The application deadline for the 2024-2025 cohort is February 1, 2024. There is no application fee.

The Portland State Biology graduate program offers M.S.T, M.A., M.S, and Ph.D degree options. Admission into our program is highly competitive. Our multi-disciplinary faculty offer admitted graduate students the opportunity to conduct cutting edge research, gain professional teaching experience, and pursue an academically rigorous program which fosters professional research development. Our students graduate with the skills, knowledge, and experience necessary to be successful contributors to the scientific community.

Our campus is located in the heart of Downtown Portland, and our program draws top graduate students from around the world. Our research faculty expertise spans a broad range of disciplines within the field of Biology. Research is conducted in state-of-the-art laboratories and in field locations, from the glaciers of Antarctica, to the jungles of Central and South America, to the bamboo forests of central China. Regional collaborators include public, state and federal agencies as well as other regional institutions including, but not limited to, the Oregon Zoo, Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI), Oregon Health & Science University, and Oregon State University.

Degree Requirements

Graduate Thesis or Dissertation

All Biology graduate students must defend a thesis or dissertation to complete the degree program. The first part of the graduate defense is a one-hour seminar that is open to the public followed by a closed-door review of the student's research with the student and the student's graduate committee.

PDXScholar maintains a complete list of all theses and dissertations submitted to the University.  

Researcher analyzing moss

How to Apply

Applications to the Biology Graduate Program must be made through the Graduate School; please do not send any application materials directly to the Biology Department.

Applications are reviewed only for admission for fall term. There is no application fee.