Research
Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory: Graduate Studies in Vertebrate Paleontology
Overview
The Department of Geological Sciences welcomes qualified applicants for its M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Vertebrate Paleontology. Aspirants for the Ph.D. degree are not required to obtain or hold a Master's Degree, although in most cases we recommend that they complete a Masters degree prior to entering our Ph.D. program. Entrance into our program is highly competitive. We strongly encourage prospective applicants to contact departmental faculty prior to applying. Our graduate program in Vertebrate Paleontology is interdisciplinary. Pertinent courses are offered in the Department of Geological Sciences and in several other departments. Graduate students interact with Departmental faculty and staff and those in many other departments on campus, and in several associated institutions. Our program has a long history of close relationships with the Texas Memorial Museum, UT School of Biological Sciences, the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, and other allied professional organizations.
Students entering our graduate program typically hold bachelors or masters degrees in either geological or biological sciences. Graduate training and research in our program can be directed toward either biological or geological problems, but all students are exposed to fundamental training in both areas. The growing discipline of informatics is another strength of our program and can form the subject of graduate research in certain cases. Entering students with background deficiencies in any of these areas make up the deficiencies with formal courses taken during the first two years of graduate study.
