授予哲学博士学位的原因是承认该专业领域的深入知识和对相关主题的全面理解，并具有在独立的研究人员中进行独立研究和交流研究结果的能力。拥有学士学位的学生将令人满意地完成至少36个学时（其中可能包括独立学习/研究，BIOL 601课程），教程和研讨会。对于获得批准的硕士学位的学生，必须完成至少18个学期的课程工作。所有博士生至少需要18个学期的学位论文研究（BIOL 701）。
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is awarded in recognition of in-depth knowledge in a major field and comprehensive understanding of related subjects together with a demonstration of ability to perform independent investigation and to communicate the results of such investigation in an acceptable dissertation. Students entering with a Bachelor's degree will satisfactorily complete a minimum of 36 credit hours (which may include the independent study/research, course BIOL 601), tutorials, and seminars. For students entering with an approved Master's degree, completion of at least 18 semester hours of course work is required. After completing required coursework, a minimum of 18 semester hours of dissertation research (BIOL 701) is required for all doctoral students.