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Frontiers Master’s Program team wins diversity award
Congratulations to the Frontiers Master’s Program team for winning the inaugural University of Michigan Distinguished Diversity Leaders Award. The team includes: Professor Deborah Goldberg; Professor Mark Hunter, program chair; Professor Beverly Rathcke, associate chair for graduate studies (at the time); Christy Byks-Jazayeri, graduate coordinator assistant and recruiter. The award was created to honor those who stand out by demonstrating extraordinary commitment and dedication to diversity at U-M. An event is planned for May 5 to recognize the winners. The prize is $2,500 for professional development activities.
Aim high!
Join the Frontiers Master's Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan!
Why join the Frontiers Master's Program?
- This NEW program is designed to attract a diverse student body interested in ecology and evolutionary biology research.
- This program gives you the foundation you need to continue on to a top-rated Ph.D. program.
- You’ll have the chance to explore the full range of research approaches in EEB—from molecular biology in labs to field work in remote areas of the world.
- Be part of exciting research that has a positive impact.
- You’ll join an internationally diverse student body—from over a dozen countries.
- Our program offers you the opportunity to work with outstanding researchers.
- You will study with faculty committed to ensuring an exciting and supportive environment for all students.
Profile of a current Frontiers student: Rachel Hessler |
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All of us are living in the gutter, some of us are looking at the stars. –Oscar Wilde
“Why is this quote relevant to research in evolutionary ecology? It means that if everyone is looking in one direction then a good researcher is obligated to look in the opposite direction.” Rachel Hessler cites the research on the behavior of animals as compared to plants. “When an animal is threatened, there are two primary directions for response: fight or flight. However, in plant behavior when a plant is being consumed by an herbivore, research has focused on plant defenses (fight) and has scarcely acknowledged the opposing branch of flight (dispersal).”
Hessler is interested in induced dispersal in response to seed predation. Her research design addresses the question, “Can heavy seed predation induce phenotypic plasticity in dispersal traits of a plant?” Her model system is the common weed, Queen Anne’s Lace, and a recently introduced paleartic moth, Sitochroa palealis. Queen Anne’s Lace is ideal for her hypothesis because it has sequentially maturing umbels (an inflorescence of short flower stalks that spread from a common point). By allowing and preventing seed predation on the primary umbel, she compares differences in dispersal traits in the seeds of the secondary umbel such as appendage length, penetrability, dormancy, and mammal hide adhesion.
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| “The beauty of the Frontiers Master’s Program is that students are encouraged to keep an open mind in regard to research focus,” writes Hessler. “For example, I arrived at the University of Michigan from a small private university having never worked in lab. While I have experience caving, diving, volunteering at a whale research center, and benthic macroinvertebrate water quality assessment, I did not have the skills to independently design and complete research of high academic quality. Frontiers allowed me to enter graduate school and gain exposure to research techniques utilizing a model system to answer big questions of evolutionary significance. I work with a weed and a worm to consider if induced dispersal happens. If so, what are the consequences for population ecology, geographic mosaics, and community dynamics?”
On a personal note, she has enjoyed eating Michigan berries in the backyard with her daughter Terra. Her biggest personal accomplishment this season has been learning to ride and maintain her motorcycle. “Riding a motorcycle is a form of meditation and requires complete awareness. And technically, it is a form of dispersal.”
She graduated summa cum from Shenandoah University at the age of 34 with various accolades. “But that doesn’t matter, science belongs to the people, all people,” she writes. “With climate change and various other sentinels of resource mismanagement we no longer can afford to distinguish between those who can participate in science and those who can’t.”
Photo caption: Insect exclosures and enclosures Hessler created from organza bags at 100 sites in and around the George Reserve. |
Why study ecology and evolutionary biology?
The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology embraces education and research on virtually all aspects of biodiversity, including the origins and history of species ranging from bacteria to humans, the processes by which this diversity has evolved, and the ecological context in which this evolution takes place.
These basic sciences underlie some of the most important applied sciences in the world today, such as global climate change, sustainable agriculture, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, invasive and exotic species, conservation biology, natural resource management, and evolution of pesticide and antibiotic resistance.
Why study EEB at the University of Michigan?
Our focus on a wide diversity of organisms and how they function in the complex environments of the natural world offers a unique perspective among the life science units at the University of Michigan. In addition, the outstanding and innovative academic environment combines with a diverse campus community and a central location in dynamic Ann Arbor to make it one of the nation’s most desirable universities.
What can you study?
Comparative biology and systematics is concerned with the inference of phylogenetic (genealogical) relationships among species, which in turn provide a foundation for many inferences about the history of changes in their characteristics.
Ecology embraces all aspects of the relationships between organisms and their environment, which includes both biotic and abiotic components.
Evolutionary processes include the study of the causes of genetic change and the resulting organization of genes into genomes, genetic variation within and between populations, and understanding how genetic changes lead to changes in phenotype.
Paleobiology includes the study of how long-term physical changes of ancient global geography and climate have affected the evolution of plants and animals, how ecosystems have responded to these changes, and how these responses have affected today’s patterns of biodiversity.
Organismal biology involves the analysis of physiology, morphology, and behavior of individuals, how these characteristics interact with the environment, and how they differ among organisms within a species and among species.
Find out more about the research conducted by faculty in our department, interdisciplinary linkages in the department, and our research facilities.
Program description
The Frontiers Master’s Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan has three primary goals:
a) To bring students to the study of ecology and evolution who might not otherwise have considered it.
b) To give students opportunities to learn about the full range of subjects in ecology and evolution.
c) To prepare students to succeed in top-rated Ph.D. programs in ecology and evolution.
The Frontier’s program enables you to:
- Explore a wide range of questions in ecology and evolutionary biology and their applications to solving problems in areas such as sustainability, health, and conservation.
- Experience the full range of approaches to studying topics in ecology and evolutionary biology from field work in natural ecosystems to molecular biology in a laboratory.
- Complete a focused research project with a supportive research mentor.
- Integrate with students in our Ph.D. program by sharing office space,
attending seminars, discussion groups, fall retreat, teaching training, and core courses.
- Develop teaching skills and experience, with extensive training and
ongoing support.
- Participate in research and career development workshops on topics such as career options, choosing a research topic, grant writing, presentation skills, research ethics, applying to Ph.D. programs.
- Receive mentoring and advice from the faculty program director and staff committed to enhancing the diversity of the discipline in general and our department in particular.
Want to find out more about the Frontiers program? Check out the Frontiers program requirements.
Funding
The Frontiers Master’s Program in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan is a fully-funded master’s program. This means that students in good standing receive a stipend, tuition and health care for two years at rates determined by University of Michigan policies. Support will be available for four incoming students each academic year.
For more information about funding opportunities, check out our Funding webpage.
Eligibility and selection criteria
Students will be admitted into the Frontiers program based on a) their academic promise, b) their potential to benefit from a broad-based training program, and c) their contribution to enhancing the diversity of students in the disciplines of ecology and evolution.
This last criterion will be assessed by the students’ background in one or more of the following areas:
- An educational, cultural, or geographic background that is underrepresented in ecology & evolutionary biology.
- Demonstrated commitment to fostering diversity.
- Experience of financial hardship.
- First-generation U.S. citizen OR first-generation college graduate.
Students who do not meet any of these criteria are encourage to apply to our Traditional Master’s Program in EEB.
Application information
 Are you interested in applying to an EEB program?
Application materials need to be sent to both EEB and Rackham Graduate School. Applications are due February 1 for the summer term.
Contact information
For general inquiries about applying to graduate school in EEB, please contact:
Christy Byks-Jazayeri
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
2019 Natural Science Building
830 N. University Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048
Phone: (734) 764-1443
For specific inquiries about eligibility or content of the Frontiers program, please contact:
Mark D. Hunter, Professor
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
2019 Natural Science Building
830 N. University Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048
Interested in learning more about happenings at U-M?
Check out our Web site further or read about the
U-M SEEDS chapter (The Ecological Society of America Strategies for Ecology, Education, Development, and Sustainability)
College of Literature, Science and the Arts events
U-M events
The U-M Frontiers Master’s Program in EEB is funded by:
The Michigan AGEP Alliance
(Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate)
U-M Rackham Graduate School
U-M College of Literature, Science and the Arts
Other useful links:
American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU)
Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
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