Welcome to the home of the Integrated Biology Graduate Program (iBio). The Department of Biology at the University of Iowa has a long-standing tradition of top-notch graduate education in research and in teaching. With many positive changes to our curriculum, iBio is taking this strong record into the future.

The iBio program highlights the uniqueness of our departmental research, which centers on determining the fundamental nature and behavior of living organisms and systems. Our research integrates multiple organizational levels, from the molecular to the ecological, as well as multiple scales of biological time, from embryogenesis to aging to phylogenetic analyses, in a wide array of experimental organisms. Key areas of strength include: the molecular evolution of meiosis and of speciation, the molecular genetics of sexual reproduction, the establishment of asymmetry in early development, and the molecular basis of synaptic specificity and axonal targeting.

Few other graduate programs on campus or elsewhere can offer incoming students such a broad range of research to explore. Our focus on basic biological questions, as well as on high-quality writing and teaching, provides a firm foundation necessary for students to take the next steps in their careers, whether these are in basic or disease-centered academic research or in other areas of science. In this regard, iBio represents a departure from many traditional programs because our aim is to produce well-rounded scientists who excel in research and are prepared to become the next generation of gifted educators and enthusiastic scientific communicators.  

Please see all that we have to offer on this website and feel free to contact our Graduate Program Coordinator, Marlys Boote at ibio@uiowa.edu, with any questions. All applicants who are invited for an interview will have their application fees reimbursed. We look forward to seeing your application!

Bryan Phillips, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Biology;
Associate Chair for Graduate Education and 
Director of Graduate Studies,
Integrated Biology Graduate Program (iBio)