Overview
Department of Zoology at the University of British Columbia is one of the strongest and most broadly based life science departments in Canada, with a scope that spans from molecules to cells, whole organisms, populations, and communities. It is home to approximately forty highly funded, well-equipped research groups that are roughly equally distributed among four overlapping research clusters: evolutionary biology, ecology and conservation biology, comparative physiology, and cell, genetics and developmental biology, with many strong interdisciplinary connections among them. Our faculty are leaders in their respective fields and include Fellows of the Royal Society of London, Members of the US National Academy of Sciences, Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada, Canada Research Chairs and a Canada 150 chair. Our program offers trainees opportunities to chose from a broad range of research topics, world-class mentorship, and access to state of the art research and teaching facilities. We encourage you to visit the Department website to check out the specific research interests of the professors in the Department.
What makes the program unique?
The PhD in program in Zoology provides an opportunity to learn in a vibrant, multidisciplinary research environment. Students work closely with individual faculty members who provide exceptional training and focused supervision using a mentorship model. We encourage you to visit the Department website to check out the specific research interests of our professors across our various research clusters. Each research cluster within the department holds a variety of seminars, discussion groups, workshops and other events that allow graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, visitors and faculty to enjoy regular interaction. The Department of Zoology aims to foster a community in which diversity is integral and people from all backgrounds are acknowledged and respected and that provides a supportive, collegial, and inclusive environment for graduate training. All students are supported with a guaranteed financial package throughout their graduate training. The most recent information about the stipend package is available at our departmental website.
Quick Facts
Career Outcomes
95 students graduated between 2005 and 2013: 1 graduate is seeking employment; 1 is in a non-salaried situation; for 6 we have no data (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016). For the remaining 87 graduates:
RI (Research-Intensive) Faculty: typically tenure-track faculty positions (equivalent of the North American Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor positions) in PhD-granting institutions
TI (Teaching-Intensive) Faculty: typically full-time faculty positions in colleges or in institutions not granting PhDs, and teaching faculty at PhD-granting institutions
Term Faculty: faculty in term appointments (e.g. sessional lecturers, visiting assistant professors, etc.)
Sample Employers in Higher Education
University of British Columbia (7)University of Washington (4)
Stanford University (3)
McMaster University (2)
University of Calgary (2)
University of California - Riverside (2)
University of Ottawa (2)
University of California - Davis
University of Victoria
Pennsylvania State University
Sample Employers Outside Higher Education
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (2)BC Ministry of Environment (2)
Vancouver Aquarium
Pure Integrative Pharmacy
AbCellera
Roadhouse Interactive
Hemmera
FISHBIO
Genentech
Mount Boucherie Secondary
Sample Job Titles Outside Higher Education
Postdoctoral Fellow (2)Wildlife Research Biologist
Principal
Senior Behavioural Ecologist and Bioacoustician
Scientist
Senior Scientist
Fisheries Biologist
Research Manager
Teacher
Hydro-Impacts / Sturgeon Specialist
PhD Career Outcome Survey
You may view the full report on career outcomes of UBC PhD graduates on outcomes.grad.ubc.ca.Disclaimer
These data represent historical employment information and do not guarantee future employment prospects for graduates of this program. They are for informational purposes only. Data were collected through either alumni surveys or internet research.Research Supervisors
Supervision
Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.
Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program
Clarification: no commitment from a supervisor prior to applying is necessary but you must contact your potential supervisor(s) before applying as many faculty won't accept students who they have not previously been in contact with.
Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors
These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program specific.
This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.
- Abraham, Ninan (Mammals, pathogens, genetic analysis, proper cell funtion, development, maintenance and proper functioning of T- and B-cells)
- Agrawal, Sweta (Motor systems; Sensory systems; Comparative Physiology)
- Altshuler, Doug (Zoology; flight control; visual guidance; visual neuroscience; neuroethology; avian biomechanics; aerodynamics; wing morphing; motor control)
- Angert, Amy (Plant biology; Zoology; Biodiversity and Biocomplexity; biogeography; biological responses to climate change; Conservation Biology; Ecological and Ecophysiological Processes; evolutionary ecology; population biology)
- Auld, Vanessa (Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Zoology; Cell; Cell Biology; Development; Developmental Genetics; epithelia; Genetics; glia; in vivo imaging; Molecular Genetics; nervous system; Neurogenesis and Gliogenesis; permeability barriers; Cell, Cell biology, Development, Developmental Genetics, Epithelia, Genetics, Glia, In vivo imaging, Molecular Genetics, Nervous system, Neurogenesis and Gliogenesis, Permeability barriers)
- Aviles, Leticia (Community ecology (except invasive species ecology); Animal behaviour)
- Benson-Amram, Sarah
- Brauner, Colin (Gas exchange, ion regulation and acid-base balance in fish, Evolution and comparative physiology)
- Bruce, Heather (Evolution of developmental systems; Evolutionary developmental biology (evo devo); Arthropods; Novel structures; Production of morphological diversity by genetic networks; Evolution of genetic networks over hundreds of millions of years; Evolution of morphology over hundreds of millions of years; Appendages)
- Christensen, Villy (Fisheries management; Global change biology; Ecosystem function; Ecosystem modelling)
- Doebeli, Michael (Mathematical ecology and evolution, evolution of diversity, adaptive speciation, evolution of cooperation, game theory, experimental evolution in microorganisms)
- Gaynor, Kaitlyn (behavioral responses of animals to human presence; effects of anthropogenic disturbance on predator-prey and other species interactions; socio-ecological dynamics of conservation and coexistence)
- Germain, Rachel (Ecology; evolution)
- Gordon, Michael (Neurosciences, biological and chemical aspects; Neurosciences, medical and physiological and health aspects; Zoology; Chemosensation; Drosophila; Feeding; Gustation; Neural circuits; Neuronal Systems; neuroscience; Sensory systems; Taste)
- Harley, Christopher (Fisheries sciences; Zoology; climate change; community ecology; Ecology and Quality of the Environment; marine algae; marine invertebrates)
- Hauert, Christoph (Modelization and Simulation; Evolution and Phylogenesis; Biological Behavior; dynamical systems; evolution; game theory; social dilemmas; stochastic processes; Modelization and Simulation, Evolution and Phylogenesis, Biological Behavior, Dynamical systems, Evolution, Game theory, Social dilemmas, Stochastic processes)
- Irwin, Darren (Zoology; evolutionary genetics; genomic differentiation; hybridization; ornithology; seasonal migration; speciation)
- Jankowski, Jill (Ecology)
- King, Kayla (host-microbial parasite/pathogen systems)
- Kremen, Claire (Natural environment sciences; Zoology; agroecological farming systems; Reconciliation of agricultural land use with biodiversity conservation; sustainable landscapes)
- Leander, Brian (Plant biology; Zoology; Comparative organismal biology; Evolutionary morphology; Evolutionary protistology; Marine biodiversity; Marine invertebrate zoology; Phylogenetic biology; Species discovery)
- Leeks, Asher (Biological evolution; Social evolution in viruses; Evolutionary Biology; Virology; Evolutionary theory; Mathematical modeling; Bioinformatics; Social evolution; Microbiology; Social evolution in viruses, Evolutionary biology, Virology, Evolutionary theory, Mathematical modeling, Bioinformatics, Social evolution, Microbiology)
- Mank, Judith (evolution; How selection acts on males and females within a species; How the genome responds to contradictory selection to encode sexually dimorphic traits; Sex chromosomes; Gene regulation; Sexual conflict)
- Marshall, Katie (Animal physiology, environmental stress; Environmental Change; Marine biodiversity; Population Ecology; invertebrates and temperature adaptation)
- Matthews, Philip (Animal physiology, respiration; Insect biology; Animal physiology, biophysics; Comparative biomechanics; Animal physiological ecology; Comparative Physiology; biomechanics; Insect physiology; Respiratory Physiology)
Intake
Intake
Intake
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