Tennessee Tech is launching a new integrated biology PhD program to provide students with a terminal degree while expanding the university’s research footprint.
Biology Professor and Department Chair Steve Hayslette said the university has seen dramatic increases in research funding for several years. Hayslette said the program is designed to train the next generation of scientists to give back to the research programs at the university and beyond.
“The new program is going to be exclusively a biology PhD program that offers students the opportunity to earn that terminal degree in biology and then you know, pursue careers either in academia or perhaps in research or industry,” Hayslette said.
Hayslette said the department is currently hiring biomedically related faculty to help facilitate integration into the medical community in Cookeville and the Upper Cumberland. Hayslette said the program will produce graduates capable of plugging into local industry and the regional workforce.
“It will also allow Tennessee Tech and the department and even other departments on campus to work together to try to solve some of these environmental problems,” Hayslette said. “And we’re not saying that these environmental problems and these… sorts of medical issues are unique to the Upper Cumberland, but certainly this program will be unique to the Upper Cumberland and the solutions that it brings.”
Hayslette said the Department of Biology is diverse, with research ranging from wildlife and fisheries to molecular biology and health science issues. Hayslette said the integrative nature of the program allows students to draw from various areas of expertise, including ecology, natural resource conservation, genetics, and microbiology.
“So it allows students to draw from all the different levels of expertise in the department to develop new new and important solutions to some of these environmental and medical problems,” Hayslette said.
Hayslette said the program requires a 3.0 grade point average from a student’s most recent degree, whether they are entering with a bachelor’s or a master’s degree. Hayslette said there are potentially assistantships available for qualified students that include tuition and fee waivers along with monthly stipends to support their work.
“Folks who are looking to go on and develop research skills and become research scientists you know, this is certainly an opportunity for that,” Hayslette said.
Hayslette said the university plans to recruit its first group of PhD students to begin their programs this fall.
