Multiple Graduate Assistants

The Department of Biological Sciences at Mississippi State University
(MSU) is actively recruiting students for both M.S. and Ph.D. programs
to start in August of 2026.

MSU is classified as a "Very High Research Activity" R1
institution by Carnegie. Starkville is a small, progressive college
town recently named "Best Small Town in the South" by USA Today
(https://starkville.org). This accolade reflects an exceptional standard
of living and proximity to natural areas including the Noxubee National
Wildlife Refuge (https://www.fws.gov/refuge/sam-d-hamilton-noxubee), and
the Tombigbee National Forest. MSU is the primary land-grant university
in the state with over 23,000 students. The department prides itself
on maintaining a collegial and collaborative environment, with diverse
research interests spanning genetics, microbiology, ecology, systematics,
bioinformatics, cell, developmental, and evolutionary biology. Current
funding comes from the NIH, NSF, several other federal agencies,
as well as a variety of state and private organizations. There
are also numerous resources available across the university
(www.research.msstate.edu/centers-institutes). In-house, there are new
imaging and high-performance computing resources, the MSU herbarium
(MISSA), a BSL-2 AALAC animal care facility, a forest reserve, and
common-use molecular and imaging facilities. Also notable, MSU hosts the
Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library (https://www.usgrantlibrary.org).

The Biological Sciences Department has ample funding available to support
students. Recent applicants to the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Program have found success, and many students are supported on grants
via Research Assistantships. With more than 1,000 undergraduate majors,
the department maintains over 50 Teaching Assistantships, allowing the
department to guarantee support to M.S. students for up to three years,
and to Ph.D. students for up to five. The department also provides annual
funding for travel and research to students on a competitive basis.

Those interested in applying to the program should contact members of
the Graduate Faculty (biology.msstate.edu) whose research foci align
with their interests.  Those who identify an advisor interested in
directing their research will be eligible for application fee waivers,
travel support to visit campus and the department, and first-year stipend
enhancements worth $2,500. Please reach out by January 15, 2026, for
full consideration for these recruitment incentives.

Faculty with active research programs in the field of evolutionary biology
and genetics include Dr. Matt Ballinger (ballingerlab.weebly.com),
Dr. Matthew Brown (amoeba.msstate.edu), Dr. Amy Dapper
(amy-dapper.com), Dr. Phillip Davidson (davidsonlab-msu.github.io),
Dr. Ryan Folk (ryanafolk.com), Dr. Jean-François Goût
(https://sites.google.com/view/goutlab), Dr. Megan Smith
(meganlsmith.org), Dr. Benjamin Stone (benstemon.github.io), and Dr. Mark
Welch (markwelchmsu.wordpress.com).

Dr. Mark E. Welch
Graduate Coordinator
Department of Biological Sciences
Mississippi State University

"Welch, Mark" <welch@biology.msstate.edu>

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