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About UCMP : Paleontology education at Berkeley
Graduate programs in paleobiology
Requirements
Requirements for admission for graduate study vary by department, and students are advised to obtain current information by writing to the department of their choice, reading the General Catalog of UC Berkeley, or visiting the department's website (see Application process below). An undergraduate major does not dictate which department a student may enter. Thus, for example, geology students with interests in paleontology may apply to the Department of Integrative Biology or Geography, as well as Earth and Planetary Science.
All entering graduate students are generally expected to have met or to meet the undergraduate requirements for the department they enter. Ph.D. students must complete their oral examination before the end of their second year of study, write a dissertation based on original research in paleontology broadly defined, and be in official residence at Berkeley for at least two years. Normative time for a Ph.D. is 5 years. Master's programs are offered in Earth and Planetary Science. Beyond those general requirements, graduate curricula are designed by the student and her/his faculty guidance committee to assure a broad training and expertise specific to the student's career interests in paleontology.
Courses will be selected from advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in evolutionary biology, paleontology, ecology, systematics, vertebrate, invertebrate, protist and plant biology and paleontology, molecular biology, field geology and biology, sedimentary geology, stratigraphy, geochemistry, oceanography, statistics, or other appropriate subjects in any department at Berkeley.
Course offerings
Geography, Earth and Planetary Science, and Integrative Biology each offer courses (100 series are upper division; 200 are graduate) that make up the Paleontology Program. A selection of these and other courses will be made by the student and her/his committee that will constitute the paleobiology program of study. See the Department Web Sites for complete listings of courses, some of which also may be of interest to paleontology graduate students. Listed below are the specific departmental requirements for admission to graduate study and a selection of courses of interest to paleontology students.
- Geography
Entrance requirements: An undergraduate degree in biology, geology, geography, a recent General GRE examination, and a recent pass on the TOEFL examination for foreign applicants.
133. Islands and Oceans
143. Coastal Landforms
147. Climatic Change
148. Biogeography
149. Coral Reefs and Islands
180. Field Methods for Physical Geography
188. Geographic Information Systems
257. Topics in Climatology
260. Topics in Biogeography
261. Field and Laboratory Techniques in Quaternary Paleoecology
266. Oceans and Coasts
- Earth and Planetary Science
Entrance requirements: An undergraduate degree, usually in geological science, a recent GRE examination in Geology, 2 years of mathematics and one year of general chemistry and physics, and a recent pass on the TOEFL examination for foreign applicants.
101. Field Geology and Digital Mapping
107. Global Tectonics
115. Stratigraphy and Earth History
116. Structural Geology and Tectonics
118. Advanced Field Course
119. Geologic Field Studies
131. Geochemistry
145. Geological Oceanography
185. Marine Geobiology
212. Advanced Stratigraphy and Tectonics
241. Geochemical Approaches to Modern and Past Environments and Climates
262 and 264. Sedimentary Rocks and Processes
401. Use of the Electron Microprobe
402. Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Diffraction
- Integrative Biology
Entrance requirements: An undergraduate degree in biology, geology, geography, anthropology, molecular biology, or similar field; a recent General GRE examination and the GRE Area exam in Biology, Geology or other appropriate field; a recent pass on the TOEFL examination for foreign applicants.
100B. Principles of Biodiversity
101. Diversity of Plants and Fungi
103. Invertebrate Zoology and Paleontology
104. Natural History of the Vertebrates
105. General Ecology
106. Biological Oceanography
107. Principles of Plant Morphology
108. Principles of Paleontology
130. Evolutionary and Functional Vertebrate Morphology
134. Prinicples of Integrative Morphology
135. The Mechanics of Organisms
142. Introduction to Human Osteology
154. Plant Population and Community Ecology
155. Ecosystem Ecology
160. Evolution
165. Molecular Evolution
168. Systematics of Vascular Plants
173. Mammalogy
174. Ornithology
175. Herpetology
180. Micropaleontology
181. Evolution of Plants in Geological Time
182. Invertebrate Paleontology
183. Evolution of the Vertebrates
184. Morphology of the Vertebrate Skeleton
185. Human Paleontology
186. Evolution of Hominid Behavior
200A. Principles of Phylogenetics: Systematics
200B. Principles of Phylogenetics. Ecology and Evolution
234. Seminar on Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles
259. Advanced Paleoecology
264. Seminar in Evolutionary Biology of the Vertebrates
267. Evolution and Systematics of Mammals
268. Seminar in Evolution Above the Species Level
280. Seminar in Paleontological Research
281. Seminar in Evolution
282. Paleontology and Evolution of Amphibians, Reptiles and Birds
284. Advanced Stratigraphic Paleontology
285. Advanced Marine Micropaleontology
286. Seminars in Paleontology
Application process
Prospective students should correspond with a faculty member in their area of interest before applying to any graduate department. Applications should be directed to the department most closely associated with their interests or the faculty member with whom they choose to work. To find out more about the paleobiology program and departmental requirements or to request an application, use the contact information below:
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