Welcome!

The Avian Sciences Graduate Group aims to provide broad training in the underlying principles of the biology of Aves to students who want to obtain a Masters of Science degree. Birds are unique in many aspects of their biology and the wide range of expertise represented by the faculty allows Avian Sciences to offer graduate students a broad program of training with an emphasis ranging from cellular and molecular sciences, to organismal sciences, to environmental sciences. Collaborative research is common within the Avian Sciences Graduate Group and can be attributed to the interdisciplinary nature of the program. This specialized study provides unique qualifications for a variety of job opportunities as well as further academic training towards a professional degree or a PhD in a related program.

The Avian Sciences Graduate Group is the only graduate program that focuses on avian biology within the University of California System, and one of only a few in North America. We feel that the primary strength of our program derives from its teaching of the fundamental disciplines of genetics, cell biology, physiology, behavior, medicine and environmental biology as they relate to birds in general. Students are then able to focus this basic information on the species and problems that relate to their interest.