Various facilities for the study of molecular evolution at the level of proteins and DNA are available to committee students, as are several darkroom facilities and student computer centers that include commonly used programs for text processing and data analysis, and a complete library for phylogeny construction and analysis. In the Chicago area, committee students also have used the rich resources available at Lincoln Park Zoo, the Shedd Aquarium, the Morton Arboretum, and the many parks and lands managed by the local county forest preserve and park districts. The University of Chicago is a member of the Organization of Tropical Studies. Doctoral students in the committee have taken courses in tropical ecology and conducted research in Costa Rica through this affiliation. Recent evolutionary biology students have also conducted domestic research at a variety of field sites, including the Southwest Research Station of the American Museum of Natural History, Kellogg Biological Station, Friday Harbor, Rocky Mountain Biological Station, Highlands Biological Station, and the Indiana Dunes National Park.
International research is conducted on every continent.
Program of Study Most students in the Committee on Evolutionary Biology complete their Ph.D. program in about five years, though students entering with masters degrees may finish in slightly less time. The first and second years consist largely of course work and individual reading and research courses, aiming toward successful completion of the preliminary examination and defense of a dissertation research proposal by the end of the second year of study. Entering students are expected to have received a broad undergraduate training in biology and a good background in related quantitative subjects, such as chemistry, statistics and calculus. Students who are admitted with gaps in these areas may be required to remedy their deficiencies by taking appropriate courses during their first two years in the graduate program. The committee maintains a Student Advisory Committee, which meets three times a year with each of the first and second year students to advise them on courses available, arbitrate on which courses meet the committee's course distribution requirements, and otherwise help students keep on track towards candidacy.