Current Students

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The MEB Student Guidebook is updated annually. Please select the guidebook for the academic year that you started as a graduate student in MEB (or MBBO before 2022).

• 2024-2025
• 2023-2024
• 2022-2023
• 2021-2022
• 2020-2021
• 2019-2020
• 2018-2019
• 2017-2018
• 2016-2017

This is a list of required Core Courses and departmental Advance Seminars. Additional courses may be used to fulfill the Advanced Seminar requirement. Please reference the updated MEB Guidebook for current offerings and additional coursework guidelines. Please check with your faculty advisor and/or Doug Burleson if you have any questions.

Core Courses

• BISC 582: Advanced Biological Oceanography
• BISC 583: Evolution and Adaptation of Marine Organisms
• BISC 584: Faculty Lecture Series
• BISC 585: Scientific Writing and Reviewing
• BISC 529: Marine Environmental Biology Seminar
  • Four semesters required

Advanced Seminars (4 required)

• BISC 586: Biological Oceanographic Instrumentation
• BISC 530: Plankton Biology
• BISC 531: Physiology of Marine Organisms
• BISC 532: Molecular and Microbial Ecology
• BISC 533: Remote Sensing and Modeling
• BISC 534: Population Genetics of Marine Organisms
• BISC 538: Metals and Biology in Oceanic Regimes
• BISC 536: Marine Biogeochemistry and Microbial Ecology
• BISC 545: Modeling and Numerical Techniques for Marine Scientists (can also be used to fulfill Statistics requirements)
• BISC 586: Biological Oceanographic Instrumentation
• BISC 587: Communicating Ocean Science
• BISC 588: Introduction to Bioinformatics
• BISC 599: Race and Racism in Evolutionary Biology

An approved course in Statistics

• BISC 305 Introduction to Statistics for Biologists
• BISC 444 Practical Analysis of Biological Data in R
• PSYC 501 Classic and Modern Statistical Methods
• PSYC 502L Analysis of Variance and Experimental Design
• PSYC 503L Regression and the General Linear Model
• PM 340L Health Behavior Statistical Methods
• PM 510L Principles of Biostatistics
• PM 511abL Data Analysis

Graduate students are required to serve as a teaching assistant for a minimum of two semesters. Ideally, the student should serve in at least two different courses. Students must enroll in BISC 593 (Practicum in Teaching the Biological Sciences, 2 units) either before or concurrent with their first semester as a Teaching Assistant.

Graduate students have the option to be supported by Teaching Assistantship. Calls for assistantships are made in mid-summer, mid-fall, and mid-spring for the Fall, Spring and Summer semesters, respectively. Students request courses for which they would like to be TAs from a list distributed by Doug Burleson. All enrolled students are eligible for TA positions up to and including year five of enrollment in the MEB program, beyond year five students are eligible for TAs based upon availability.

Course MEB students commonly TA:

• BISC102: Humans and Their Environment
• BISC120: General Biology: Organismal Biology and Evolution
• BISC220: General Biology: Cell Biology and Physiology

• Doug Burleson, Graduate Programs Manager, TA assignment, D-clearance, Procedural forms for Qualifying Exam, Defense and Graduation
• Adolfo Dela Rosa, Student Services Advisor, Pay schedules, Procedural forms for Qualifying Exam, Defense and Graduation
• Don Bingham, Section Coordinator, Allan Hancock Foundation room management, Allan Hancock Foundation building access, Reimbursement.
• Linda Bazilian, Director of Academic Programs, curriculum, course scheduling, oversight of teaching labs, problem solving
• Eric Webb, MEB Director, Program specific inquiries

Internal (USC & MEB) Funding

• The MEB section supports student engagement at national and international conferences and workshops. To apply for travel support, send an email to Adolfo P. Delta Rosa (adolfode@usc.edu) and the MEB program director detailing the intended travel. Current students are eligible for up to $500 annually.
• Graduate Student Government Travel Grant (https://gsg.usc.edu/student-funding/travel-grants/)
• Women in Science and Engineering Travel Grant (https://wise.usc.edu/programs/grants-and-awards/postdocs-and-phd/travel-grants/)
• USC Endowed, Research Enhancement, and Final Year Fellowships (https://graduateschool.usc.edu/fellowships/current-PhD-students/#endowed-phd)

External Funding & Searchable Databases

• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (https://www.nsfgrfp.org/)
• NDSEG
• Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program – NOAA
• Ford Foundation Fellowship
• USC’s Searchable Awards Database (http://awardsdatabase.usc.edu/)
• JHU List of Graduate Student Funding Opportunities (https://research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-opportunities/graduate/)
• JHU list of Underrepresented Minority and Low-income Graduate Student Funding Opportunities (https://research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-opportunities/underrepresented/)

The MEB graduate students have formalized a student government with the aims to centralize the student body and streamline initiatives. You can read our Constitution HERE. We have an executive board (E-board) and chair positions that are elected annually. The E-board meets monthly and acts to oversee the other chair positions, who are project-oriented, but we also maintain several ad-hoc committees.

Ad – Hoc Committees

• Alt – Ac Career Panels
• Social Media Team
• Outreach Committee
• New Student Orientation

The MEB Service Awards recognize outstanding graduate students from the MEB community for their commitment to the section through service in the form of voluntary work in committees, ad hoc efforts and elected positions. In addition to the recognition from the MEB community to the Award winner(s), a monetary award (currently $500) is granted. This award may not be won more than once in a potential nominee’s career at USC.

These awards are given using transparent criteria and an explicit rubric. Learn more about the award HERE and see the award scoring template HERE.