Strange, but what is my field called?

Graduate School
1

<p>I know its a bit unusual, but I know exactly what I want to study, but i’m not really sure what field it is.</p>

<p>This is straight from a lab in the integrative biology department at Berkeley, and it basically has exactly what I’m looking for:</p>

<p>“my research seeks to connect four fundamental aspects of the evolution of organismal diversity: (1) lineage diversification, (2) historical biogeography, and the influence of (3) morphological and (4) molecular evolution on organismal performance. Although there are a number of approaches that one may utilize in order to gain insight into these processes, my research program is firmly rooted in phylogenetic systematics.”</p>

<p>The problem is, I don’t know of any integrative biology programs like the one Berkeley has. It’s also important to note that i’m mainly interested in primates, so people have told me that I might be looking at biological anthropology. Of course, evolutionary biology seems like it could work too-- or maybe in a case like this I should just be looking for specific labs?</p>

<p>So I guess my main questions are: Does anyone know of any programs (PhD) that are similar to Berkeley’s integrative bio, and do my research interests fit under any specific category?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Sorry, I know nothing about your field. But since no one else has responded, I thought I’d suggest that you do two things:

  1. Talk to your profs about grad programs that might suit at least some of your interests.
  2. Consider applying to different departments at different universities, and look especially for departments that encourage some interdisciplinary work or that allow you to take a considerable amount of coursework in related fields.
    My S’s in a similar situation, in that his interests lie at the cross-section of a variety of fields and his PhD apps are going to a variety of departments, depending on the university, since every university slices and dices fields slightly differently.</p>