Overview
The EEB Program Enriches the Minds of Motivated Graduate Students with a Strong Ph.D. Program Augmented by Research
Dartmouth, in Hanover, New Hampshire, is the smallest of the Ivy League institutions. It has an historic tradition of close student-faculty ties, a tradition that is enthusiastically embraced by faculty and students in the graduate program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) in the Department of Biological Sciences. In a program that typically consists of 15 core faculty and about 14 graduate students, with about 5 students accepted for admission annually, top graduate students work closely with their faculty advisers and interact daily with other members of the program. This wide-ranging, collegial atmosphere is key to the collaborative nature of good research and strong scholarship.
Students who have already decided on their area of specialization select advisers through correspondence and personal interactions during the application process. Students assemble their own advisory committee to match their interests and aspirations. Advisory committees comprise the major adviser plus two other faculty members within the EEB/EEES program. The committees work closely with students to facilitate and guide all aspects of the programs and are frequently altered to match the direction of students' programs.
Every Aspect of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Their Related Disciplines Are Covered in the EEB Program
The EEB program covers every aspect of ecology, evolutionary biology, and related disciplines. The programs train highly qualified and motivated students for fulfilling and productive careers in both research and teaching. Core faculty members of the program are the evolutionary biologists and ecologists of the Department of Biological Sciences and the Environmental Studies Program. In close collaboration with other biologists in the Department of Biological Sciences and various departments in Dartmouth Medical School, as well with colleagues in the Earth Sciences and Geography departments and the Thayer School of Engineering, they help create a thriving, inquisitive community of faculty and students pursuing graduate education and meaningful research in all areas of ecology and evolutionary biology.
The program sponsors active, cutting-edge seminars with speakers representing a wide variety of topics, research institutions, and schools. Weekly "EELunches" are forums where students present "research in progress" and initiate informal exchanges covering current topics in ecology and evolutionary biology. A weekend retreat each fall provides a relaxing environment that supports teaching, learning, interacting, and personal and scholastic growth.
Renowned, Expert Faculty Members Leverage Unique Environmental Facilities to Provide an Incomparable Living Laboratory
Very few academic institutions can rival Dartmouth's access to diverse natural habitats. The glaciated terrain of New Hampshire and Vermont offer numerous clear streams, calm ponds, ancient bogs, and vernal pools. The Connecticut River marks the west limit of the campus, but it and the surrounding waters have only been superficially explored. Northern boreal forests and southern deciduous forests overlap at Dartmouth. Alpine tundra is available an hour away in the mountains. Classes can explore marine tide pools and coastal salt marshes in a single day.
Dartmouth's renowned faculty of biologists pursues research at a number of permanent research facilities, including locations in New England and the new- and old-world tropics. College-owned areas include the College Grant, a 26,000-acre tract in northern New Hampshire with two rivers, and Mt. Moosilauke, a forest ecology research site since the late 1960s. Since 1985, Mt. Moosilauke has been a primary U.S. Forest Service and EPA study site; the effects of atmospheric deposition on forest vegetation are being studied there.
Students pursue research in ecosystems around the world. Many students undertake their research in the expansive forests, streams, and lakes of New England as well as the famous Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Other research projects involve studies in the Rocky Mountains and in the coastal sage scrub ecosystems of southern California. Tropical rainforests, African savannahs, and the pine forests of both the southern U.S. and Mexico are home to department research teams and projects, too.
Dartmouth's location also provides ample recreation opportunities, including cross-country skiing and downhill skiing during the winter. Summer, fall, and spring offer a selection of healthful outdoor activities that students can enjoy even during class outings. Water sports and other athletic pursuits are available year-round, both on and off campus, and provide a healthy balance to the program's challenging mental pursuits.
All Accepted Students Receive Twelve-Month Stipends, Tuition Scholarships, and Health Insurance
All students maintaining satisfactory academic status receive financial support for up to five years. This includes a twelve-month stipend of approximately $23,800, health insurance, a full tuition scholarship, and a discretionary fund of about $2,000 per year for research, travel, books, etc. Teaching responsibilities are modest and rewarding (one class during each of one or two 10-week quarters per year); for many students, this includes teaching on our Foreign Studies Program in Costa Rica and Little Cayman Island. Students supported by faculty research assistantships typically have reduced teaching commitments and increased research responsibilities. Students are also strongly encouraged to seek external funding for their work through fellowships (e.g., NSF or EPA) and grants (NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant). Students who obtain external fellowships have reduced teaching responsibilities. Highly qualified graduate students may be eligible for a GAANN Fellowship with annual stipend of up to $30,000.
