The Ph.D. and M.S. programs in Biological Sciences (BIOL) are designed to offer a broad, multidisciplinary modern education in the life sciences coupled with the development of in-depth expertise and research training within a specialized area. Because many current problems in the biological sciences overlap traditional disciplinary boundaries, a single graduate program is offered rather than the traditional separate programs in botany, microbiology, computational biology, and other areas. The research of the faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences covers a broad range, from structure and function of nucleic acids to the feeding behavior of animals. Therefore, this program provides a diversity of opportunities for an interdisciplinary research and graduate education in biology.