Biology

This degree could be a good fit if you:

• Hold an undergraduate degree in a life or physical science
• Have a strong interest in lab work and data collection
• Have a desire to solve problems and think critically about some of society’s most pressing issues

Related clubs and organizations

• Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA)
• U of I Environmental Club

Learn how to fund your graduate degree by visiting the graduate funding resources page.

Visit financial aid to find detailed information about cost of attendance for grad students. 

Beginning Fall 2026, Ph.D. students appointed as Teaching Assistants will receive an annual support package that includes:

• Base stipend: $23,368.80 for the 9-month academic year
• In-state tuition: fully covered by the program
• Out-of-state tuition: waived for non-resident students
• Health insurance: fully covered
• Summer support: additional scholarship up to $8,000, depending on funding availability

Recognized STEM Program

This program is recognized as a STEM program by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and may be eligible for the 24-month STEM optional practical training extension for international students.

Learn more about STEM approved CIP/degree codes

Biological Sciences contact: 
Diana Mitchell 
dmitchell@uidaho.edu

Graduate Admissions contact:
graduateadmissions@uidaho.edu
208-885-4001

Find Department of Biology faculty advisor contacts

Applicants for the Ph.D. in biology must meet the following admission requirements:

Program availability 

• Semester intake: Fall or Spring (with the academic program’s special permission)
  • Open to international applicants
• Deadlines: December 1 for priority consideration
• Start dates: View the academic calendar to see start and end dates 

University requirements: 

• Education level: Bachelor's degree in a similar field from an accredited or recognized institution, earned or expected prior to the start of the graduate program.
  • Transcripts for all post-secondary education will be required. Unofficial transcripts may be used for initial admission review. Official transcripts sent by the issuing institution(s) will be required if admitted. View more information on the Graduate Admissions page. 
• GPA: 3.0 (Applicants with a lower undergraduate GPA who have relevant professional experience in the field, have already earned a graduate degree, or have completed graduate-level credits may still be considered for admission with approval from the academic program.)
• GRE: Not required
• Letters of recommendation: Three
• Resume
• Statement of purpose
• Valid picture ID (required to verify students’ identity and will be kept confidential)
• English proficiency (for applicants whose education was completed in countries where English is not an official language).
  • Accepted tests: TOEFL: 4.5, IELTS: 6.5, Duolingo: 115, PTE-A: 58. Learn what qualifies as proof of English proficiency.  
• Other requirements: Secure a commitment to supervise your research from a major professor (adviser) whose expertise matches your area of interest. We encourage you to contact prospective advisers early, as faculty availability varies.
• Application Fee: $50 

Application and admission process:

Applications are submitted online and are specific to the program and term selected. Applicants seeking admission to multiple programs must submit a separate application for each program.

Before submitting an application, applicants must provide personal and academic information from all post-secondary institutions attended, recommender information, required program-specific materials, and their intended program and start term.

Applicants seeking admission to the Ph.D. are encouraged to identify and contact a potential faculty advisor or major professor during the application process. Early identification of an advisor can help ensure that a faculty member in the applicant’s area of interest has capacity to supervise the student and appropriate research opportunities are available. Applicants should consult the College of Science website to identify faculty whose research aligns with their academic and research interests.

Applications are reviewed for admission by the academic program. Only complete applications, including required letters of recommendation and payment of the application fee, will be forwarded for evaluation and admission decision. Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete their applications early to allow sufficient time for a thorough review.

International students seeking F-1 or J-1 visas must provide financial documentation demonstrating their ability to cover the cost of attendance. This documentation is required only after admission.

Visit Graduate Admissions to learn more and start your application. 

Tanya Miura, Department Chair and Professor

• Pathogenesis of respiratory viral infections
• Respiratory viral coinfections
• Immune response to viral pathogens

Onesmo Balemba, Professor

• Gut microbiome and diabetes
• Gastrointestinal diabetic neuropathy
• Diabetic gut movement disorders
• Identification of non-additive antinociceptive molecules

Jim Bull, Professor

• Virus evolution
• Vaccine design
• Bacteriophages
• Mathematical modeling

Ginger Carney, Professor and Dean

• Neurogenetics
• Behavioral genetics
• Small RNA biology
• Adipose tissue signaling
• Reproductive biology

Elizabeth (Lee) Ann Fortunato, Professor

• Human cytomegalovirus host/pathogen interactions
• Congenital infections
• Herpesvirus-induced birth defects
• Organoid and 3d cell culture modeling of viral pathogenesis

Nicole Grieshaber, Research Associate Professor

• Chlamydia developmental cycle regulation
• Bacterial histone-like proteins
• Small RNA regulatory networks
• Molecular pathogenesis of bacteria

Scott Grieshaber, Professor

• Host pathogen interactions
• Intracellular bacterial parasites
• Microbiology
• Chlamydia

Luke J. Harmon, Professor

• Phylogenetic comparative methods
• Adaptive radiation and diversification
• Macroevolutionary dynamics
• Computational evolutionary biology

Paul Hohenlohe, Professor and Director, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program

• Evolutionary genetics
• Conservation genomics

Jill L. Johnson, Professor

• Molecular chaperones in protein folding
• Hsp90 molecular chaperone function

Adam G. Jones, Distinguished Professor

• Evolutionary biology
• Genomics
• Bioinformatics

Shirley Luckhart, Professor and Co-director, Institute for Health in the Human Ecosystem

• Malaria parasite transmission biology
• Mosquito and mammalian immunology
• Arthropod-borne infectious diseases
• Host-parasite-vector interactions

Nora Céspedex Martínez, Research Assistant Professor

• Malaria – vaccine development, immune responses, pathogenesis and transmission

Christopher Marx, Professor

• Experimental evolution of microbes
• Evolution of metabolic networks
• Microbial physiology and ecology
• Systems and quantitative biology

Diana Mitchell, Associate Professor

• Retinal development and regeneration
• Neuro-immune interactions in retina
• Microglia and Müller glia biology
• Innate immunology and phagocytosis

James J. Nagler, Professor and Director, Center for Research on Invasive Species

• Conservation physiology of fish and invertebrates
• Emphasis on reproductive and thermal biology

Scott Nuismer, Professor

• Theoretical evolutionary biology
• Coevolution and species interactions
• Mathematical modeling of disease
• Viral spillover and emergence

Christine Parent, Professor

• Evolutionary biology on islands
• Speciation and adaptive radiation
• Galápagos land snail evolution
• Experimental evolution and modeling

Barrie Robison, Professor and Director, Institute for Interdisciplinary Data Sciences

• Evolutionary and behavioral genomics
• Genetic architecture of traits
• Fisheries biology and domestication
• Science-based video game design

Paul Rowley, Associate Professor and Assistant Director, Institute for Modeling Collaboration and Innovation

• Mechanisms of anti-fungal “killer” toxins
• Mycovirus and killer toxin discovery
• Fungal pathways to anti-fungal resistance

Deborah L. Stenkamp, Professor

• Vertebrate retinal development
• Zebrafish models of disease
• Photoreceptor differentiation and regeneration
• Molecular mechanisms of vision

John “Jack” M. Sullivan, Professor

• Phylogenetic theory and methods
• Speciation/introgression genomics in chipmunks
• Predictive phytogeography with machine learning

Klas Udekwu, Assistant Professor

• Microbial population biology
• Pharmacodynamics, ecology and evolution of genotypic and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance
• Mathematical and experimental modeling of bug/drug interactions
• Built environment microbiology

Holly A. Wichman, Distinguished Professor

• Experimental evolution with viruses
• Evolutionary theory and genomics
• Bacteriophage biology and evolution
• Transposable element evolution