The University of Pittsburgh: Seeking PhD Students in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

The Department of Biological Sciences Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program (EE) at the University of Pittsburgh is seeking applications from prospective graduate students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. We have a strong and collaborative research program that seeks students interested in a wide variety of topics including behavioral ecology, coevolution, community ecology, conservation biology, disease ecology, eco-evolutionary dynamics, evolutionary biology, evolutionary ecology, evolutionary development, genomic evolution, microbiome studies, molecular evolution, physiology, and quantitative ecology. As a student here, you will develop skills in critical thinking, lab and field research, experimental design, grant and publication writing, and computational and statistical analysis. You will also have the opportunity to apply cutting-edge methods in biological sciences including genomics and machine learning.

The goal of our department is to recruit, welcome, and develop students and researchers from a range of backgrounds, career stages, and research interests. We aim to provide an inclusive and supportive environment for all scholars. Once admitted into our program, you will receive five years of guaranteed support, including a competitive salary, tuition waiver, and health benefits regardless of citizenship. You will also be encouraged and supported as you apply for internal and external independent funding opportunities — our students frequently receive multi-year predoctoral fellowship awards from major granting institutions (e.g. NSF GRFP). Students may participate in our Teaching Minor program that helps develop teaching portfolios. We focus on career development and our graduate students go on to secure competitive postdoctoral research fellowships, science communication fellowships, and careers as research or teaching faculty, science communicators, staff scientists at conservation organizations and government agencies.

To apply to the Ecology & Evolution program, we highly encourage and welcome all interested students to reach out to potential advisors early in the application process. If you are enthusiastic about ecology and evolutionary biology, we are excited to meet you! Applications for the 2022-2023 school year are due December 7, 2021 and may be found here. More details about applying are below.

*** UPCOMING VIRTUAL Q&A SESSIONS ABOUT APPLICATIONS***

Attend one of our Q&A sessions (on 10/29 and 11/19) to learn more about our program, the application process, and how your application will be evaluated. Sign up here!

*** FIELD RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES ***

We conduct our research in temperate and tropical ecosystems, forests, grasslands, wetlands, lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams in urban and rural areas. We work globally–including Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and China– as well as around the US–California, Hawaii, Michigan, Florida. Many of our faculty and students utilize nearby field sites including our own field station–the Pymatuning Lab of Ecology–as well as other nearby natural areas including the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve, the US Forest Service’s Allegheny National Forest, Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania’s Beechwood Farms, and Pittsburgh City Parks. We collaborate with biologists at nearby institutions like The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, The National Aviary, the Pittsburgh Zoo, Civil and Environmental Consultants, Inc., Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

*** LAB RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES ***

The Pitt BioSci department is equipped with a wide variety of research facilities. These include a modern greenhouse complex consisting of 5 separate year-round climate-controlled greenhouses and head-house, multiple rooms of walk-in growth chambers and germination chambers, and a plant prep room. Our shared facilities also include cell culture and virus labs, climate-controlled rooms, microscopy facilities, animal facilities, molecular imaging, mass spectrometry lab, and real-time PCR and high-throughput DNA sequencing machines.

*** LIVING IN PITTSBURGH ***

The University of Pittsburgh is located in a vibrant city where students can explore cultural attractions, culinary hotspots, find a bustling night life, as well as quiet hikes through one of Pittsburgh’s many city parks. Our city is often listed as one of the most liveable cities in the world as well as one of National Geographic’s top 20 Coolest Cities.

*** APPLICATION DETAILS ***

Detailed instructions for applications are located on our departmental website. Here are some features of a strong application:

A compelling personal statement that describes your interest in pursuing a PhD with our department;
Life experiences that contribute to a diversity of viewpoints and background;
Prior conversations about your research interests with potential faculty mentors in our department;
Previous research experience from undergraduate or Master’s studies;
Strong letters of recommendation;
We do not consider GRE scores in our evaluation of applicants.

These are some great resources about ‘how’ to apply to grad school in ecology and evolution that you might consider reading:

“Advice on Applying to Graduate School in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: How to prepare and a step-by-step guide” written by current faculty and graduate students in the depart.
“Nail the Inquiry Email” by Dr. Jacquelyn Gill
“Thoughts on Applying to Grad School” by Dr. Meghan Duffy

*** MORE INFORMATION ***

Please reach out to Dr. Sara Kuebbing (sara.kuebbing@pitt.edu) or Dr. Cori Richards-Zawacki (cori.zawacki@pitt.edu) for general inquiries about the EE program or the admission process. We strongly encourage you to reach out to any of the faculty listed below or any other faculty in our program, to learn more about their specific research programs or opportunities in their lab groups.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Tia-Lynn Ashman (tia1@pitt.edu)

Jon Boyle (boylej@pitt.edu)

Walter Carson (walt@pitt.edu)

Graham Hatfull (gfh@pitt.edu)

Justin Kitzes (justin.kitzes@pitt.edu)

Kevin Kohl (kkohl@pitt.edu)

Sara Kuebbing (sara.kuebbing@pitt.edu)

Jeffrey Lawrence (jlawrenc@pitt.edu)

Miler Lee (miler@pitt.edu)

Tera Levin (teralevin@pitt.edu)

Mark Rebeiz (rebeiz@pitt.edu)