The department

The Department of Biology at Georgia Southern University is made up of 31 faculty, 45-50 graduate students, and 750 undergraduate majors. The graduate program offers the Master of Science degree in biology. Facilities include a greenhouse and herbarium, the Savannah Science Museum herpetology collection, scanning electron microscope, a computer lab, animal rooms, NSF-renovated laboratories, and two boats (including a 17' Boston whaler).

The Department of Biology at Georgia Southern is a "full-service" department offering training from the molecular to the ecosystem level. Our faculty and students are actively engaged in funded research locally, nationally, and internationally. The department currently has $2 million in active external funding. The department maintains research collaborations with several field stations (both in the U.S. and abroad) and with federal and state agencies. The biology department is closely affiliated with the internationally known Institute for Arthropodology and Parasitology.

The graduate program in biology has awarded over 220 degrees since 1967. Approximately 92% of our graduates are employed in the biological, health, or environmental sciences. One-third of our graduates go on to receive terminal degrees (e.g., PhD, MD). Our graduates work in 20 states and 5 countries.

The university

Founded in 1906 as a district agricultural school, Georgia Southern University now enrolls over 18,000 students from every state and 80 nations. Offering 130 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in six colleges, Georgia Southern is a rapidly growing, comprehensive regional university. Housed on a shady 675-acre campus accented with dogwoods and azaleas, the university offers a long list of educational, cultural, and athletic opportunities. On-campus attractions include an art gallery, botanical garden, wildlife education center, and museum. A new state-of-the-art performing arts center hosts a variety of events and attracts national touring companies. The recreation activity center and associated intramural fields provide the full range of indoor and outdoor sports for students. Georgia Southern University competes at the NCAA Division I level in over a dozen men's and women's sports.

The region

Georgia Southern University is located in Statesboro, a safe and pleasant city of 25,000 located on the coastal plain of southeast Georgia. Although proud of its small-town rural heritage, Statesboro is a rapidly growing economic, educational, and cultural center for southeast Georgia. Statesboro is home to a new regional medical center, a thriving technical college, a community arts theater, and a 160-acre public sports complex. In the rural countryside around Statesboro there are two state parks with opportunities for birding, camping, hiking, and fishing. Several undeveloped rivers offer excellent canoeing.

Savannah, one of the south's most beautiful and historic cities, is an easy 50-mile drive from campus. Although Savannah is famous for its large historic district and oak-shaded public squares, it also provides an active night life, excellent restaurants, shopping, several theaters and music venues, museums, minor league baseball, lovely parks, and dozens of art galleries. Slightly farther afield, the cities of Charleston, Jacksonville, and Atlanta are all within three hours of campus. Stretching from Tybee Island just to the east of Savannah to Cumberland Island 100 miles to the south, Georgia's largely undeveloped barrier islands offer unspoiled beaches, productive estuaries, and rich maritime forests. There are abundant opportunities for camping, wilderness backpacking, hiking, boating, fishing, birding, or just pursuing coastal Georgia's rich natural and cultural history.

Southeast Georgia is characterized by extensive pine forests, meandering cypress-lined rivers, vast saltmarshes, and wide beaches. A mild climate and abundant rainfall make this one of the most biodiverse areas in the United States. Winters are mild and pleasant; spring and fall are delightfully long. Most rain falls during brief summer thunderstorms.

Statistics

Number of biology graduate students: 49
Number of GSU students: 17,000
Population of Statesboro: 25,000
Average monthly rent for grad students: $320 (range $200-435)
Average weekly food cost: $30-40 (range $20-100)
Cost of student health insurance: ca. $830/year
Average July min temperature: 70F
Average July max temperature: 92F
Average January min temperature: 39F
Average January max temperature: 61F
Average annual snowfall: 0.3 inches
Average annual rainfall: 46 inches