The graduate program in the Department of Biology began soon after the University of Oklahoma was founded, and the first Ph.D. degree awarded by OU was in Biology. The graduate program now has internationally-recognized strengths in ecology/systematics, animal behavior, neurosciences, physiology, and genetics/cell biology. The Department maintains an enrollment of about 50 graduate students.

The OU Department of Biology offers two graduate degrees: Master of Science in Biology and Doctor of Philosophy in Biology.

The goal of our PhD program is to prepare students for successful careers in academic, biomedical, environmental, or government institutions. We take special pride in the quality of our graduate teaching and our record of training successful scientists. Our open and collaborative atmosphere encourages creative and interdisciplinary research. Our research and training facilities for field studies, molecular biology, microscopy, bioinformatics, quantitative biology, and physiology are excellent, and they are further enhanced through integration of the department with the OU Biological Station, the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, and the Oklahoma Biological Survey.