Doctorate

QC Biology PhD student Sounak Ghosh Roy with fellow Zakeri lab student researchers Jessica Jimenez and Joss Montblanc

We offer programs of courses and research leading to the Ph.D in affiliation with the CUNY Graduate Center. Aspiring biologists might be interested in the PhD Program in Biology (including Subprograms in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology; Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior; Neuroscience; and Plant Sciences); the PhD Program in Psychology (including biology-relevant Subprograms in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience; and Cognition and Comparative Psychology); the PhD Program in Biochemistry; or the PhD Program in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Refer to the Bulletin of the Graduate Center for application, financial aid, and course information for the Ph.D. program.

The QC Biology Department has excellent research facilities, including the Core Facility for Imaging, Cellular and Molecular Biology, well-equipped research laboratories, 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 engage in a diverse range of research.

Opportunities are enhanced by affiliation with other city institutions and cooperative efforts with other divisions of the City University of New York and the American Museum of Natural History. Graduate courses can be taken from colleges that are affiliated with relevant CUNY Ph.D. programs, including Brooklyn College, City College, College of Staten Island, Hunter College, Lehman College, and Queens College. Four other institutions in the New York City area are associated with the CUNY Ph.D. program in Biology, including the American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, and The New York Botanical Garden. Our faculty and doctoral students collaborate and interact with researchers at other units such as those at NYU, Columbia, Rockefeller, Fordham, and several area hospitals. Queens College is close to many habitats, including a variety of field and forest types, ponds, streams, and salt marsh, marine and beach ecosystems.

Under the Biology PhD Program, the CUNY Graduate Center provides the first year of support for incoming students, after which the mentor and campus provide financial support. Incoming students are offered guaranteed 5-year financial support packages including a stipend and tuition paid. Consult other relevant PhD programs for their policies. Below are links to CUNY doctoral programs and subprograms relevant to biologists, and lists of participating QC faculty.

Prof. Dan Weinstein (foreground) with (left to right) recent Biology PhD graduate Ye Jin, undergraduate alumna Riddhi Chauhan, and recent Biology PhD graduate Sushma Teegala.