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STATEMENT OF GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE DOCTORAL PROGRAM
MISSION STATMENT :
The Ph.D. program in the Department of Biological Sciences at Bowling Green State University is currently comprised of 27
graduate faculty and approximately 40 doctoral level graduate students. The department is organized into three broad and overlapping
research groups which emphasize the faculty interests and strengths, viz., the Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology
Group; the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Group; and the Neuroscience and Behavior Group. Foci within and amongst these
research groups also include: cell biology and physiology, entomology and parasitology, and genetics, microbiology, and plant
biology.
Research specializations within the Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology Group (13 faculty) include: conservation genetics;
evolution of behavior; algology and limnology; microbial ecology and phytoplankton trace-metal interactions; conservation
biology and plant evolution; aquatic community ecology and fisheries biology; behavior and sensory systems of aquatic organisms;
ecology of agrosystems; ecology and behavior of ticks and mosquitoes; phylogenetics, intron evolution; landscape ecology and
conservation biology; evolution of communication systems; life history strategies and behavior; genetics and evolution of
natural populations.
Research specializations within the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Group (14 faculty) include: mutagenesis and DNA repair;
stress physiology of cyanobacteria; mitochondrial biogenesis, gene expression, and physiology; anaerobic energetics of helminths;
genome recycling and genome organization; genetic engineering of the metalloenzyme nitrogenase; molecular plant-microbe interactions;
plant molecular biology, proteinases and proteinase inhibitors; molecular biology of signal transduction and signal transduction
in cancer and hypertension; effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on hormone status and development; biochemical interactions
between plants and insects; regulation of cytochrome P-450 systems and ecdysteroids synthesis; ancient nucleic acids and organisms,
introns and plant development; and genetics of transposable elements.
Research specializations of the Neuroscience and Behavior Group (9 faculty) include: sensory systems and behavior in aquatic
animals; circadian pacemakers and biological clocks in animals; neurochemistry of aggression and addiction; sensory biology
and evolution of communication; molecular neuroendocrinology and protein trafficking; environmental influences on hormone
status and behavior; and life and sex selection strategies in populations.
The Department's research objectives over the next five years are to strengthen established research groups by the addition
of new faculty, to continue the increase in faculty publication rates and extramural grant acquisitions, to obtain an additional
teaching/research building, and to continue to recruit top notch doctoral level students.
ADMISSION STANDARDS :
Admission requirements for Ph.D. students include: an undergraduate degree in biology or one of the natural sciences with
at least a 3.0 to 3.2 GPA overall and in the major; GRE scores (on average at the 60th percentile or better) in the verbal,
quantitative, and analytical portions of the General Test; and three letters of recommendation.
SERVING THE NEEDS OF THE STATE:
The Ph.D. program of the Department serves the needs of Ohio in numerous and diverse ways. The Department produces Ph.D. graduates
who are prepared for professional careers in academic, government and industry/private sectors. Historically, about 80 percent
of our doctoral graduates go on to pursue academic careers, while the remainder serve in government and private careers. About
40 percent of our graduates pursue careers in the Great Lakes Region, and about half of these (20 percent) remain in Ohio.
Research carried out by the faculty and doctoral students in the Department directly and positively impacts the economy of
Ohio and the Great Lakes Region. Projects are focused on such economically important subjects as: pest and parasite control;
plant biotechnology; genome recycling and organization; nitrogen fixation; conservation biology and landscape fragmentation;
environmental impacts on aging and development; cancer and hypertension; Great Lakes productivity, pollution, and invasive
species; global warming and aquatic communities; and neurochemistry of aggression. The Department interacts with a number
of groups and agencies throughout Ohio and the region, including: the Ohio View Consortium; the MCO Cancer Institute; the
Ohio Plant Biotechnology Consortium; the Bioinformatics Group; and the International Genome Consortium of Model Organisms.
PLACEMENT OBJECTIVES:
The Department of Biological Sciences has an excellent track record of placing our Ph.D. recipients in professional careers
(98 percent of our graduates during the past eight years) where they will utilize their doctoral training. As mentioned earlier,
about 80 percent of our graduates go on to pursue academic careers (postdocs, research associates, tenure track, tenured positions
in colleges and universities), 12 percent pursue biomedical careers in the government, and 5 percent have professional careers
in the private sector. The Department anticipates that it will continue to place its doctoral graduates in excellent positions
in academic, government and industry.
PROGRAM REVIEW:
The Ph.D. program in the Department was last reviewed in 1995-96. We are undergoing program review this year, 2003-2004; and
our next scheduled review is in the academic year, 2009-2010.
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Contact Information
Scott Rogers, Chair
Room: 217 Life Sciences Building
Stan Smith, Graduate Coordinator
Room: 455 Life Sciences Building
Phone: 419-372-2332
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