[Updated Sep 2010]

For Prospective Graduate Students:

Thanks for your interest in our lab!

The lab is only as good as the students who work here. Grad students in the lab work on various topics on the evolutionary biology of amphibians and reptiles. Currently, most students are working with frogs. This partially reflects the recent funding in the lab. But past students have worked on other groups such as lizards and snakes. For example, John Wiens, Tod Reeder, Steve Poe, and Jim McGuire did their dissertation work on lizard systematics.

Almost recent research in the lab has involved phylogeny-based research questions, which lead to studies of behavioral ecology, mimicry systems, phylogeography, evolution of visual and acoustic signals, taxonomy, bioinformatics, and biodiversity. Students usually start by getting their feet wet in an existing project, and use that experience to develop their own interests.

I'm primarily interested in students who want academic careers in research. If you are interested in a PhD primarily as a means to a position at a teaching university, or as an administrator, then other programs will better meet your needs.

The reality is that most current research in phylogenetics is based on DNA sequences, and collecting these data requires a moderate degree of funding. So, as is the case in most labs, students who choose to work on research that is not directly related to funded projects will need to find sources of funds to support their research. This can be done, of course; it just requires a bit of extra effort.

Admission to the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior program at UT is highly competitive. Students interested in working in the lab should contact me in September-October, before submitting any application materials. It's not necessary to have a fully developed research project, but you should have some general idea of what you'd like to work on.

Both intelligence and motivation are important for success. Grad school isn't a 9-5 M-F life! If you need to completely leave behind your research after 5pm and on weekends, then this lab isn't the best place for you.

The deadline for application is 1 Dec. You can find specific information here:
http://www.biosci.utexas.edu/graduate/eeb/prospective.aspx

Contact me if you need more information.

Dave