Biology

Department Chairperson: Dr. Kaius Helenurm
Graduate Program Director: Dr. Mark Dixon

Department of Biology
Churchill-Haines, Room 191
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
Phone: 605-677-5211
biology@usd.edu
http://www.usd.edu/biology

FACULTY

Professors:

Hugh B. Britten, Ph.D., Montana State University. Specializations: Population Genetics, Evolution, and Conservation Biology.
Kaius Helenurm, Ph.D., Washington University-St. Louis. Specializations: Plant Conservation Genetics and Plant Evolution on Islands.
Karen L. Koster, Ph.D., Cornell University. Specializations: Plant Physiology, Cell Biology, and Environmental Stress Tolerance in Plants.
Paula M. Mabee, Ph.D., Duke University. Specializations: Bioinformatics, and Fish Evolution and Development.
Kenneth J. Renner, Ph.D., University of Kansas. Specializations: Neuroendocrinology and Reproductive Physiology.
Daniel A. Soluk, Ph.D., University of Toronto–Ontario, Canada. Specializations: Aquatic Ecology, Conservation Biology, and Endangered Species.
Cliff H. Summers, Ph.D., University of Colorado. Specializations: Neuroendocrinology, Reproductive Biology, and Vertebrate Stress Physiology.
David L. Swanson, Ph.D., Oregon State University. Specializations: Physiological Ecology of Vertebrates, Ornithology, and Vertebrate Cold Adaptation.

Associate Professors:

Mark D. Dixon, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison. Specializations: Landscape and Community Ecology, Plant Ecology, Riparian Systems.

Assistant Professors:

Abdelali Barakat, Ph.D., University of Paris XI, France. Specializations: Plant Genetics and Genomics, Evolution, small RNA-mediated Gene Regulation, Bioinformatics.
Meghann E. Jarchow, Ph.D., Iowa State University. Specializations: Sustainability, Bioenergy Cropping Systems, Agroecology, Prairie Ecology.
Jacob L. Kerby, Ph.D., University of California-Davis. Specializations: Ecotoxicology, Conservation Biology, and Behavioral Ecology.
Megan L. Porter, Ph.D., Brigham Young University. Specializations: Molecular Evolution of Vision, Phototransduction, Sensory Genomics.
Jeff Wesner, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma. Specializations: Food Webs, Aquatic Ecology, Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Ecotoxicology.

DEGREES:

Master of Arts (non–thesis)
Master of Science (thesis)
Doctor of Philosophy

Program Description

The University of South Dakota’s Department of Biology is one of the largest departments in the College of Arts and Sciences and employs fourteen full-time, tenured (or tenure-track) faculty. The research interests of the faculty (see above) encompass the areas of aquatic and terrestrial ecology, conservation biology, sustainability, ecotoxicology, plant and animal physiology, molecular biology, neuroscience, cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, and evolution. Particular strengths of the department are conservation biology, environmental stress physiology, neuroscience, and population and evolutionary biology. The Biology faculty collaborates with faculty in the Sanford School of Medicine, the USD Missouri River Institute, the USD Sustainability Program, and at South Dakota State University as well as with colleagues at other institutions nationally and internationally. For information about the department, the faculty, and graduate programs, please consult www.usd.edu/arts-and-sciences/biology/graduate.cfm.

The M.S. and M.A. programs in Biology are recommended for students with professional goals in biology, such as continuing graduate education, working for a federal or state agency, securing employment in industry, or teaching in secondary and higher education. The M.S. degree requires a thesis. The M.A. does not. The Ph.D. in Biological Science is intended for students that are interested in careers in research and/or academia.

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

Baccalaureate degree or an equivalent degree from an institution with full regional accreditation for that degree. An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better, based on 4.0 scale, is required for full admission.
The GRE General test is required for those seeking the M.S. and Ph.D. in Biology. Although there is no formal minimum score required for admission, a 40^th percentile score or better in the verbal and quantitative sections of the general test is recommended. The GRE score is considered along with the other application materials for admission decisions.
Applicants should have a minimum of the undergraduate equivalent of the Biology core curriculum.
A statement of purpose is required, along with three letters of reference.
There are additional requirements for international applicants (see www.usd.edu/graduate-school/international-admissions.cfm).

-Subject to faculty approval, those who do not meet all of the criteria above may be admitted on a provisional basis.

Library and Research Facilities

A large collection of biological periodicals, government documents and other publications are available in the University Libraries (I.D. Weeks Library and the Lommen Health Sciences Library ). Online journals, database searches, electronic document delivery, and interlibrary loans are also available.

Other facilities include laboratories for faculty and graduate students, a greenhouse, environmentally controlled growth chambers, the South Dakota Herbarium, controlled environment animal quarters, a histology facility, cold rooms, aquarium rooms, wet and dry collection rooms, computer labs, molecular biology core facility (genetic analyzer, etc.), and a shop. Close by, there are numerous aquatic and terrestrial habitats for field study, including native tallgrass prairie habitat and the Missouri River. The Missouri River Institute (www.usd.edu/mri) on campus provides a focal point for scholarly activity, education and outreach pertaining to all aspects of the Missouri River Basin.