The following are requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in biological sciences at Western Michigan University.
Graduate core courses (six hours)
Please enroll in two of the following six core courses:
- BIOS 6110: Eukaryotic Cell Biology
- BIOS 6120: Prokaryotic Cell Biology
- BIOS 6130: Animal Physiology
- BIOS 6140: Plant Physiology
- BIOS 6150: Ecology
- BIOS 6160: Evolution
Elective courses (19 hours)
Elective courses allow you to tailor additional coursework to meet individual needs, and are selected from graduate level biological sciences or approved cognate courses with the advice and approval of your dissertation committee and the graduate advisor.
Biological sciences colloquium (three hours)
Enroll in BIOS 6050: Colloquium during three different semesters.
Teaching of biological sciences (three hours)
You are given mentored, hands-on experience with the teaching of biological sciences by enrolling in four hours of SCI 6180: Teaching and Learning in the College Science Classroom, which includes a formal course and three teaching experiences.
Research requirement (30 hours)
You are required to take 30 hours of research credit, including 15 hours of BIOS 7350: Independent Research and 15 hours of BIOS 7300: Doctoral Dissertation. Research is conducted under the guidance of your major advisor and dissertation committee.