Penn State’s Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology trains scientists to explore the natural world and the multitudes of interactions within it.
Specifically, we teach students to observe, experiment with, and analyze patterns in the natural world with a goal of pursuing solutions to some of the most pressing problems of our time—such as those related to biodiversity, climate change, invasive species, food security, and infectious disease. Students’ fluency in the life and physical sciences, along with their knowledge of field, computational, and statistical tools gives them a unique interdisciplinary advantage in the job market.
Field Research in Central Pennsylvania and Beyond
Based at University Park in the heart of central Pennsylvania, the Ecology program offers students access to a wide range of nearby field sites across temperate forests, wetlands, agricultural landscapes, and other ecosystems. Local resources include the Stone Valley Experimental Forest, state gamelands, state forestlands, the Spruce Creek Experimental Area, and the Penn State Ag Experiment Station. Students interested in other environments can also take advantage of the many field sites established by Penn State faculty across the United States and around the world.
Program History
The Ecology Program was one of the first Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs at Penn State, first appearing in the 1972/1973 academic year Graduate Bulletin. The program was created as a way to bring together students and faculty members from diverse disciplines—such as atmospheric science, geology, agriculture, biology, and anthropology—to collaborate on complex issues in ecology. After awarding several MS degrees in in 1972 and 1973, the first PhD was conferred in 1974. The program now has over 300 alumni and confers about 10 degrees each year. As an early intercollege degree program at Penn State, Ecology served as a model for other intercollege programs that followed.
Through the years, the Ecology Program has maintained its reputation for being among the best programs of its kind in the country.