Information for Prospective Graduate Students

I am willing to accept both Masters and Ph.D. students, and I am open to students who want to work on male and/or female reproductive behavior in a variety of systems. While it usually isn't practical for a Masters student to work on a different system than mine, I have no problem with Ph.D. students working on different systems. I would not, however, be an appropriate advisor for someone who wanted to work on marine, avian or mammalian systems. I don't expect Ph.D. students to have defined a dissertation project before they arrive. Instead, I think that a Ph.D. student should spent his or her first year reading and thinking as extensively as possible, with the goal of having a tentative dissertation project defined by the end of the spring semester. It takes time to learn what is and is not known about a field, and what interesting questions have yet to be addressed (even better, what questions people should be asking but are not). While defining their dissertation project, students have the opportunity to do side-projects with the field crickets if they are interested.

Our Program

We have approximately sixteen faculty members interested in ecology and evolution. We are particularly strong in behavioral ecology; six of our faculty members work on the ecology and evolution of animal behavior (Bachman, Basolo, Gibson, Hebets, Kamil and Wagner). You can view a list of our faculty members and their research interests at: http://www.biosci.unl.edu/faculty/facultylist.asp.

Graduate student training in the School of Biological Sciences takes place within graduate emphasis groups (GREGs). The Ecology, Evolution and Behavior (EEB) GREG sponsors a series of core courses for new students (an ecology course, an evolution course and a professionalism course). New Ph.D. students are required to take both the ecology and evolution core courses, and they are strongly encouraged to take the professionalism course. In addition, the EEB GREG sponsors two seminars. We have a research design seminar in which students give presentations on research that they plan to conduct. This is an excellent forum to get feedback on your research from people with a diverse array of interests before you actually do it. All students are required to attend and are required to present once a year. We also have an ecology and evolution seminar for the presentation of finished research. This seminar includes outside speakers, UNL faculty members, and students who are defending their theses or dissertations.

Fellowships are available for the best applicants. Highly competitive students are encouraged to apply through the Life Sciences Graduate Recruitment Program rather than through Biological Sciences. This program provides one year fellowships for new students and automatic admission to Biological Sciences after the first year. Other fellowships are available (such as GAANN fellowships). Applicants will be automatically considered for these other fellowships.

How to Apply

If you are interested in applying to work with me, you should send me an email message outlining your interests and goals (). In addition, you should send the following to me by mail: a copy of your transcripts, a copy of your GRE scores, a copy of your statement of interests and copies of any papers (unofficial copies of the transcripts and GRE scores are fine). These should be sent separate from your formal application materials, and they should be mailed to: William Wagner, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0118.

The deadline for applications is December 15, and we fly our best applicants to Lincoln for interviews between late January and mid February. You can find graduate application information at: http://www.biosci.unl.edu/grad/how_to_apply.asp.

Information for Prospective Undergraduate Students

Undergraduates regularly work in my lab. While I occasionally have funds to pay undergraduates, most students work in the lab on work study funding, on UCARE funding, or for research credit (BIOS 296 or 498). I am particularly interested in students who are interested in animal behavior and/or evolutionary biology and who are Biological Sciences majors, although I am willing to consider students with other interests and other majors. If you are interested in obtaining research experience, and want to talk to me about the possibility of working in the lab, you should email or phone me to make an appointment (email: ; phone: 472-0742).

Student responsibilities and opportunities depend on a student's position. The primary responsibility of work study students and paid assistants is care of our cricket stocks, although they also assist with experiments. The primary responsibility of students working on UCARE funding or for academic credit is to assist with experiments, although they also help with the maintenance work.