[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” custom_padding=”16px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][dsm_text_divider header=”Doctoral Studies” text_alignment=”left” color=”#E71939″ divider_position=”flex-end” divider_weight=”5px” admin_label=”Doctoral Studies” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Open Sans|600|||||||” header_text_color=”#000000″ header_font_size=”30px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/dsm_text_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Description” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ text_font=”Open Sans||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” header_4_font=”Open Sans|600|||on||||” text_orientation_tablet=”left” text_orientation_phone=”” text_orientation_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Although the various CUNY senior colleges do not grant doctoral degrees, PhD students who enroll at the CUNY Graduate Center<\/a> can conduct their dissertation research under the advisement of QC Biology faculty members.<\/p>\n Most PhD students in QC Biology labs are enrolled in one of four PhD Biology<\/a> subprograms: Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior (EEB); Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCD); Neuroscience; and Plant Sciences. However, some enrol in other PhD Programs, notably Psychology (Subprograms in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience; and Cognition and Comparative Psychology), Biochemistry, or Earth and Environmental Sciences.<\/p>\n Please refer to the Bulletin of the Graduate Center<\/a> for information on applying, financial aid, and courses.<\/p>\n The QC Biology Department has excellent research\u00a0facilities, including the Core Facility for Imaging, Cellular and Molecular Biology<\/a>, well-equipped research labs, a greenhouse, animal facilities, cold-room and environmental control units, marine and fresh-water aquaria, scanning and transmission electron microscopes, and computer access. Our doctoral faculty do research across a wide range of topics<\/a> and in a wide variety of systems around the world, as exemplified by the work of Dr Sebastian Alvarado (see photo and caption at right).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/bio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/117\/2025\/10\/Doctoral_studies_img_446wide.png” alt=”PhD student Matthew Pero\u0161 and Thomas (a local field assistant) are pictured in a boat on Lake Tanganyika in Zambia, They are photographing cichlids.” title_text=”Doctoral_studies_img_446wide” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-17px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Matthew Pero\u0161, at left, is doing his PhD with Dr Alvarado, studying Africa’s endemic cichlids. Here, he and his local field assistant, Thomas (at right) are photographing <\/span>Astatotilapia burtoni<\/em> in Z<\/span>ambia’s L<\/span>ake Tanganyika <\/span>to investigate how cichlids’ colors change with seasons.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Description” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ text_font=”Open Sans||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” header_4_font=”Open Sans|600|||on||||” min_height=”1247.5px” custom_margin=”-35px|||||” text_orientation_tablet=”left” text_orientation_phone=”” text_orientation_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Opportunities are enhanced by affiliation with other New York City (NYC) institutions and cooperative efforts with other CUNY divisions and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). PhD-level courses can be taken at the Graduate Center, QC or any other CUNY college affiliated with the Graduate Center (Brooklyn College<\/a>, City College<\/a>, College of Staten Island<\/a>, Hunter College<\/a>, Lehman College<\/a>). Four other institutions in the NYC area are associated with the CUNY PhD program in Biology, including the AMNH<\/a>, Brooklyn Botanic Garden<\/a>, the Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities<\/a>, and The New York Botanical Garden<\/a>. Our faculty and doctoral students collaborate and interact with researchers at academic and other research institutions in NYC, elsewhere in the United States and abroad. ºì¶¹ÊÓƵ is near many habitats in urban, forest, freshwater, brackish, coastal and marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n All CUNY PhD students receive guaranteed financial support (stipend and full tuition) for five years. This financial support is covered by the CUNY Graduate Center<\/a> in year 1 (when PhD students mainly take classes) and by the faculty mentor and campus in subsequent years. Consult other relevant PhD programs for their policies.<\/p>\n Below are links to CUNY PhD subprograms that QC Biology faculty are affiliated with.<\/p>\n Ecology\/Evolution\/Behavior<\/a> Molecular\/Cell\/Developmental Biology<\/a> Neuroscience Subprogram<\/a> Biochemistry PhD Program<\/a>
Sebastian Alvarado
Mitchell Baker
Joanna Coleman
John Dennehy
David Lahti
John Waldman<\/p>\n
Sebastian Alvarado
John Dennehy
Tim Dubuc
Alicia Mel\u00e9ndez
Cathy Savage-Dunn
Maral Tajerian
Daniel Weinstein<\/p>\n
Sebastian Alvarado
Maral Tajerian<\/p>\n
Karl Fath
Alicia Mel\u00e9ndez
Daniel Weinstein<\/p>\n