Doctoral Studies
The Center for Conservation Biology is a lab group within the Department of Biological Sciences. Doctoral students working in the CCB are in one of two programs: either the Dept. of Biological Sciences doctoral program, or occasionally, the Interdisciplinary Program on Environment and Resources (IPER).
Doctoral students work under the formal supervision of Prof. Paul Ehrlich and usually also with either Drs. Gretchen Daily or Carol Boggs. All current student research effort is aimed at forecasting changes in biodiversity and in the delivery of ecosystem services, using both empirical and theoretical approaches. A major focus is on countryside biogeography, especially on the capacity of human-dominated landscapes to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Nonetheless, a second long-standing possible student focus is on host plant interactions, and the influence of spatial heterogeneity and environmental change on population dynamics in checkerspot butterflies, especially Euphydryas editha. Finally, there is ample scope for students to develop interdisciplinary, policy-oriented approaches to environmental problems as part of a thesis. We encourage students interested in these broad research areas to apply.
Competition is stiff for admission either to the Dept. of Biological Sciences or to IPER doctoral program, due to limitations on the pool of graduate fellowship funds. Potential students should apply for NSF and other pre-doctoral fellowships. Although receipt of such a fellowship is not a guarantee of admission, it can sometimes help.
We give preference to students with a strong quantitative background, in areas such as calculus (through differential equations), linear algebra, basic statistics, probability theory, and stochastic processes. Other skills, such as facility with computer programming and geographic information systems, are most helpful. Although students certainly can be admitted with an limited quantitative background, it is best to arrive as prepared as possible, to enable a rapid start on doctoral research.
For further information on the application process, see the Biological Sciences graduate admissions or the IPER web site. To find out more about activities of current CCB doctoral students, check out the CCB staff web site. Also see the Stanford Institute for the Environment site for related opportunities throughout the University.
