Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Behavior

The Animal Behavior Graduate Group is targeted toward students who are interested in understanding the adaptive and evolutionary bases of animal behavior. Students are trained for teaching and research in a variety of disciplines, including animal science, anthropology, ecology, entomology, neurobiology, psychology, physiology, veterinary science, wildlife biology, and zoology. Students and faculty in the program conduct research using many different speciesand many different perspectives. Research areas include behavioral ecology and sociobiology, animal communication, animal management and welfare, physiology and behavior, behavior and conservation, primate behavior, modeling of behavior, and behavioral development. All students take a yearlong core course sequence designed to provide a breadth of knowledge about animal behavior. The remainder of the program is then individually tailored to provide in-depth study relevant to each student's interests.

The Davis campus has a distinguished history of teaching and research in the life sciences including animal behavior. The Animal Behavior Graduate Group is an interdepartmental program in which faculty members from several departments, schools, and colleges participate. Members of the Group employ a wide range of animal species in their research as well as a diversity of theoretical and methodological approaches. In addition to facilities in the departments represented by the faculty members listed on this site, resources available to students include the California Regional Primate Research Center, the Center for Neuroscience, the Center for Aquatic Biology and Aquaculture, the John Muir Institute of the Environment, the Information Center for the Environment, the Tahoe Environmental Research Center, Bodega Marine Laboratory, the UC/Davis Natural Reserve System. and the agricultural field stations. Campus libraries house extensive collections of biological and animal behavior literature.

A Bachelor's or Master's degree in a discipline relevant to the biology of behavior.
Three letters of recommendation
UC Davis requires academic records from each college-level institution you have attended.
Personal History and Statement of Purpose
A minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) from the institution where you have earned or will earn your bachelor's degree.
TOEFL iBT - Minimum Score: 80
IELTS - Minimum Score 7.0 on a 9-point scale