The Kellogg Biological Station provides outstanding opportunities for students interested in graduate studies in ecology, evolutionary biology, agricultural ecology, sociology and animal science. Excellent research facilities, field sites, and resident faculty provide an environment conducive to research.

Our graduates have gone on to faculty positions at major research universities (e.g., Dartmouth College, University of Florida, University of Texas), first-rate liberal arts colleges (e.g., Denison University, Franklin & Marshall College, Grinnell College), and to be scientists at government agencies (e.g., USDA, Smithsonian) and NGO's (e.g., Defenders of Wildlife). Interested students are encouraged to contact KBS faculty members directly, either via e-mail or phone, to discuss their future plans.

Prospective students apply to MSU via the home department of their potential KBS faculty advisor (currently Crop and Soil Sciences, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Plant Biology, Zoology, Sociology, and Animal Science). Students may also join MSU's Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEBB) and Environmental Science and Public Policy (ESPP).

Ph.D. students at KBS typically spend their first 1-2 academic years on MSU's main campus in East Lansing, where they take classes, participate in departmental seminars and informal discussion groups, and interact with fellow students in graduate programs.  During this time, many students also teach classes and are supported on departmental teaching assistantships.

Summers are generally spent at KBS, taking field courses and initiating research. By their second year, Ph.D. students typically move to KBS full time to conduct their dissertation research, participate in seminars and discussion groups (e.g. Eminent Ecologist Series) and to intereact with resident and visiting scientists.

Living and Working Environment
The Biological Station offers a unique living opportunity within the attractive bio-region of the Great Lakes. The graduate community at KBS is a tight-knit group and the friendships that develop over this time carry on throughout their careers. KBS owns a number of farmhouses and apartments that are available to students at reduced rental rates, allowing students to easily walk or bike to the laboratories and to their field sites.  

Funding
Graduate students are typically supported through teaching assistantships and fellowships while on campus, and through fellowships and research assistantships while at KBS. Students should disucss with their potential KBS faculty sponsors the various opportunities for support. Currently, a grant from the National Science Foundation provides excellent support for up to eight KBS graduate students per year to work with science teachers in local area schools (see K-12 for more information).