Biology, PhD

Biology program

The biology program provides students the option of selecting a research track leading to the Master of Science (MS) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with a major in biology, or a non-research track leading to the Master of Arts (MA) with a major in biology. Students interested in obtaining both a master’s degree and certification to teach life sciences at the secondary level may select the non-research Master of Science with a major in biology (Teaching in the Life Sciences). Students pursuing a research degree have the opportunity to conduct research leading to a thesis or dissertation in a variety of specializations, including aquatic biology, aquatic toxicology, ecology, forensic biology, genetics, limnology, microbiology, neurobiology, physiology and plant biology. Visit www.biology.unt.edu for research interests of the faculty.

Doctor of Philosophy in Biology

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with a major in biology is a scholarly research program of 72 hours at the 5000 and 6000 levels beyond the bachelor’s degree or 42 hours beyond the master’s degree, including a 12-hour dissertation.

Doctoral degree requirements and procedures

Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Environmental Science programs

During the second long term/semester, the student and major professor select an advisory committee of four other faculty members, three of whom must be from the department faculty. The fourth may be from another UNT department, the Federation of North Texas Area Universities or another university if the member is granted adjunct status in the department. Additional members may be added to the committee as long as the majority of the committee are faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences. A copy of the form designating the committee should be filed with the graduate advising secretary before the student’s third long term/semester.
Before registering for the third long term/semester, the student, major professor and advisory committee prepare a formal degree plan of the courses to be taken by the student, including the language or tool- subject requirement. The degree plan consists of 42 hours for students with an approved master’s degree, or 72 hours for students having only a bachelor’s degree, including 12 hours of dissertation. Only 6 hours of special problems (6900-6910) may be counted toward the degree. The number of individual research (6940) hours counted toward the degree is determined by the advisor and advisory committee. A copy of the degree plan, signed by all committee members, should be submitted to the graduate advising secretary before the student’s third long term/semester. All course work must be at the 5000 and 6000 levels. Doctoral students may not receive graduate credit for any undergraduate course by taking the course under a 5000- or 6000-level designation, such as special problems. Undergraduate courses, except those which meet with graduate courses, are considered to be deficiencies and are not included in the graduate degree plan hours.
Students must satisfy the university language requirement or, in lieu of a foreign language, students may complete 6 hours of acceptable tool-subject courses specified by the major professor and the advisory committee. Exceptions to this requirement may be made for students whose native language is not English.
Before registering for the fifth long term/semester, a formal research proposal should be submitted to the major professor and advisory committee for approval. Students may not register for dissertation hours (6950) until a research proposal is filed with the graduate advising secretary for programs in biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, and environmental science.
Only following submission and approval of the research proposal may the student begin registering for dissertation hours. Once registered for dissertation, the student must maintain continuous enrollment in at least 3 hours of 6950 during each long term/semester until the dissertation is submitted to the graduate school. Failure to maintain continuous enrollment may invalidate previous 6950 credit or result in the student being dismissed from the degree program, unless granted an official leave of absence by the dean of the Toulouse Graduate School. If the student uses university facilities or faculty time or both during one or both summer terms/semesters, the student must also enroll for a minimum of 3 hours of 6950 during the summer.
Doctoral students may take written and oral candidacy examinations only after completion of all of their degree plan course requirements. Oral examinations may be taken only after the student has passed all written examinations. Both examinations must be completed at least nine months prior to graduation. The manner and form of the written and oral candidacy examinations are determined by the major professor, who is chair of the student’s advisory committee, and the committee members. The student must schedule a room for the examinations through the graduate advising secretary for biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, or environmental science. The committee members should send all written examinations to the graduate advising secretary at least one day prior to the scheduled date of the examination. The examining professor sets guidelines for administration of written examinations.
Following approval by the major professor, a draft of the dissertation must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks prior to the defense of the dissertation and final examination.
A formal seminar based on the dissertation must be presented by the student during the student’s final term/semester. The candidate must schedule a room for and publicly advertise the seminar and defense through the graduate advising secretary for biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, or environmental science.
Directly following the seminar, the candidate defends the dissertation in a final oral examination conducted by the major professor and advisory committee.
The candidate is responsible for completing all requirements and meeting all deadlines for graduation within the time specified by the graduate school.
A final copy of the dissertation must be submitted to the Department of Biological Sciences main office either bound or on disk in .pdf format.