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Welcome to the IBG community!

IBG trains graduate students in research on the nature and origins of individual differences in behavior. To train at IBG, students must be admitted to a PhD program at the University of Colorado (Boulder or Denver). Upon completion of the training program, PhD students receive a certificate in Behavioral Genetics.  This is accomplished by requiring students to obtain a strong training in a primary academic discipline, by instructing them in the interdisciplinary content of behavioral genetics, and by providing an atmosphere that fosters interactions among scholars from different disciplines.

Students Currently Enrolled at the University of Colorado (Boulder or Denver) Wanting to Join IBG

Applications for the Behavioral Genetics certificate program can be submitted anytime after admittance to an IBG-affiliated PhD program (i.e, one that is home to one of our faculty fellows; see faculty page) and are reviewed on a rolling basis. However, to be considered for a potential training grant appointments for the following year, applications should be submitted by December 31st. Note that students who were admitted to a PhD program and whose advisor is an institute rostered faculy member should have already automatically been admitted to the Behavioral Genetics Cerificate Program.

Prospective IBG Students Applying to a PhD program

If you are a prospective student, not yet admitted to a PhD program at the University of Colorado, all you need to do is apply through your potential faculty mentor's department.Applicants admitted to a PhD program and whose advisor is an institute rostered faculy member (see the faculty page) will be automatically admitted to the Behavioral Genetics Certificate Program. In consultation with their advisor, such students may choose at a later time to not pursue the certificate.

We highly recommend contacting directly the faculty member(s) with whom you would like to work. That faculty member can help guide you through applying to the appropriate academic department. Our faculty love to hear from prospective students, so please email us! If you already know with which faculty member you want to work, you can also apply directly to the Ph.D. program the faculty member is affiliated with. You can find each faculty member's affiliated department under their picture on the Faculty page. For example, if you would like to enroll as a PhD student mentored by John Hewitt, you would apply to the in the and list Professor Hewitt as your advisor of choice. If you would like to work with Jerry Stitzel, you would apply to the PhD program in the and list Professor Stitzel as your advisor of choice.

Steps to Apply:

1. Determine the faculty member(s) with whom you would like to work.
2. If you choose to do so, email the faculty member(s) to make sure that they are accepting students, to assess whether your research interests align, and to ask any other questions you might have.
3. Apply to departmental PhD program with which that faculty member is affiliated. These include:
   1. (, , , or programs)
   3. Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
   4. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
   7. 
       

That's it! As noted above, students who are admitted to a PhD program and whose advisor is an institute rostered faculy member will automatically be admitted to the Behavioral Genetics Cerificate Program. All other students should wait until they are enrolled to apply for the Behavioral Genetics Certificate Program (see Students Currently Enrolled... above). 

Program Requirements

All students are eligible to take any graduate level course offered at the  or at the that is deemed suitable for their research interests, with permission of their research advisor. This includes courses offered through the various departments with which IBG faculty are affiliated: Psychology; Integrative Physiology; Neuroscience; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology; Computer Science; Human Medical Genetics (Denver); and Pharmacology (Denver).

To graduate with an IBG Interdisciplinary Certificate, students must complete two sets of requirements. The first set of requirements comes from the program and Department in which they are enrolled, and includes all requirements of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado. The second set of requirements is specific to the Behavioral Genetics Certificate Program. Often, there is high overlap between these two sets of requirements.

Student Funding

​â¶Ä‹IBG PhD trainees accepted into the Behavioral Genetics Certificate Program are fully supported during their graduate studies, either through one of our NIH-funded training grants, as a graduate research assistant (GRA) with their faculty mentor, or as a teaching assistant (TA) in their home department. This support includes academic year living stipend, tuition, insurance, and limited book and travel allowance to trainees in our program who continue to meet annual requirements. Moreover, IBG trainees in the Behavioral Genetics Certificate Program may apply for (and typically receive) summer funding to support their research activities during the summer.

IBG holds two T32 Institutional Training Grants funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The NIDA Training Grant supports training and research activities for four predoctoral students and two postdoctoral fellows; the NIMH Training Grant supports four predoctoral students and one postdoctoral fellow. To be eligible for T32 support, predoctoral students must be full participants in good standing in the BG Certificate Program; postdoctoral fellows must be conducting relevant research sponsored by an IBG faculty member. Typically, one or more predoctoral T32 positions become available each spring as students complete the graduate program and vacate a position. The IBG Training Committee meets every February to make recommendations for filling available positions. Applicants must have an outstanding academic record, show excellent research promise, and have a research program that is consistent with the mission of NIDA or NIMH--as determined by evaluation of student annual progress reports due Feb 1 each year. T32 support is competitive. Students are initially awarded support for 1 year, and can be supported for up to 3 years. However, this is not guaranteed. Student standing in the program is evaluated each year by the Training Committee. Postdoctoral T32 openings occur less regularly (approximately every two years). Postdoctoral applicants (including applicants from outside CU) are also evaluated by the IBG Training Committee. Typically, nominations for postdoctoral support come from faculty members who wish to sponsor them. Postdoctoral trainees are also eligible for up to 3 years of support. Both predoctoral and postdoctoral applicants for IBG T32 support must be US citizens.

The University of Colorado is an equal opportunity/nondiscrimination institution and diverse applicants are especially encouraged to apply. We also welcome applications from students with disabilities and the Institute is partnered with the University of Colorado at Boulder Disability Services to encourage and support such students. Please contact Disability Services at  if you have questions about support services at the University of Colorado.
 

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

IBG has multiple opportunities for paid, volunteer, or course credit undergraduate research. Interested students should contact an IBG faculty member directly to inquire about possible positions.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP):

UROP funds undergraduate research, scholarly and creative work for CU Boulder undergraduate students with several types of grants. For more information, please check out:

  UROP Grant Directory