Enrolled Student Resources

Students are welcome to submit requests for funding support when traveling to meetings, conferences, and trainings. Cost-sharing is a requirement, so please be prepared to gather funding from multiple sources; your advisor, department, and college may contribute to your fundraising efforts.

To submit a request, please complete the online application found here.

Deadlines for PiEE travel award requests are: November 1 for travel between January and June and April 1 for travel between July and December.

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The online application will require the following information:

1. The title and date of the conference, meeting or workshop.

2. Why you are attending (presentation? poster? hands-on workshop? etc.).

3. A breakdown of expenditures and funding sources (cost-sharing is required to receive PiEE travel funds), and the amount requested of Program in Ecology and Evolution.

4. How the support from the PiEE travel fund will supplement your current funding for attendance.

5. Include which of the following you have completed in terms of participation in PiEE. "We require participation in PiEE as an officer or committee member as a condition of funding and it is heavily weighted in travel award selection. Students who have yet to serve as a PiEE officer or committee member may be eligible for travel awards subject to funding availability and an agreement to serve in one of these roles in the next AY."

   1. Presented at a PiEE symposium during your membership in PiEE

   2. Serve(d) on a PiEE committee during your membership in PiEE

   3. Serve(d) as a mentor for incoming PiEE students through the Mentor-Mentee Committee during your membership in PiEE

   4. Attended at least 1 PiEE student meeting per semester this academic year

   5. Other:____________

 

Please note, PiEE travel funding are distributed to as many PiEE students as possible, so multiple funding requests from one person in an academic year likely won't be approved.

ENSURE YOU KEEP A COPY OF ALL PAPERWORK YOU SEND TO THE REGISTRAR'S OFFICE!

As an interdisciplinary program, all forms go to the PiEE director and then Dean of the School for graduate education. Please make sure to route forms appropriately. When submitting forms via email, please send to the PiEE director and CC ecology@uwyo.edu.

Setting Up Your Degree, Committee and Program of Study

Change of Major

• Use this form to add, drop or change any one or a combination of the following: advisor, major, minor, option/concentration, college, and/or graduate status. You will be notified by e-mail or phone when the change has been made.

• Signatures:

  • 1st line (Current Dept. Head): The Department Head in your advisor's department (e.g., Botany = Naomi Ward)

  • 2nd line (New Dept. Head/Interdisciplinary Program Director): Dr. Melanie Murphy

Committee Assignment

• Use this form enables you to officially designate your thesis/dissertation committee members.

• Notes: You must have three (3) Program in Ecology and Evolution faculty on your committee. You may have a member that is not from the UW; if this is the case you must attach his/her CV to your Committee Assignment form.  This must be submitted before or with your Program of Study form. Click here for more info on Committee Assignments.

• Signatures:

  • Interdisciplinary Program Director: Dr. Melanie Murphy

  • Dean/Vice Provost: Dr. James Ahern

Graduate Committee Change Form

• Use this form is used to make corrections and additions/deletions to an approved committee assignment form.  This form must be typed or computer processed.  ALL committee member signatures are required.  If the member has left UW please write "left UW" in place of the their signature. Student's signature is required.

• Notes: The Home Department Head and College Dean's signature is NOT required when it's an interdisciplinary program.

• Signatures:

  • Interdisciplinary Program Director: Dr. Melanie Murphy

  • Dean/Vice Provost: Dr. James Ahern

Program of Study

• Use this form to provide UW and the Program in Ecology and Evolution an update on your progress towards your degree.

• Notes: Your Program of Study must be filed prior to taking your Preliminary Exams, and must be submitted after or with your Committee Assignment form.  You must have at least 42 credits of coursework (26 of that can be from your masters), which must include ECOL 5100.  Coursework plus research credits must equal at least 72.

• Signatures:

  • Interdisciplinary Program Director: Dr. Melanie Murphy

  • Dean/Vice Provost: Dr. James Ahern

Request for Change in Graduate Program

• Use this form to make corrections and additions/deletions to an approved program of study and may be submitted more than once. This form must be typed or completed on a word processor. The student's signature is required.

• Signatures:

  • Committee Chair, Interdisciplinary Program Director: Dr. Melainie Murphy

  • Vice Provost/Dean: Dr. James Ahern 

Progress Report Tracking Form

• This form describes procedures that will allow the PiEE Graduate Affairs Committee and the Director to properly track student progress and declares student status an explanation of status.

• Notes: These procedures are designed to ensure fair treatment of students, maintenance of PiEE academic goals and standards, judicious use of PiEE Graduate Assistantships and compliance with UW guidelines and regulations.

• Signatures:

  • Interdisciplinary Program Director: Dr. Melanie Murphy

  • Committee Members

Paperwork for Exams (Prelims and Final)

Report of Preliminary Examination

• This document provides UW and the Program in Ecology and Evolution that you have taken your Preliminary Exams. It must filed whether or not you pass or fail. The form must be signed by all members of your committee and should be brought to your Oral Exam.

• Notes: Bring this form to your prelim exams!

• Signatures:

  • Interdisciplinary Program Director: Dr. Melanie Murphy

Report on Final Examination Form

• This document provides UW and the Program in Ecology and Evolution that you have taken your Preliminary Exams. It must filed whether or not you pass or fail. The form must be signed by all members of your committee and should be brought to your Oral Exam.

• Notes: Bring this form to your final examination!

• Signatures:

  • Interdisciplinary Program Director: Dr. Melanie Murphy

  • Vice Provost/Dean: Dr. James Ahern

Wrapping up Your Degree

Optional Fee Package Petition

• This form allows you to register for one credit (usually dissertation research credit hours, at the end of your graduate tenure) and retain your health insurance, access to the gym and libraries, loan deferment, etc.

• Signatures:

  • Dept. Head/Chair/Interdisciplinary Program Director: Dr. Melanie Murphy

Dissertation Template

• This document provides all the information you need for formatting your thesis/dissertation.

• Notes: This is loaded with important information (e.g., margin and font requirements, abstract format, etc.).

• Names to include on the 1st page:

  • Program in Ecology and Evolution Director: Dr. Melanie Murphy

  • Dean/Provost: Dr. James Ahern

Graduation Information

• Provides access to a couple of forms that must be filled out prior to graduation, deadlines change every semester- so if you are approaching completion check this site frequently.

• Includes the required Anticipated Graduate Date Form and information on the Graduation Fee.

Miscellaneous Paperwork

Exception Request

• Use this form to request that the Registrar's Office add, drop, withdraw, or change the credit hours for a course after the usual enrollment deadlines have passed. Your request will require approval.

Completion of the Doctoral Degree Within Four Years After Passing the Comprehensive Exam (Called the "Four Year Rule" form)

• This form will enable you to request that you be allowed to stay in the graduate program beyond 4 years after completion of your Exam.

• Signatures:

  • Interdisciplinary Program Director: Dr. Melanie Murphy

  • Vice Provost/Dean: Dr. James Ahern

Graduate students in the Program in Ecology and Evolution (PiEE) are encouraged to apply for funding in the spring semester for a one-year Standard or Expanded Graduate Teaching Assistantship.  These Graduate Teaching Assistantship’s are intended to serve as bridge funding, rather than full support for a PhD program.  Priority will be given to senior PiEE students (post-preliminary exams) who have never received a PiEE Graduate Teaching Assistantship.

Standard & Expanded Teaching Assistantship Responsibilities

• Standard Graduate Teaching Assistant: Will assist primary instructor in the fall and spring semester with typical teaching assistant duties to include; teaching, leading labs, grading, etc. in the LIFE program, usually for the LIFE 1010 (intro biology) course.

• Expanded Graduate Teaching Assistant: Will take a more leadership role in the process of developing and delivering lectures, evaluating and more for the General Ecology course in the LIFE program.  Only one Expanded Graduate Teaching Assistantship is awarded; the student works closely with the primary instructor(s) on this Graduate Teaching Assistantship.  The Expanded Graduate Teaching Assistantship does take more time than the Standard Graduate Teaching Assistantship but will give you more direct experience with teaching courses. Interested students can email Chris North (cnorth@uwyo.edu) with questions.

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Application Deadline and Graduate Teaching Assistantship Timeline

• Application Deadline: Feb. 25, 2025 by 12:00 p.m.

• Graduate Teaching Assistantship Timeframe:

  • Academic Year - August (new faculty reporting date, per UW's academic calendar) through May 31

How To Apply

• Complete the online form and upload the following documents (PDF format) in the application:

  • A letter of support from advisor explicitly stating your need for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship. This can be an email (save as a PDF prior to uploading).

  • Curriculum Vitae.

  • Expanded GTA applicants: Include a statement, up to one page, describing your interest in this Graduate Teaching Assistantship.

Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center
The Berry Center houses the UW Biodiversity Institute, the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD), and the Program in Ecology administrative offices.

Ecology Processing Lab ("EcoLab")
A facility in the Berry Center which is built specifically for the initial processing of field samples, such as sieving, weighing, etc.  Available to PiE faculty, affiliates, post-docs, students and other field researchers.

Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources
An undergraduate and graduate program focused on interdisciplinary student of abiotic components of the environment.

Prairie Heating and CO2 Enrichment (PHACE) Experiment
Research program studying relationships between grassland ecosystems and elevated carbon dioxide levels.

Rocky Mountain Herbarium
A collection of hundreds of thousands of flora, grasses, shrubs, etc. found in the Rocky Mountain region.

Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources
A research-based entity seeking to advance effective decision-making on environmental and natural resource issues through research, policy analysis, education, process support, and outreach.

Science and Math Teaching Center
A graduate program in the College of Education for students seeking to teach in the science or math fields.

University of Wyoming Stable Isotope Facility
A hands-on teaching facility housed in the Berry Center for University of Wyoming students, post-docs and faculty to investigate isotopic properties of biological materials.

University of Wyoming/National Park Service Research Center in Grand Teton National Park
Provides lodging, lab space, transportation and equipment to researchers in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center
An interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Wyoming focused on the development of geospatial information and technologies and their applications in science, education, government and business.

Wyoming Natural Diversity Database
A service and research unit of the University of Wyoming that maintains a comprehensive database on the distribution and ecology of rare plants, rare animals, and important plant communities in Wyoming.