The primary mission of the IBiS program is to encourage the development of our Ph.D. students as independent, creative research scientists and teachers. With 70 faculty in six academic departments at the Evanston campus and in six divisions at nearby Evanston Hospital, the IBiS program readily allows students to cross departmental and disciplinary boundaries in choosing courses and faculty research advisors. An important hallmark of the IBiS program is that our faculty are deeply committed to helping students prepare for the career options that await them after the completion of the Ph.D. degree, such as further academic training, employment with a biotechnology or pharmaceutical company, teaching at the college level, scientific journalism, science policy and administration, or many other endeavors. As part of that preparation, IBiS cosponsors BioOpportunities, a program that regularly explores career paths in the biological sciences through discussions with invited speakers representing diverse fields.

The Interdepartmental Biological Sciences Program brings together basic and applied sciences faculty from both Northwestern University’s Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Participants in the IBiS program include faculty in biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology, biomedical engineering, neurobiology and physiology, chemistry, and chemical and biological engineering. Staff of the Evanston Northwestern Hospital Research Institute, a member of the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, also participate in the program.

• Interdisciplinary doctoral programs with more than 70 faculty from six departments at Northwestern University and Evanston Northwestern Hospital
• Average time to to earn a Ph.D. is 5.5-6 years
• The programs research strengths are in the areas of:
  • Biotechnology & Nanotechnology
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Cancer Biology
  • Cell and Molecular Biology
  • Developmental Biology and Genetics
  • Neuroscience
  • Hormone Action & Signal Transduction
  • Structural Biology, Biochemistry and Biophysics
• Active Student Organization (ISO)
• Ph.D. in Biological Sciences
• BioOpportunities Career Development program prepares students for careers in academia, industry and many other related fields.
• The Evanston Campus is conveniently located 12 miles from Chicago