Requirements

Admission

An acceptable grade-point average, satisfactory scores on the General Record Examination, and 3 supportive letters of recommendation are required for regular admission. Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to submit scores from the Biology subject GRE.

Advisory Committee

This committee is constituted during the student's first year in the residence in the program. It includes a minimum of five doctoral-level scientists, at least three of whom are regular members of the UL Lafayette Biology Graduate Faculty. One member must be from outside the Department of Biology and may be from outside the University. The student's advisor is a member of the committee and serves as the chair.

General Requirements

A minimum of 72 semester hours of credit beyond the bachelor's degree is required; at least 48 of these hours must be in non-dissertation course work. Students entering the program with a master's degree must complete at least 24 hours of non-dissertation course work. At least 9 credits must be in environmental biology and 9 in evolutionary biology, and a minimum of 12 hours must be at the 500 level.

Special Requirement

The student (as first author) must submit a manuscript to an appropriate peer-reviewed journal prior to the final examination.

Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination will include an oral and a written component.

Dissertation

A specific research project must be completed and a formal dissertation must be submitted to and approved by the student's Advisory Committee, and by an appropriate scientist from outside the University.

Final Examination

The final examination is an oral defense of the dissertation and may include related scientific topics.