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Graduate Programs

Committee on Evolutionary Biology

"When I was searching for PhD programs, I found that the Darwinian Cluster at the University of Chicago offered a great diversity of resources, including faculty with established field sites as well as the Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole. This allows me to conduct interdisciplinary research that spans the fields of marine biology, biogeochemistry, and microbial ecology. Ultimately, what drew me to Chicago over other programs was that it really supports students as independent researchers, providing the the flexibility and freedom to pursue whatever you want to study, in any environment. Through the Committee on Evolutionary Biology, I have had the privilege to spend three summers studying interactions between kelp (brown algae) and microbial communities at a very remote field site in Washington. So far, my time in the Darwinian Cluster has proved to be exceptionally career enriching."

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Brooke Weigel

PhD Evolutionary Biology 2021

The Committee on Evolutionary Biology (CEB) is an interdepartmental and inter-institutional graduate student training program at the University of Chicago dedicated to the study of evolutionary biology in its broadest sense. Faculty and students in the program are engaged in interdisciplinary studies of evolutionary biology at time scales that range from single generations to the entire history of life, and at organizational scales from the molecular to the global.

As a student in the CEB PhD program, you may pursue interdisciplinary research that does not readily fall within a single department’s purview. CEB members conduct research on most major groups of organisms, and in most ecosystems. CEB students have access to numerous field sites and laboratories, research funds for pilot work, and an exceptional range of scientific and technical expertise.

Approximately 65 faculty associates in the CEB represent all four UChicago graduate divisions (Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities) and seven institutions outside of the University of Chicago (Argonne National LaboratoryBrookfield Zoo, the Chicago Botanic GardenLincoln Park ZooMorton Arboretum, the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood’s Hole, and the Field Museum). CEB has produced over 140 graduates who are now working around the world in universities, museums, zoos, and governmental and non-governmental agencies. 

The CEB program includes training in:

Faculty in Evolutionary Biology Program Website

  • 65

    Faculty

  • 37

    Current Students

  • Affiliated with 4 Divisions and 7 Institutions