Welcome!

Scientific and personal diversity are hallmarks of our Genetics Program. It attracts students and faculty from many disciplines and three different research institutions, making the Genetics Program exceptional in its breadth of topics and experimental systems for graduate study. The Genetics Program was founded specifically to combine the resources and expertise at Stony Brook University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory, each of which is internationally recognized in its own right.

Stony Brook is among the top 40 institutions funded by the National Science Foundation, and is one of only 94 institutions in the country to be designated a "Very High Research University" by the Carnegie Foundation. The London Times Higher Education–QS World University Rankings continue to place Stony Brook University among the top 100 in the world. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is a world-renowned, free-standing biological research institution that has played a major role in the development of modern genetics and molecular biology. Brookhaven National Laboratory is one of just a handful of large national research laboratories sponsored by the United States Department of Energy. It carries out basic and applied research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences. The collaboration of these three institutions results in a unique training environment for our Genetics doctoral students.

Our course of study exposes students to many different areas of specialization within the broad field of genetics including molecular genetics, developmental genetics, genomics and bioinformatics, evolutionary genetics, and human genetics. Thesis research projects are available in over 100 different laboratories, in topics such as chromosome structure and function, transposable elements, DNA replication, cell cycle control, signal transduction, regulation of transcription and RNA splicing, the molecular genetics of cancer, behavioral genetics, developmental genetics, regeneration, stem cells, bacterial and viral pathogenesis, population genetics, and molecular evolution. The genetic systems employed in these studies include vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, yeasts, cellular slime molds, bacteria, and prokaryotic and eukaryotic viruses.

The Graduate Program in Genetics attracts outstanding entering predoctoral trainees from throughout the world, with varied backgrounds and many different research interests. We invite you to learn more about us.