Welcome From the Dean
It is my pleasure to introduce you to the Richard Gilder Graduate School at the American Museum of Natural History.
You may already be familiar with the Museum's outstanding exhibitions and public education programs, cutting-edge research, global expeditions, and vast collections of specimens, cultural items, and astrophysical data. You may not know that we also have a long-standing commitment to academic training that has been an integral part of our mission for more than 100 years.
In 2008, we began offering our innovative Ph.D. in Comparative Biology, which makes us the only Ph.D. degree-granting museum in the Western Hemisphere. The Ph.D. degree is a natural extension of our mission: "To discover, interpret, and disseminate—through scientific research and education—knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."
The curriculum of the Ph.D. program in Comparative Biology focuses on the history and interactions among species, within and between biotas, and across time and space. Throughout the course of study, students have access to the unparalleled resources of the American Museum of Natural History, including its world-renowned collections; distinguished curators and other scientists serving as faculty; legacy of excellence in field discovery and theoretical advances; and public mission in science education, with unique student training opportunities in exhibitions and K-12 educational programs.
Students also receive exceptional support in a number of ways, including personalized, faculty-focused mentoring; fellowships and scholarships; a state-of-the-art graduate student center within our landmark buildings; and access to the Museum’s renowned natural history library and its spectacular new reading rooms in the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation.
The 21st century is widely viewed as the “century of biology,” and the Richard Gilder Graduate School Ph.D. program in Comparative Biology continues to prepare our graduates to be leaders in the field, with careers in academia, industry, government, or the private sector. I urge you to consider becoming one of them.
Explore the wide range of the Richard Gilder Graduate School’s university-level educational activities—which includes graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, our innovative Master of Art in Teaching Earth Science Residency Program, launched in 2015 (also representing the only such degree-granting program in any museum), and small grant programs for research—at rggs.amnh.org, or contact us with any additional questions at [email protected].
Most sincerely,
John J. Flynn
Dean, Richard Gilder Graduate School