Know: Students will demonstrate, through written and oral communication, advanced knowledge of their sub-discipline of biological sciences, and how their sub-discipline connects with the broader field of biology.
Propose: Students will develop and write a thesis proposal related to their sub-discipline of biology. They will be able to identify outstanding research questions and hypotheses, and outline experiments, models, statistical approaches, and/or field studies that are appropriate to their system and questions.
Implement: Students will demonstrate the ability to implement the appropriate scientific approaches to address scientific questions and/or hypotheses and carry out a research plan from start to finish. They will demonstrate, through the successful collection and analysis of data, that they have learned field and/or laboratory methods appropriate to their research questions, sub-discipline, and career goals.
Analyze and Quantify: Students will demonstrate competence in the collection, synthesis, interpretation, and contextualization of data (quantitative and/or qualitative).
Critique: Students will be able to apply critical thinking skills to assess work done by others in their sub-discipline. They will be able to critically evaluate the work of other researchers (methods, results, and interpretation), and position their own work within the broader sub-disciplines and in the field of biology as a whole.
Communicate: Students will effectively communicate their research purpose, activity, and results, through both oral and written means, to audiences both inside and outside of biology. They will demonstrate this through a successful proposal and proposal defense, through research updates and presentations, through the successful thesis defense, and (as appropriate) through outreach and publication.
Experience: Students will gain leadership experience, such as teaching, field work, grant writing, laboratory management, and project management, in preparation for diverse careers in research, teaching, policy, management, communication, or industry.
Ph.D. in Biological Sciences:
Know: Students will demonstrate advanced knowledge of the breadth of biological research, and how their sub-discipline connects with the broader fields of biology.
Propose: Students will develop and write a dissertation proposal related to their sub- discipline of biology. They will be able to identify outstanding research questions and hypotheses, and outline experiments, models, statistical approaches, and/or field studies that are appropriate to their system and questions. They will be able to demonstrate the ability to draft funding proposals, fieldwork permits, or other professional-level research proposals.
Implement: Students will demonstrate an advanced ability to implement scientific approaches to address scientific questions and/or hypotheses, and carry out a research plan from start to finish. They will demonstrate, through the successful collection and analysis of data, that they have learned field and/or laboratory methods appropriate to their research questions, sub-discipline, and career goals.
Analyze and Quantify: Students will demonstrate advanced competence in the collection, synthesis, interpretation, and contextualization of quantitative data. They will demonstrate professional-level skills in quantitative analysis, including univariate or multivariate statistics, bioinformatics, geographic information systems, modeling, and/or programming languages, as appropriate for their research and professional goals.
Critique: Students will be able to apply critical thinking skills to assess work done by others in their sub-discipline, at an advanced level. They will be able to critically evaluate the work of other researchers (methods, results, and interpretation), and position their own work within the broader sub-disciplines and in the field of biology as a whole. They will be able to effectively demonstrate scholarship, synthesis, and the integration of different biological subfields to produce novel insights.
Communicate: Students will effectively communicate their research purpose, activity, and results, through both oral and written means, to audiences both inside and outside of biology. They will demonstrate this through a successful proposal and proposal defense, through research updates and presentations, through the successful thesis defense, and (as appropriate) through outreach and publication.
Experience: Students will gain leadership experience, such as teaching, field work, grant
writing, laboratory management, and project management, in preparation for diverse careers in the biological sciences.
