The Biology Department offers programs leading to the MS and PhD degrees. We have 22 graduate faculty that represent the breadth of the biological sciences. The program is distinguished from other programs by the faculty's commitment to individualized instruction. We maintain a low student:faculty ratio (~2:1), and we actively mentor students through their graduate training. Our graduate curriculum is organized into four research focal groups. These groups, as well as the research interests of the corresponding faculty, are described at the following sites: Cell and Molecular Biology; Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics; Comparative Physiology and Behavior; and Integrative Plant Biology. These focal groups provide graduate courses within each area. We encourage you to visit these web sites, and to contact individual faculty with whom you share interests. Additionally, biology faculty members participate in the interdepartmental Structural and Computational Biophysics Certificate Program and are members of the Molecular Signaling Research Group.
The most important component of graduate education is the research experience. Our goal is to ensure that students will learn to perform cutting edge biological research. Within the first semester of entering the program, students choose a research advisor from our faculty. Students then work closely with their advisors as they perform their thesis research. The department provides funds that support graduate student research and allow students to attend scientific meetings to present their results. We also provide a weekly seminar program for faculty and graduate students. In this forum, speakers from both within and without the Wake Forest Biology community present their research results. One of our truly special features is the Graduate Tutorial Program. Each year three international leaders in biology visit us, usually for a week, for intensive tutoring of our graduate students. Tutorials generally include lectures, discussions, and laboratory exercises, and provide the opportunities for students to gain deep insights into the tutor’s approach to research. During their graduate careers, our students have the opportunity to know and interact with many of these renowned biologists. For a sampling of recent research conducted by students in our program, click here.
The Biology Department is located in Winston Hall on the Wake Forest main campus. Winston is a modern laboratory facility, including a confocal microscope center, an electron microscopy suite, two greenhouses, and research animal housing. The department also maintains the Charles Allen Field Station at nearby Belews Lake where field studies on ecology and aquatic biology can be performed. In addition, faculty have long-term research relationships with the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galápagos Islands, the Highlands Biological Field Station in western NC, the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC, and the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA. Entering students are awarded either Teaching Assistantships or Research Assistantships, as well as scholarships that cover the full cost of tuition.
Please visit the focal group and faculty pages. We strongly encourage you to contact individual faculty for further information.
Click below link to Download the Biology Graduate Student Handbook in Adobe PDF format:
Graduate Student Handbook (PDF)
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Biology Department Links
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