Biomedical Sciences - Human Evolutionary Biology - Ph.D.

The Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Sciences - Human Evolutionary Biology emphasizes a biological approach to research problems focusing on human and non-human anthropology. The program focuses on human anatomy and neuroanatomy, developmental biology, evolutionary genetics, mammalian physiology, paleontology and experimental archaeology. Many graduates use their training and teaching experience to enter anthropology or corporate teaching positions. Most graduates are also prepared to teach both human anatomy and other cognate fields (neuroanatomy, cell biology, physiology, genetics) in demand at most medical schools.

The Ph.D. degree is offered in consortium with Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). Faculty in the program are drawn from the departments of Anthropology and the Biological Sciences at Kent State and the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at NEOMED. This inter-departmental and inter-institutional structure provides significant resources to the doctoral candidates, including the Hammon-Todd human and primate skeletal collection, state-of-the-art laboratories for neuroanatomy, anatomy, genetics, paleontology, biomechanics and experimental archaeology. Additional resources are available to students through the Cleveland Museum of National History, the Cleveland Metroparks zoo and other local, national and international collaborative relationships.

Candidates for the Ph.D. are expected to engage, to the extent possible, in other activities that benefit their professional development. The teaching of laboratory and lecture course, as a appropriate is considered valuable, and each student should have this experience during their graduate career. This includes those students on non-teaching scholarships or research appointments during their tenure. Students should also seek membership in professional organizations, attend meetings to present research results and maintain currency in the relevant literature.