The program is designed to provide students seeking a MSIG the necessary skills and intellectual background to work cooperatively with others in a research area that takes a systems-wide approach and incorporates an organism’s history and natural environment to understand the organization and expression of its many genes and gene products.

The students should be able to:

• Identify the organisms and areas in ecology and evolution that link best to genomics and specifically functional genomics
• Be familiar with, and in some cases have a working knowledge of, the
  • Molecular,
  • Statistical, and
  • Database tools for genomic analyses.

Specifically, the program will emphasize the areas of:

• Genome comparisons,
• Structure and function in communities,
• Life history patterns,
• Stress responses, and
• Recent advances in the field of genomics.

Major competencies include:

• Using equipment associated with
  • Gene discovery,
  • Sequencing genomes, and
  • Transcript profiling,
• Being able to analyze data and think critically about one’s own research and that of others,
• Communicating results effectively both orally and in writing, and
• Working as part of a research team.

Students in the internship track will also take a marketing course and learn about the basics of marketing and management. Instead of conducting their own research, they will do an internship with a biotechnology company to learn about the business and gain technical and analytical skills.