Ecology PhD
Program Code: G-ECL-PHD
Degree Designation: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: University Program in Ecology
Website: ecology.duke.edu
Program Summary
The University Program in Ecology (UPE) is an interdepartmental PhD program comprising faculty from the Nicholas School of the Environment, Arts and Sciences (biology and evolutionary anthropology departments), The Pratt School of Engineering (department of civil and environmental engineering), and the Medical School (department of molecular genetics and microbiology). The UPE Program offers training toward a PhD in ecology.
The UPE provides interdisciplinary training in all aspects of ecology, including physiological and behavioral ecology; population and evolutionary ecology; community and landscape ecology; biogeochemistry; and ecosystem and global-change ecology. The program serves to integrate an exceptionally broad and diverse collection of faculty expertise found in various departments and schools at Duke. The UPE is a rigorous, research-oriented graduate program with an excellent record of scholarly publications by the program’s students. All students participate in a two-semester, graduate-level core course that focuses on both historical and contemporary foundations of ecology (theory, principles, and research); any additional coursework is tailored to each student’s specific interests and needs. Students organize and run a weekly seminar series and participate in readings groups, symposia, and other activities run by the program.
Special facilities for study and research include the Marine Lab (nicholas.duke.edu/marinelab), Duke Forest (dukeforest.duke.edu), Duke Wetlands Center (nicholas.duke.edu/wetland), the Organization for Tropical Studies (tropicalstudies.org), plus an extraordinary array of major analytical equipment and additional resources (nicholas.duke.edu/marinelab/about/facilities, biology.duke.edu/research-areas).
For information on other courses available to UPE students, visit ecology.duke.edu.
Academic Requirements
Complete two semesters of core courses on historical and contemporary foundations of ecology (UPE 701, 702)
Complete coursework appropriate to the specialty of the research program
PhD committee includes at least four faculty members, two of which are UPE faculty members
For more information on degree requirements and timeline, visit ecology.duke.edu/degree-requirements.