Overview
of Graduate Training
In order to encourage and equip students to explore and develop
new ways of framing and testing evolutionary hypotheses about
modern humans and related taxa, HPDP combines training and
research in disciplines traditionally taught in different
departments. Such cross disciplinarity is necessary because
fossils, artifacts and genomes are complex, and mostly indirect,
sources of data for testing evolutionary hypotheses. Yet these
data present a prime opportunity for developing new, interdisciplinary
approaches to studying human evolution. By bringing together
researchers from diverse departments at The George Washington
and from other universities and institutions in the DC area
(e.g. The University of Maryland, The Smithsonian Institution
and The NIH) graduate students have access to facilities and
receive core research training in relevant aspects of many
disciplines that are outside the core of many other anthropology
Ph.D. programs. These universities, institutions and facilities
are linked by the Metro subway, and belong to the Washington
Consortium which shares academic and educational resources,
including cross-registration. Students receive stipend support
that is competitive with other graduate programs as well as
travel and research funds. In addition, HPDP is the graduate
education and training effort of the Center for the Advanced
Study of Human Paleobiology (CASHP) whose mission is to promote
interdisciplinary research on human evolution. HPDP training
embraces biomechanics and engineering, ecology, 'evo-devo',
experimental and comparative functional morphology, experimental
histology, evolutionary theory, genetics, geochemistry, geochronology,
geometric morphometrics, paleoclimatology, and paleolithic
archaeology.
HPDP uses problem-based learning methods
within thematic research efforts to encourage students to
develop new approaches for testing hypotheses using the fossil,
genetic, and archeological records. Finally, because of the
public profile of human evolutionary studies, HPDP trains
students with skills for conveying information about the processes
and discoveries of evolutionary science to the public. HPDP
graduates acquire a wide range of skills and competencies
that allow them to pursue teaching and research careers in
anthropology, biology, geology, and anatomy departments, and
in museums and other institutions involved in the advancement
and dissemination of knowledge about our species' evolutionary
history. The HPDP is part of the interdisciplinary, collaborative
Washington, DC area Human
Evolutionary Biology Doctoral Program (HEBDP) that links
the PhD programs and researchers at GWU, The University of
Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution, and is funded by
the National Science Foundation's IGERT
Program.
Overview
of educational structure
HPDP combines
1)
a rigorous core training in molecular and developmental
biology, evolutionary anatomy, hominin paleontology, and
archaeology, and in a variety of fields not traditionally
studied by graduate students in anthropology programs,
2)
an emphasis on problem-based learning (PBL), and
3) training
and internships in how science is communicated to the public
(e.g., TV, news, museums, the internet).
The HPDP is a five
year doctoral program. The first two years primarily consist
of coursework and a problem-based learning tutorial that
integrates original research and coursework from the earliest
stages of graduate training. During the second and third
years, students also participate in 2 lab rotations to broaden
their research skills. General Examinations in Hominin Paleobiology
and Paleolithic Archeology should be taken by the end of
the second year, and must normally be completed by the end
of the third year. Following the second year, students begin
directed research on their doctoral dissertations (including
writing grant proposals) while participating in a capstone
seminar, rotations, and a part-time internship to broaden
their research experiences, provide them with skills needed
for their dissertations, and give them skills in the communication
of science to the public. The third General Examination
requirement consists of oral and writen presentations of
the student's proposed dissertation topic. This also should
be completed by the end of the third year. HPDP provides
summer support for experimental laboratory research and/or
fieldwork. Students are encouraged to submit their dissertation
in a ready-to-publish format (described below) by the end
of the fifth year.
Please click here
for a detailed chart illustrating the structure
and requirements of the HPDP (pdf).
1) Core courses
During the first
few years, students are required to take the prescribed
credit hours worth of 'core' graduate courses; the dissertation
component of the Ph.D. comprises an additional 24 hours
worth of credits. In the first three semesters, all HPDP
students are required to take four or five of the following
Primary Core courses (one exemption is allowed, depending
on prior education):
Course
Credits
Genetics Course
-->3 credits
Paleolithic Archaeology --> 3 credits
Hominin Paleobiology --> 3 credits
Anatomy Course --> 3 credits
Phylogenetic Systematics --> 3 credits
Sedimentology & Stratigraphy --> 3 credits
All students also
participate in a Problem-Based Learning Tutorial (PBL, described
below) for upto 6 credit hours. The PBL tutorial meets variously
at any of the participating institutions in the HPDP. Core
courses plus PBL must total to >= 16 credits.
All students are
required to take Molecular Biology (either as a lab rotation
or as a course); one lab rotation outside their speciality;
and at least one course at an institution other than their
own.
2) Elective
courses
Depending on their intended field of specialization
and background, students also take courses or substitute
courses from a wide variety of electives. The electives
are to be determined by the student and his/her advisors
to fulfill the remaining 30 credit hours. A list of relevant
elective courses is provided below. It is not an exhaustive
list, and students may elect courses not shown in the list.
Course
Credits
Applied Biological Anthropology-->
3 credits
Behavioral Ecology--> 4 credits
Biology of the Human Genome--> 3 credits
Biomechanics--> 3 credits
Biostratigraphy--> 3 credits
Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy--> 3 credits
Developmental Biology--> 4 credits
Developmental Genetics--> 3 credits
Evolutionary Genetics & Medicine--> 3 credits
Evolutionary Paleobiology--> 3 credits
General Endocrinology--> 3 credits
Human Evolutionary Genetics--> 3 credits
Human Gross Anatomy--> 6 credits
Mammalian Histology--> 4 credits
Mathematical Biology--> 4 credits
Micropaleontology--> 3 credits
Morphological Systematics--> 4 credits
Neural and Cognitive Science--> 4 credits
Origins of Modern Humans--> 3 credits
Population Ecology--> 3 credits
Population Genetics--> 4 credits
Skeletal Biology--> 3 credits
Speech Physiology--> 3 credits
Statistics/Biostatistics--> 3 credits
Howard, GW and UMD
students can cross-register and receive full credit in courses
at any of the three institutions as a part of the Washington
Consortium of Universities.
3) Capstone
Seminar
Beginning in the fifth semester, students make presentations
in a weekly journal club that helps stimulate interdisciplinary
collaboration among faculty and students.
4) Rotations
(4-6 credit hours)
During their second and third years, students will also
participate in laboratory "rotations" which consist
of semester-long involvement in any two of the major interdisciplinary
research efforts. Students will register for 2 or 3 credit
hours for each rotation. To complete a rotation, the student
should devote a total of 96 working hours, or equivalent,
for a 3-credit rotation, and 64 working hours, or equivalent,
for a 2-credit rotation. The student's work schedule is
negotiated directly with the rotation supervisor.
Rotations will be
available at the following laboratories, under the direction
of the following researchers:
Laboratory --> Researchers
Carnegie Geophysical Lab. --> Fogel
Developmental Biology Lab--> Hernandez.
Discourse Lab. --> Kuipers
Evol. of Terrestrial Ecosystems Lab -->. Behrensmeyer
Hominid Paleontology --> Wood
Human Genetic Diversity Lab. --> Dunston
Human Genetic Diversity Lab. --> Tishkoff
Human Origins Program Lab. --> Potts
Lab. for Advanced Computer Apps. in Medicine --> Hahn
Lab. of Comparative Ethology --> Suomi
Lisner Lab. --> Brooks, Wood, Richmond
Phylogenetic Analysis --> Allard
Skeletal Biology --> Richmond
Vertebrate Morphology --> Clark
Laboratories at the Functional
Anatomy and Evolution Program at the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine:
Dental Microwear and Diet Lab --> Teaford.
Early Tertiary Mammal Paleontology Lab --> Rose
Primate Locomotor Biomechanics Lab --> Ruff
5) Public
Understanding of Science Internships (3 hours)
HPDP believes that the responsibilities of scientists
who study our species' evolutionary history must also extend
to the public at large. Therefore, an important component
of the HPDP is an internship in the "Public Understanding
of Science." Before the end of the fifth year students
undertake a part-time, semester-long or summer internship
with an organization that presents science to the public.
The opportunities include attachments to the exhibits or
education departments, or the public outreach, public relations,
or congressional affairs offices of the Smithsonian Institution
(e.g. The National Zoological Park, The National Museum
of Natural History), or to other appropriate organizations
based in Washington, DC (e.g., The National Geographic Society,
National Public Radio, The Washington Post, Science Magazine,
The National Academy of Sciences).
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