PhD in Biology, General

Boston University's biology doctorate educates students at an advanced level in Cell & Molecular Biology, Neurobiology, or Ecology, Behavior & Evolution. It is a research degree and usually needs five or more years of study, summers included. Applicants must have completed a bachelor's in biology or something close to it, and the department prefers candidates with both a strong record and evident research aptitude. Students complete a set of units at a minimum grade average, with seminars on research progress, a grant-writing class, a teaching-methods class and a quantitative class, and each track adds its own required courses. Prior graduate work may transfer in some cases. Graduates should be ready for postdoctoral training and later for teaching and research roles in universities, industry, government or nonprofit organizations.