Graduate Programs in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
in the Division of Biology at Kansas State University

The Division of Biology at Kansas State University offers Master's and Doctoral degree programs, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology section provides an outstanding environment for graduate research.  We have award-winning faculty with expertise in grassland ecology, a broad selection of graduate courses and research seminars, and specialized research facilities for a variety of sample and data analyses.  The cost of living in Manhattan, Kansas is inexpensive and graduate students in Biology are supported by fellowships from extramural grants to faculty advisors, teaching assistantships from K-State, and external scholarships from the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation, and other sponsors.  Faculty members welcome letters of interest from prospective graduate students at any time, but formal applications are accepted twice a year.  If you are seeking a graduate program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, here are a list of the top ten reasons why you should consider Kansas State University as the best possible location for your graduate studies, followed by instructions on how to apply!

Top Ten Reasons to Consider the Division of Biology at Kansas State University

1. Outstanding faculty.  The Division of Biology includes a diverse group of faculty and research scientists with a wide range of research interests.  Within the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology section, we have research groups with expertise in four major areas: evolutionary biology, aquatic ecology, plant ecology, and animal ecology.  All of these folks are potential faculty mentors, available to serve on supervisory committees, and are great resources to discuss new research ideas and experiments.  Faculty using molecular methods to investigate questions in evolutionary ecology include: Carolyn Ferguson (plant systematics), Ari Jumpponen (fungal ecology), Mike Herman (nematode genomics), Loretta Johnson (plant genomics), Ted Morgan (arthropod genomics) and Mark Ungerer (plant evolution).  Our integrated group of aquatic ecologists include: Walter Dodds (nutrient dynamics), Keith Gido (fish ecology), and Craig Paukert (fisheries science).  Faculty working on the physiology, ecology and ecosystem dynamics of terrestrial plants include: John Blair (ecosystem science), John Briggs (plant ecology), Joe Craine (plant strategies), David Harnett (plant population biology) and Jesse Nippert (plant ecophysiology).  Faculty working on the ecology and evolutionary biology of terrestrial animals include: Jack Cully (wildlife disease), Tony Joern (grazing ecology), Don Kaufman (mammalogy), Brett Sandercock (wildlife ecology and demography), Samantha Wisely (conservation genetics), and Kimberly With (landscape ecology).  Instructors and Research Faculty in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology include: Eva Horne (herpetology), Glennis Kaufman (mammalogy), Mark Mayfield (plant systematics), Bruce Snyder (invertebrate zoology), and Joanna Whittier (conservation biology).
    
2. Grassland ecology.  One of the major strengths of the Division of Biology at Kansas State University is our integrated research program in grassland ecology.  Research scientists within the Division have considerable expertise in working with grassland ecosystems, with ongoing projects in North America, South America and Africa.  Studies of grassland ecosystems are timely because loss and degradation of native prairies are an ongoing conservation issue.  Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie provides an overview of early ecological research in the Division of Biology.  A searchable database of publications resulting from grassland research in Biology is archived at the Konza Prairie LTER Program.
    
3. Research institutes and resources.  Kansas State University is a superb location for interdisciplinary research.  Three research institutes that include faculty and students from multiple colleges and departments include the Ecological Genomics Institute, the Center for Understanding of Origins, and the Institute for Grassland Studies.  Kansas State University also has natural history collections and specialized labs for sample analyses, including the Herbarium, the Entomology Museum, the Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometry Lab, an Integrated Genomics Facility for DNA sequencing and genotyping, a Microscopy Facility with equipment for electron, fluorescence and confocal microscopy, and research centers in Functional Genomics for analyses of lipids and proteins.  The Division of Biology houses the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, a research partnership jointly supported by the university, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey. 
    
4. Konza Prairie Biological Station.  A great resource available to graduate students working at Kansas State University is the Konza Prairie Biological Station.  Konza Prairie is a 3,600 ha tallgrass prairie reserve that is only a 20 minute drive south of Manhattan.  Konza Prairie is part of a network of about 30 Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) sites funded by the National Science Foundation.  The biological resources of the station are remarkable, it supports a diverse plant community and good numbers of grassland animals, including several species of conservation concern.  The infrastructure is comprehensive, and includes lab facilities, workshops, project vehicles, and access to long-term experimental plots.  A considerable amount of background data on weather, habitat sampling and bird surveys are archived on the website for the Konza Prairie LTER Program.  Other nearby sites that have also been used for graduate research include the Fort Riley Military Reservation (40,500 ha), and the Tallgrass Prairie National Reserve (4,500 ha).
    
5. Graduate courses and seminars.  Course requirements for a Master's degree include 30 hours of study, of which the thesis counts for 6-8 hours.  A student entering the PhD program with a MSc will require 60 hours of study, of which the dissertation counts for 30 hours.  A one semester graduate course at K-State is usually 3 credit hours.  In Biology, there is only one required course for incoming students, Biol 863 Professional Skills in Biology.  Programs of study are individually tailored to your research interests, and graduate courses at Kansas State offer specialized training in a variety of disciplines.  Graduate courses in ecological topics in Biology in 2008-2009 have included: Biol 697 Ecology of African Savannahs (Hartnett), Biol 818 Advanced Aquatic Ecology (Dodds), Biol 822 Landscape Ecology (With), Biol 826 Nutrient Dynamics (Blair), Biol 865 Advanced Plant Ecology (Hartnett), Biol 875 Evolutionary Ecology (Cully), Biol 890 Advanced Fisheries Science (Paukert), Biol 890 Biology of Invasive Plants (Hartnett), Biol 890 Ecological Genomics (Johnson), and Biol 890 GIS Applications for Ecology Students (Whittier).  Courses that offer training in quantitative statistics include: Biol 823 Demographic Methods (Sandercock) which covers mark-recapture statistics and matrix projection models, and their applications to the demography of plants and animals, and Biol 890 Analysis of Ecological Gradients (Gido) which offers training in multivariate statistical methods for complex data.  The Department of Statistics at Kansas State is strong in applied statistics and graduate students have the option of including a statistician on their supervisory committee. The Department of Geography offers Graduate Certification in GIScience for students making extensive use of Geographic Information Systems.  Colleagues in the Departments of Entomology and Plant Pathology also regularly teach courses in ecology, evolution, and molecular biology.  The intellectual environment of the Division of Biology includes several regular seminar series: the Biology Departmental Seminar Series is held on Friday afternoons at 4 pm, the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Seminar Series meets on Thursdays at noon, and the Ecological Genomics Journal Club meets on Tuesdays at 4 pm.
    
6. Opportunities for mentorship.  The Division of Biology offers resources for mentorship and training of graduate students.  The Biology Graduate Students Association represents the graduate student body with several standing committees, and coordinates financial support for travel to scientific meetings and a variety of social events.  First-year graduate students often participate in teaching of Biol 198 Principles of Biology or Biol 201 Organismic Biology, two team-taught course where graduate students can receive on the job training in undergraduate instruction.  The Division of Biology has hosted a 10-week summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program since 1995, and senior graduate students often play an important role in mentoring our undergraduate student participants.
    
7. Graduate stipends, GAANN, and GK-12 fellowships.  The Division of Biology guarantees financial support for all students that are accepted into the graduate program.  Support is offered through teaching and research assistantships, and the level of support is the same for both foreign and domestic students at ~$24,000 per year.  If you are accepted for admission into the program, you will continue to receive financial support as long as your supervisory committee agrees that you are making reasonable progress towards a degree.  Few other graduate programs in the United States offer this degree of financial security for Masters and Doctoral students.  Incoming graduate students with outstanding academic records are eligible to be nominated for T.R. Donoghue Scholarships which provide an additional financial supplement for the first two years of study.  Starting in Fall 2009, we are recruiting for a graduate training program in Ecology, Evolution and Genomics in Changing Environments, which has been funded by a new grant from the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program of the Department of Education (PI's: Johnson and Sandercock).  GAANN fellows will be selected based on financial need and will receive specialized training in instruction of college students.  Students enrolled in graduate studies at K-State are also eligible to apply for fellowships from our new program, EIDRoP: Evidence-based inquiry into the distant, remote, or past (PI: Ferguson).  EIDRoP is a GK-12 program funded by the National Science Foundation that matches graduate students with teachers at high schools in nearby Junction City for science instruction and curriculum development.  The graduate stipends from fellowships in the GAANN and GK-12 programs are $30,000 per year.
    
8. Low cost of living.  Manhattan, Kansas is a college town of ~50,000 people with good services and recreational opportunities, and graduate stipends support a good standard of living.  Tuition fees for graduate studies at Kansas State University are reasonable and currently about $269 per credit hour.  Graduate students are considered to be in-state residents for assessment of tuition fees.  Shared accommodation at <$500 per month is easy to find, and groceries are inexpensive.  Farmer's markets in the summer and fall offer great produce that is grown locally.  Tickets are usually inexpensive for concerts and theatre at the Manhattan Arts Center, performances at the McCain Auditorium at K-State, or to attend local concerts of the Red State Blues Band, a local band with members who are faculty in the Division of Biology!  The economy and housing market in Manhattan continues to be stable and has been affected less by the recession than many other areas.  Spouses or partners are usually successful at finding suitable employment and it is not uncommon for graduate students to be able to purchase their own houses in Manhattan or a nearby community.  Visit the websites of the City of Manhattan and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce for more information. 
    
9. Natural history.  In Kansas, there are a diverse number of groups with interests and expertise in the natural history of the Flint Hills and surrounding ecoregions.  Natural history groups include the Kaw Valley Mycological Society, Kansas Herpetological Society, Kansas Ornithological Society, Northern Flint Hills Audubon Society, and the Central Plains Society of Mammalogists.  National organizations with state chapters include the Kansas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and the Kansas Chapter of The Wildlife Society.  TWS also has an undergraduate student chapter in the Division of Biology, the KSU Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society.  The Konza Environmental Education Program (KEEP) has a busy Schoolyard LTER program for K-12 students that is operated with assistance by many volunteer docents.  Many of these groups have interests in conservation of natural resources, and offer scheduled seminars, field trips and social activities.  For bird-watchers, the avifauna of Kansas is an interesting mix of western and eastern species, and you can look at the Bird Checklist for Kansas () and the Kansas Breeding Bird Atlas.  Kansas is a great place to live if you enjoy hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation, and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is responsible for management of natural resources.
    
10. Career development.  Graduate students who have completed theses and dissertations under the guidance of faculty mentors in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology section have used their graduate training to pursue successful careers in business, government agencies, teaching, and academia.  Among our recent graduates, Karl Kosciuch (PhD, 2006) is a wildlife biologist with Tetra Tech, a consulting firm that provides technical services in the areas of resource management and infrastructure.  Duncan McKinley (PhD, 2007) is an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the USDA Forest Service.  Jim Pitman (MSc, 2003) and Christian Hagen (PhD, 2003) are upland gamebird biologists for state wildlife agencies in Kansas and Oregon.  Jackie Augustine (PhD, 2007) and Bala Thiagarajan (PhD, 2006) are teaching instructors at The Ohio State University at Lima and the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point.  Sarah Baer (PhD, 2001), Melinda Smith (PhD, 2002), and Katie Bertrand (PhD, 2007) are research faculty at the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Yale University, and South Dakota State University.  Additional information on students completing graduate projects at Konza Prairie are archived on the website for the Konza Prairie Biological Station.

How to Apply

Kansas State University | Division of Biology