At anytime, the Biology Graduate Group has approximately 55-60 graduate students. The Biology Graduate Group, though based in the Department of Biology, is comprised of faculty members not only from the Department of Biology, but also from other departments and schools in the University, including Psychology, Anthropology and faculty from the Medical School. In addition, there are also members of the Biology Graduate Group from other affiliated academic institutions such as the Wistar Institute and the Stroud Water Research Center.
The graduate program stresses a close interrelationship between students and faculty, a strong grounding in fundamentals, and an early emphasis on research. Students undertake lab rotations in their first year to gain experience with different research approaches and acquaint themselves with different research environments. Teaching experience is also included as part of the graduate training to prepare students for an academic career. Students participate in the in-house seminar series, departmental seminars, journal clubs, and the annual department retreat.
The Graduate Group in Biology offers programs leading to the Ph.D. degree only; applicants interested in a terminal master’s degree are not considered for admission.
Affiliations
The Biology Graduate Group cooperates with the Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS) program in the University of Pennsylvania Medical School but is administratively and financially distinct from BGS. If applying to both programs, then an application must be submitted to each program. Applicants may wish to review each program to see which program best serves their research interests before applying. For information regarding Graduate Program in the School of Medicine at Penn.
Please note that the Biology Graduate Group and the Biomedical Graduate Studies Program are separate.