Curriculum

Curriculum Overview

IPEM fellows take a combination of core courses and ones tailored to their special interests and needs. Fellows should work closely with their academic advisor and other members of their supervisory committee in designing a course of study.

An outline of the curriculum follows. Those admitted to the program should consult the Curriculum Guidelines and the Fellows Handbook for a more detailed description and set of guidelines, plus obtain updated course schedules from UW and WSU web sites in advance of each academic term. Further opportunities for study and research are available at several IPEM-affiliated institutions.

Year 1

We will begin to build community among IPEM Fellows and faculty prior to the beginning of the first term, when students and core faculty convene for a three-day introductory workshop in a location convenient to both WSU and UW. This workshop will present an overview of the goals of the program, its structure, our expectations of the students, and what they can expect from the faculty, followed by an overview of Darwinian theory, the relevance of evolution to modern societal issues, and an introduction to faculty research. Following that, but before the beginning of fall term, students will attend an intensive, weeklong “Math Camp” workshop at UW directed the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences. Math Camp will be required of all incoming students; those with stronger math backgrounds will serve as peer tutors for others. This introduction to fundamental concepts of mathematics and probability will prepare Fellows for advanced courses in statistical methods. Students review algebra, functions and limits, differentiation, maximization of functions, integration, matrix algebra, linear equations and least-squares fits, probability theory, random variables, and common probability distributions.

Following Math Camp, IPEM Fellows will go to their home institution for the fall term of Year 1, followed by 2 quarters of coursework and collaborative interaction at UW for all students of that cohort. During this first year students will take a series of courses in history and theory in anthropology, evolutionary theory, mathematics and modeling, genetics, game theory, and research design. First-year (and advanced) Fellows also will participate in the IPEM Seminar, held weekly during the academic year. The seminar is broadcast from the originating campus to the sister campus via a high-quality audio/video network. It includes presentations on IPEM faculty and student research, as well as guest speakers from on and off the WSU and UW campuses.

To integrate evolutionary themes and models from life and social sciences, in Year 1 Fellows will take a series of courses that cover key concepts and models for the study of the evolution of social behavior (kin selection, reciprocal altruism, collective action theory, sexual selection, costly signaling, etc.), and at least one course on modeling techniques used in evolutionary analysis. The relevant courses are listed in a separate table.

During the latter part of Year 1 students will be organized into teams based on mutual interest, with each team consisting of 2-4 students and including at least one biologist and one anthropologist. Each team will work with two faculty (one from biology, one from anthropology) to develop and execute a team research project. Teams will work on their projects until the middle of the second year, with the bulk of data collection occurring during the summer of Year 1. The goal of each project will be a publishable paper submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. Teams will use the weekly IPEM seminar as a forum to discuss and get feedback on their projects. By the end of Year 1, following discussion with IPEM faculty, Fellows will identify a research track that corresponds to one of our principle two research foci: phylogenetic approaches to biological, behavioral and cultural evolution and co-evolution—including studies of cultural transmission; and analyses of cooperation and conflict in social systems. (See Research Opportunities page for more detail.) These tracks crosscut traditional programs.

Year 2

All second-year IPEM Fellows (from both campuses) will spend Fall Semester at WSU. During this semester they complete their common set of courses with the second of the new classes designed for this IPEM (Anth571/Biol 589, Evolution & Society or Advanced Topics). As part of this course, and also part of the IPEM outreach effort, students will develop and implement methods to educate K-12 students and others about evolution. Fellows take this course at the same time as they are preparing to present their team projects to the IPEM Core Faculty and in various outreach settings. As a part of this course they will learn about the relevant portions of the National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996). Students in the phylogenetics/cultural transmission track will then take an additional course on phylogenetics (Bio 445/545, Principles of Systematic Biology, Sullivan at University of Idaho, Moscow); students in the other track will take a course emphasizing agent-based modeling (Anth 547, Models in Anthropology, Kohler). Kohler will also coordinate the ongoing IPEM seminar in which team projects will be completed and presented.

After Fall Semester, Fellows will continue in their departmental programs on their home campuses, but will still meet weekly via videoconference for the IPEM Seminar and as necessary otherwise. IPEM Fellows will participate in the IPEM Seminar at least through the end of their second year. Before the end of Year 2, each student will take a course in Bioethics (at WSU, Phil 530, or UNIV 592, Interdisciplinary Ethical Issues in Graduate Study; at UW, MHE 411, Introduction to Bioethics, or MHE 536, Research Ethics and Regulation).

By the beginning of Spring term in Year 2, Fellows who entered the program with an MA/MS will be required to identify a Ph.D. research program and committee. Their Year 2 summer experience will typically be to embark on their Ph.D. research, for which they can apply for IPEM funds. Students entering with a BA/BS will be encouraged to identify a Ph.D. research program and committee at the end of Year 2 but will not be required to do so until the end of Fall term in Year 3.

Year 3 and beyond

After the first two years of course work and collaborative team projects, Fellows will concentrate on their thesis/dissertation research, which they will formulate during Year 2. We expect IPEM students will be fairly far along in their programs by their third year, and that they will be highly competitive for TA positions within their home departments and for RAs in research projects of our IPEM-affiliated faculty (as well as outside funding for dissertation research). Our goal is to have Fellows who arrive with a Master’s defend their dissertations within 4 years of entering the program. Those entering with a BA/BS will be expected to defend their dissertations within 5 years of entry. Students must give at least one presentation on their dissertation research within the IPEM Seminar series