The University of California-Davis offers a Ph.D. in animal behavior and animal biology. Some animal biology graduate students in 2013 studied the interaction of animals' immune systems and animal growth, conservation of indigenous species, and cloning and reproduction. Animal behavior students have access to the California Regional Primate Research Center, Center for Neuroscience, Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture, and UC Davis Natural Reserve System. Interdisciplinary study is also encouraged. For instance, ecology and zoology students together are studying the effects of nutrition and toxicity on white sturgeons and other fish. Graduates with animal biology doctorates have found jobs in academia, industry and government.
The University of Wisconsin offers field study opportunities in aquatic and terrestrial ecology, conservation biology and microscopy facilities for zoology Ph.D. students. The school has an on-campus lake, arboretum, Zoological Museum and Molecular Systematics Laboratory and specialized biology library. Candidates must have completed a year of physics, three semesters of chemistry and at least one course emphasizing organisms other than animals. Deficiencies in calculus, statistics or quantitative analysis must be made up during the first year of graduate study. Candidates are expected to craft their own program of study under the guidance of an adviser and may pursue dual doctorates in zoology and a related biological field.
Ohio State University offers a Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology. The school boasts an aquatic ecology laboratory, DNA sequencing facilities, greenhouses and wildlife field station. Its Museum of Biological Diversity includes a laboratory of bioacoustics, herbarium, museum of zoology and insect collection. Students must propose an original dissertation project on an important research question or problem; this typically forms the written portion of the student’s candidacy exam. Candidates also must pass an oral examination to be accepted into the program.
North Carolina State University’s zoology Ph.D. program was brought under the umbrella of the department of biological sciences in 2013, uniting the departments of biology, microbiology, genetics, and environmental and molecular toxicology. Students in 2013 researched the ecology of hybrid striped bass, tilapia, yellow perch, southern flounder, blue crabs and rainbow trout, and the school offers a Genomic Enablement of Aquaculture Fellowship program to study how to breed big, healthy fish. Several research programs focus on endocrine systems and the interplay between an organism's environment and its physiology.
The University of Florida offers a zoology Ph.D. through its biology department. Graduate students may study in conjunction with the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Biosciences on the Atlantic coast, the on-campus Florida Museum of Natural History or the university biology department. Students may access the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research, Katharine Ordway Preserve, the university’s sea horse marine laboratory and its sea turtle center. Entering graduate students are expected to have at least basic training in biology, physical sciences and mathematics. Zoology Ph.D. students can specialize in ecology, evolution, behavior, development, comparative and environmental physiology, molecular biology, neurobiology or genetics.