Master of Arts in Biological Sciences
Concentration in Applied Ecology and Concentration in Applied Evolution
Overview
The Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University is among the finest of its kind in the world. Our program has graduate students studying toward both the master and doctoral degrees.
In addition to our established Master of Arts in Biological Sciences with a Concentration in Applied Ecology, a new program is being added with a Concentration in Applied Evolution. The masters program in Applied Ecology is intended to address the need for professionals in environmental sciences at federal, state, county, and other levels of government, environmental departments of large industrial companies and smaller environmental consulting firms, and non-governmental conservation and environmental protection organizations. The Applied Evolution concentration will also prepare students for work in these sectors, specifically for technical positions that require genetic, evolutionary and population based analytical skills. Career paths in biotechnology, forensics and biomedicine will also be available to graduates of this program. Both concentrations are useful for further specialized degree programs or careers in education. Both programs are particularly strong in quantitative skills, providing enhanced career opportunities for those with mastery in this area.
The plan of study is individually tailored within the course offerings and other training opportunities to match the student's personal goals. Courses offered by the Department of Ecology and Evolution provide training in ecology, evolution, conservation biology, mathematical methods, and statistics, with applications in these fields. Students must complete 30 graduate credits and a masters’ project for the degree. Credits can also be earned through a traineeships and participation in research projects on or off campus. This program can be completed in three to four semesters of full time enrollment.
Application Materials and Deadlines
The application deadline for the Masters Program is March 15, 2011 for Fall admission. Most MA students enter the program in Fall semester. The Department does not offer support for MA students; loans and other financial aid may be available through the University. Stony Brook University has among the lowest tuition and fees of any university in the U.S.
Fill out an online application on the Graduate School website.
Applicants will also need to provide:
- Official transcripts of undergraduate and (if applicable) graduate course work
- Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (Stony Brook's code for score reporting is 2548)
- Three letters of recommendation
- A non-refundable application fee of $60.00. (Please note that applications will not be processed without the $60.00 fee.)
- Foreign students are required to take the TOEFL test for proficiency in English.
For more information on applying, call the Ecology and Evolution departmental office (631-632-8600). You may also email the Ecology and Evolution department's
.
Concentration in Applied Ecology
The Concentration in Applied Ecology provides students with a strong foundation in ecological principles and the quantitative tools necessary for sound assessment of environmental issues. This training is valuable in environmental planning, resource use and regulation, conservation biology and data analyses for decision makers in government and the private sector.
Required Graduate Courses:
- Principles of Applied Ecology and Evolution (4 cr.)
- Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology Laboratory (3 cr.)
- Mathematical Methods in Population Biology (3 cr.)
- Landscape Ecology Laboratory (3 cr.) or Ecology Laboratory (3 cr.)
- Biometry (4 cr.)
Electives include:
- Molecular Diversity Laboratory (3 cr.)
- Population Genetics and Evolution (3 cr.)
- Environmental Toxicology and Public Health (3 cr.)
- Environmental Law and Regulation (3 cr.)
- Introduction to Ecological Modeling (3 cr.)
- Principles of Evolution (4 cr.)
and others. For more details, please see the Graduate School Bulletin.
Concentration in Applied Evolution
In recent years, there has been growing recognition that what had previously been considered to be strictly ecological problems often have a significant evolutionary dimension. Environmental impacts often reduce the size of populations (the ecological component) but may also result in evolutionary changes within the impacted populations that adversely affect human welfare (e.g., evolution of antibiotic or pesticide resistance), reduce the sustainability of vulnerable populations, or their value to humans (e.g., higher levels of inbreeding, loss of genetic variability and valuable genetic traits). Evolutionary principles are also regularly applied in biotechnology, forensics, agricultural, pharmaceutical, and biomedical fields, and especially to problems of genome and protein sequence analysis.
Required Graduate Courses:
- Principles of Applied Ecology and Evolution (4 cr.)
- Population Genetics and Evolution (3 cr.) or an equivalent approved by the Program Director
- Computational Biology (3 cr.) or AMS 533 - Numerical Methods and Algorithms in Computational Biology (3 cr.)
- Molecular Diversity Laboratory (3 cr.)
- Biometry (4 cr.)
Electives include:
- Mathematical Methods in Population Biology (3 cr.)
- Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology Laboratory (3 cr.)
- Principles of Ecology (4 cr.)
- Molecular Modeling of Biological Molecules (3 cr.)
- Quantitative Genetics (3 cr.)
- Human Evolution (4 cr.)
- Primate Evolution (4 cr.)
- Vertebrate Evolution (4 cr.)
- Molecular Genetics (3 cr.)
and others. For more details, please see the Graduate School Bulletin.
For further Information, contact:
Dr. Lev Ginzburg, Director
MA Program in Applied Ecology and Applied Evolution
Department of Ecology & Evolution
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York 11794-5245
Stony Brook University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity educator and employer.
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