Launch your career through the exploration of living organisms, large and small. Our faculty conduct cutting-edge research in a variety of areas, and as a graduate student in the Department of Biology, you will work at the forefront of your field.
In the Horstick Lab, research seeks to understand how environmental and sensory experiences shape neural circuits and animal behavior with the use of a variety of sophisticated genetic and imaging techniques.
The Department of Biology in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences offers graduate courses and research that lead to Masters of Science (MS) and Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) degrees.
A master's in biology provides ideal training for jobs in education, business, and policy that increasingly require science-based decisions. Students will graduate with excellent skills in the analysis, critical evaluation, and communication of research studies.
The goal of the doctorate program is to produce the next generation of independent researchers. Accordingly, PhD students are expected to emerge as creative, independent thinkers, having mastered both the art and skill of conducting thoughtful research, generating support for that research and communicating their findings to others.
Do you have questions about our graduate program? Would you like to visit campus? If so, contact Dr. Edward Brzostek, the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies
Professor and Co-Associate Chair for Graduate Studies
5228 Life Sciences Building
My research program seeks to understand how interactions between plants and soil microbes influence carbon and nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, and how these interactions will impact ecosystem responses to global change.
View Profile: Brzostek, EdwardAssociate Professor and Co-Associate Chair of Graduate Studies
4102 Life Sciences Building
Currently accepting new graduate students!
Prepare for careers in field, laboratory, and professional settings that rely on deep expertise in the biological sciences.
View Program: M.S. in BiologyPrepares students for post-graduate training and to assume a teaching or research position in academia, industry, government, or nonprofit agencies.
View Program: Ph.D. in BiologyYou will find many opportunities available to you as a graduate student
in our department. Our faculty and staff encourage questions, and we are all
committed to your success!
Here you will find information on how to apply, our application requirements, and program contacts.
Admissions InformationDetails about how the department and the university support graduate students with financial assistance and waivers.
Graduate Funding InfoProvides a forum for graduate student concerns and offers opportunities to interact with fellow students, faculty, and alumni.
Read More: Graduate Student AssociationImportant forms and policies you will need including the Graduate Checklist and Reporting guide, the Graduate Student Handbook, and progress reports.
Read More: Forms and PoliciesImportant graduation details for Eberly College of Arts and Sciences graduate students.
Read More: Graduation Forms and ProcessesInternational applicants must meet specific requirements to enroll in our graduate program or to serve as a graduate teaching assistant. Visit the WVU Global Affairs website to learn more.
Global Affairs WebsiteGrad Ed and Life helps you navigate the resources, funding, and professional training to ascend with pride, passion and purpose.
Read More: Office of Graduate Education and LifeMore than students in a class — we are Mountaineers on a mission.
Biology Ph.D.
“I would like to continue to research sustainable agricultural practices and one day become a professor”
Biology Ph.D.
“Biology can seem like a “simple” major, but there are so many different facets to it. I love that everything around us ties somehow into biology, and thus that makes it important to everyone.”
