinator: | Dr. Katie Reindl |
| Department Location: | 218 Stevens Hall |
| Department Phone: | (701) 231-7087 |
| Department Email: | ndsu.biological.sciences@ndsu.edu |
| Department Web Site: | www.ndsu.edu/biology/ |
| Application Deadline: | Applications must be submitted by January 15 for full consideration for GTA or GRA positions.* |
| Degrees Offered: | M.S |
| English Proficiency Requirements: | TOEFL ibT 79 IELTS 6.5 |
*Applicants will not be considered without a department faculty member who has agreed to serve as the major advisor. For e-mail addresses for faculty members and for additional information about our programs, please visit our web site at http://www.ndsu.edu/biology/ .
Program Description
The Department of Biological Sciences offers graduate study leading to Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Master of Science degrees are available in Biology and Environmental and Conservation Sciences.
Doctor of Philosophy degrees are available in Botany, Genomics, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Environmental and Conservation Sciences, STEM Education and Zoology. Advanced work may involve specialized training in the following areas: aquatic biology, behavior, biology education research, cell biology, comparative biochemistry and physiology, cancer biology, conservation biology, ecology, endocrinology, developmental biology, evolution, fisheries biology, molecular biology, plant biology, population biology, prairie pothole ecology, evolutionary ecology and wildlife biology.
Student research and academic programs are tailored to individual needs and interests. Interdisciplinary approaches to biological problems are encouraged.
Admission Requirements
The graduate programs in the Department of Biological Sciences are open to all qualified graduates of universities and colleges of recognized standing. To be admitted with full status to the program, the applicant must meet all Graduate School admission requirements.
Applications should be submitted directly to the Graduate School. For full consideration for GTA or GRA positions, applications must be submitted by January 15. Applicants will not be considered without a department faculty member who has agreed to serve as the major adviser. Correspondence with one or more departmental faculty members before and during the application process is essential. For email addresses for faculty members and for additional information about our programs, please visit our website at http://www.ndsu.edu/biology/.
Financial Assistance
Research assistantships and teaching assistantships are available. Applicants are considered on the basis of scholarship, potential to undertake advanced study and research, as well as financial need.
A student must first be accepted by the Graduate School before consideration for financial assistance. Assistantships include a waiver of tuition.
In addition to research and teaching assistantships, there are other types of financial support. A limited number of State Board of Higher Education Scholarships and other fellowships are available through the Graduate School. Outstanding scholarship and financial need are primary considerations for these fellowships. Scholarships in specific areas are also available through the Department of Biological Sciences. These are generally supplemental and do not include tuition waivers. Students are considered for these awards after enrollment, with primary considerations being scholastic performance and research at NDSU.
Research Facilities and Equipment
The Department of Biological Sciences occupies approximately 20,000 square feet of floor space in Stevens Hall for research. The NDSU Library has extensive holdings of journals, monographs, books, and other reference materials covering various fields in biology. The library offers full access to online catalogs and databases.
Faculty in the department have research programs ranging from molecular biology to ecosystem ecology and work with a wide variety of organisms across multiple levels of organization, from cellular mechanisms to ecosystem function. Modern equipment is available for conducting research in cell and molecular biology and field ecology and behavior. The department has access to a vascular plant herbarium with 240,000 specimens emphasizing Northern Great Plains flora, a lichen herbarium consisting of about 15,000 specimens with a worldwide representation of taxa, and a vertebrate collection with approximately 10,000 specimens.
The department offers access to a range of equipment and facilities necessary for laboratory research, including greenhouses, animal rooms, growth chambers, tissue culture facilities, ultracentrifuges, spectrophotometers, electrophoresis, light microscopes, gas chromatography, GC-mass spectrometry, and high performance liquid chromatography. Facilities are available for protein and DNA sequencing, oligonucleotide synthesis, interactive laser cytometry, scanning transmission and electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy.
Students must select a major adviser prior to their arrival for graduate studies.
The Master of Science program generally requires a minimum of 24 months of full-time study, during which an overall GPA of 3.0 or better must be maintained. The Master of Science degree may be earned by either of two options. The thesis option emphasizes completion of a research project. The comprehensive study option requires more course work, and instead of conducting research and presenting a thesis, the candidate presents a paper or papers approved by the adviser to the examining committee, demonstrating ability for scholarly study and written expression. Candidates under both options must present a seminar on the thesis research or comprehensive study, and must pass an oral examination.
The Ph.D. program generally requires a minimum of 36 months of full-time study, during which an overall GPA of 3.0 or better must be maintained. Candidates for the Ph.D. are required to take a preliminary written and oral examination directed to academic subject matter and a final defense of the dissertation.
Laura Aldrich-Wolfe, Ph.D.
Cornell University, 2006
Research Interests: Community ecology, mycorrhyza and plant-fungal interactions
Julia H. Bowsher, Ph.D.
Duke University, 2007
Research Interests: Evolutionary and Developmental Biology of Insects
Malcolm G. Butler, Ph.D.
University of Michigan, 1980
Research Interests: Aquatic Ecology, Limnology, Fisheries, Water Quality, Wildlife Management
Mark E. Clark, Ph.D.
University of Tennessee, 1996
Research Interests: Fish and Wildlife Ecology, Population Biology, Ecological Modeling, Quantitative Ecology
Ned A. Dochtermann, Ph.D.
University of Nevada, 2009
Research Interests: Evolutionary and Behavioral Ecology
Erin H. Gillam, Ph.D.
University of Tennessee-Knoxville, 2007
Research Interests: Evolution and Behavioral Function of Communication Signals Using Bats as a Model
Kendra J. Greenlee, Ph.D.
Arizona State University, 2004
Research Interests: Comparative Physiology, Insect Respiration and Immunology
Timothy J. Greives, Ph.D.
Indiana University, 2009
Research Interests: Hormones and Behavior, Seasonality, Biological Rhythms, Reproductive Eco-physiology
Jill Hamilton, Ph.D.
University of British Columbia, 2012
Research Interests: Plant Evolutionary Genomics
Britt Heidinger, Ph.D.
Indiana University, 2007
Research Interests: Physiological Ecology, Senescence, Stress Physiology
Angela Hodgson, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota, 2010
Research Interests: Ecosystem Biology and Wildlife Conservation Biology
Donna L. Jacob, Ph.D.
University College Dublin, 2003
Research Interests: Wetland Science, Biogeochemistry
Jennifer L. Momsen, Ph.D.
Rutgers, 2007
Research Interests: Biology Education at the Undergraduate Level
Lisa M. Montplaisir, Ph.D.
University of Arizona, 2003
Research Interests: Science Education, Teaching and Learning, Curriculum Development
Keith Murphy, Ph.D.
Louisiana State University, 1989
Research Interests: Hereditary Diseases of the Domestic Dog
Marinus L. Otte, Ph.D.
Vrije Universiteit, 1991
Research Interests: Wetland Science, Biogeochemistry, Plant Ecophysiology
Wendy L. Reed, Ph.D.
Iowa State University, 2000
Research Interests: Physiological Ecology, Evolution of Life Histories, Maternal Effects
Katie M. Reindl, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 2006
Research Interests: Cancer Cell Biology, Identification and Validation of New Drug Targets
Matthew Smith, Ph.D.
University of Arkansas, 2012
Research Interests: Patterns of Phenotypic Variation in Natural Populations
Craig A. Stockwell, Ph.D.
University of Nevada, 1995
Research Interests: Evolutionary Ecology of Vertebrate Populations, Conservation Biology, Fisheries Biology
Jon Sweetman
Steven E. Travers, Ph.D.
University of California-Santa Barbara, 1998
Research Interests:
Plant Evolutionary Ecology
Emeritus
William J. Bleier, Ph.D.
Texas Tech University, 1975
Research Interests: Blackbirds, Animal Depredation, Avian Ecology
Gary K. Clambey, Ph.D.
Iowa State University, 1975
Research Interests: Ecology and Biogeography, Environmental Analysis and Planning, Structure Function Relations in Midwestern Ecosystems, Human Ecology
Theodore L. Esslinger, Ph.D.
Duke University, 1974
Research Interests: Lichenology; Taxonomy, Chemosystematics, and Floristics of Lichens; Emphasis on the Parmeliaceae and Physciaceae
James W. Grier, Ph.D.
Cornell University, 1975
Research Interests: Eagles and Other Birds of Prey, Herpetology, Aquatic Organisms, Fossils, Animal Population Dynamics, Habitat Ecology
Gary L. Nuechterlein, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota, 1980
Research Interests: Behavioral Ecology of Birds; Wildlife Ecology, Particularly of Nongame Species
Adjunct
Michael J. Anteau, Ph.D.
Louisiana State University, 2006
Ned H. Euliss, Jr., Ph.D.
Oregon State University, 1989
Mark A. Hanson, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 1990
Douglas H. Johnson, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 1986
George M. Linz, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 1982
Daniel C. McEwen, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 2008
David M. Mushet, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 2010
Marsha A. Sovada, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 1993
Steve K. Windels, Ph.D.
Michigan Technological University, 2008
Brian Wisenden, Ph.D.
University of Western Ontario, 1993
