Thank you for your interest in the Joint Doctoral Program in Evolutionary Biology (JDPEB) at San Diego State University. The principal objective of the JDPEB is to allow talented students to pursue graduate work in integrative evolutionary studies towards a doctoral degree jointly administered by UC Riverside and SDSU.

The joint nature of the doctoral program offers many advantages. Students benefit from contact and expertise in and outside the classroom with faculty members at two strong, complementary evolutionary biology programs. Students also have the opportunity to access facilities and field sites from both institutions that are located throughout southern California and adjacent regions.

At SDSU and UC Riverside, students may study a broad range of topics in evolutionary biology including systematics, paleontology, molecular evolution, population biology, and organismal/biodiversity biology. The Ph.D. degree is jointly awarded by both institutions after successful defense of the dissertation.

Admissions Eligibility

  • The prior experience and preparation of the applicant for advanced graduate course work in evolutionary biology (i.e. has the applicant successfully completed the undergraduate courses or equivalent that serve as prerequisites for required graduate course).
  • The research interests and/or proposed a research project of the applicant needs to address a question that is central to Evolutionary Biology and is closely allied to the research program of at least one faculty member within the JDPEB.
  • Both SDSU and UC Riverside have mandatory minimums in terms of GPA (as well as TOEFL if appropriate). All successful applicants must meet and in almost all cases exceed these minimums.

    In general we consider student excellence the primary factor governing program admissibility. Primary and secondary members of EB shall have the same standing with regard to student admission although this is subject to periodic re-evaluation and may change with program growth.

There are Two Critical Steps in the Admission Process

Find a Faculty Advisor

Students must have an SDSU faculty member in the JDPEB willing to accept them into their lab as a condition of acceptance into the program. Prospective students are strongly encouraged to contact faculty whose research interests are compatible with their own to determine if these faculty are accepting students, and, if so, to arrange a visit to campus. Most faculty will request to see a curriculum vitae and a statement of research interests from prospective students.

Submit an Application

The Joint Admissions Committee consisting of SDSU and UC Riverside JDPEB faculty will evaluate potential student applications based on grade point average, TOEFL scores (if applicable), research experience, and letters of recommendation. Selected students will be invited to interview at SDSU with faculty and current Ph.D. students. Selected foreign students will be invited to interview by phone.

Application Procedures, has detailed step-by-step application instructions. If you have additional questions, please contact the Evolutionary Biology Joint Doctoral Administrator, Katherine Zumstein: kzumstein@sdsu.edu.

NOTE: Even though we offer a Joint Doctoral Ph.D. Program with UC Riverside, you do not need to send your application materials to both SDSU and UC Riverside, only submit materials to SDSU. If you are being considered for the program, your application materials will then be forwarded to UC Riverside for review. If you are accepted then you will need to complete a UC Riverside application, which includes a separate personal history statement.

Current SDSU MS students applying to the Joint Doctoral Program who plan on graduating with their MS degree must fill out the CSU application and pay the $70 fee.