Department NewsFrontiers Master's Program
Start the application process here
How to apply
Applications to the EEB Frontiers M.S. program should be submitted via the Rackham Graduate School's on-line application process. No application materials should be sent to the department. The EEB application deadline is February 1 for all required materials. Visit our application information page for more information.
Correspondence and information
For general inquiries about applying to graduate school in EEB, please contact:
Graduate Coordinator
eeb.gradcoord@umich.edu
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
2019 Natural Science Building
830 N. University Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048
Phone: (734) 764-1443
For specific inquiries about eligibility or content of the Frontiers program, please contact:
Mark D. Hunter, Professor
mdhunter@umich.edu
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
2019 Natural Science Building
830 N. University Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048
Program goals and admissions criteria
The NSF-funded Frontiers Master's Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan has three primary goals:
- To bring students to the study of ecology and evolution who might not otherwise have considered it.
- To give students opportunities to learn about the full range of subjects in ecology and evolution.
- To prepare students to succeed in top-rated Ph.D. programs in ecology and evolution.
- Show academic excellence and would benefit from a broad-based training program.
- Are members of a group under-represented in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology, including African-American, Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander.
- Are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
The Frontiers Program is looking for students who:
Why join the Frontiers Master's Program?
The Frontiers Master's Program is designed to attract a diverse student body interested in research within the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. Students explore the full range of research approaches in EEB – from molecular biology in labs, to field work in remote areas of the world, providing the foundation needed to continue on to a top-rated Ph.D. program.
Students become part of exciting research that has a positive impact and work with an internationally diverse student body representing dozens of countries. The program offers the opportunity to work with outstanding researchers and a faculty committed to ensuring an exciting and supportive environment for students.
The Frontier's program enables you to:
- Explore a wide range of questions in ecology and evolutionary biology and their applications to solving problems in areas such as sustainability, health, and conservation.
- Experience the full range of approaches to studying topics in ecology and evolutionary biology from field work in natural ecosystems to molecular biology in a laboratory.
- Complete a focused research project with a supportive research mentor.
- Interact with students in our Ph.D. and Traditional M.S. programs by sharing office space, attending seminars, discussion groups, fall retreat, teaching training, and core courses.
- Develop teaching skills and experience, with extensive training and ongoing support.
- Participate in research and career development workshops on topics such as career options, choosing a research topic, grant writing, presentation skills, research ethics, applying to Ph.D. programs.
- Receive mentoring and advice from the faculty program director and staff committed to enhancing the diversity of the discipline in general and our department in particular.
Frontiers M.S. program of study
For specific information, see the Frontiers Program of Study page.
Profile of a current Frontiers student: Marcella Baiz
Marcella Baiz investigated the relationship between substrate size (coarse versus fine sand) and antlion larvae who don’t “clean their plate,” known as partial prey consumption, for her summer research project at the U-M Biological Station.
Predators don’t always fully consume their prey. It is known that prey capture rate affects partial prey consumption behavior since predators can’t catch more food while they are eating, she explained. It is optimal for a predator to discard their meal before it has finished when prey are abundant, because they can easily catch another one. Antlions (Myrmeleon immaculatus) are sit-and-wait predators that make pitfall traps in the sand and wait for small, unsuspecting arthropods (their primary prey is ants) to fall in.A previous study suggested that substrate size would alter prey consumption behavior since ants can escape more easily from pits built in coarse sand. The idea was to induce expected lower than normal prey capture rates in coarse sand and normal capture rates in finer sand and examine percentage consumed from ants at a constant feeding rate (one ant per day).
A previous study was able to induce expected prey capture rates that were different from actual prey capture rates for antlions in two different sizes of substrate and found that partial prey consumption behavior differed between substrates. “I did not find the previously described relationship between substrate size and partial prey consumption, but rather found that prey size was the best predictor of percent prey consumption,” Baiz said.
She previously attended Grand Valley State University where she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in biology (concentration in animal biology) and a minor in environmental studies.
Baiz’s undergraduate research at GVSU involved parental nest defense behavior in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) under the supervision of her mentor Professor Michael P. Lombardo. Her mentor suggested she attend EEB’s Graduate Preview Day at the University of Michigan. The event was for students interested in graduate studies in ecology and evolution at U-M and that’s where Baiz learned of the Frontiers program.
“I enjoy teaching discussion for Introduction to Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and building my teaching skills at GSI training sessions,” Baiz said. “I'm working hard in the field ecology course and I am excited to have started my lab rotation working with Liliana Cortés-Ortiz.”Why study ecology and evolutionary biology?
The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology embraces education and research on virtually all aspects of biodiversity, including the origins and history of species ranging from bacteria to humans, the processes by which this diversity has evolved, and the ecological context in which this evolution takes place.
These basic sciences underlie some of the most important applied sciences in the world today, such as global climate change, sustainable agriculture, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, invasive and exotic species, conservation biology, natural resource management, and evolution of pesticide and antibiotic resistance.
Our focus on a wide diversity of organisms and how they function in the complex environments of the natural world offers a unique perspective among the life science units at the University of Michigan. In addition, the outstanding and innovative academic environment combines with a diverse campus community and a central location in dynamic Ann Arbor to make it one of the nation's most desirable universities.
Consult this list of faculty accepting students for training in their labs.
Research facilitiesRead about EEB's varied research, field and laboratory facilities.
Funding
The Frontiers Master's Program in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan is a fully-funded master's program. This means that students in good standing receive a stipend, tuition and health care for two years at rates determined by University of Michigan policies. Support is available for four incoming students each academic year. For more information on funding, see the Frontiers Program of Study page or check out a select list of more funding opportunities.
The U-M Frontiers Master's Program in EEB is funded by:
- The National Science Foundation
- The Michigan AGEP Alliance (Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate)
- U-M Rackham Graduate School
- U-M College of Literature, Science and the Arts
- The U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
