Prospective Graduate Students

I am looking for exceptional graduate students to work with me on the gelada research project. Because I am extremely limited on the number of students I can accept, I am making the gelada project my top priority. Therefore, this year I probably will only accept students who are keenly interested in studying geladas for their Ph.D. project. Because Ethiopia can be a difficult country to work in, I will also give priority to students who already have some field experience – particularly in developing countries.

Although I am affiliated with the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, it is very difficult for me to accept students through this program. If you are interested in working with me on the gelada project, you should apply through the Psychology Department (Biopsychology Area). If you are admitted, you will most likely receive 5 years of funding. Alternatively, the co-director of the Gelada Research Project, Dr. Jacinta Beehner, can accept students through the Anthropology (Bioanthropology) or Psychology (Biopsychology Area) departments at the University of Michigan. Her research is focused on the interaction between hormones and behavior and she currently has an endocrinology lab here at the University. If you are interested in working primarily with Dr. Beehner, you can contact her jbeehner@umich.edu or check out her website. Funding through the Anthropology department is less certain – although there are a number of graduate student fellowships awarded each year.

Whether you are applying to Psychology or Anthropology please send one of us the following information so that we may better ascertain the likelihood that you will be accepted.

  • A statement of why you want to attend graduate school and why you have selected my (our) lab for your research
  • Citations for any publications you have written
  • The names and institutions of the people you will ask for letters of recommendation (letters are not necessary at this point)
  • Your GPA and GRE scores (including your percentile scores, not just raw scores)
  • A list of relevant courses (to either psychology or anthropology)
  • A list of the math, statistics and other quantitative courses you’ve taken
  • Your CV
  • Please also indicate which department you will be applying to and whether you are applying to work with Dr. Jacinta Beehner or myself.