*Departments of Anthropology & Zoology

Miami University, Oxford Ohio 45056*

WELCOME TO MIAMI PRIMATOLOGY!
[Anthropology | Zoology | Psychology]

Primatology at Miami University began in 1989, when Linda Marchant became assistant professor of biological anthropology. William McGrew joined her with a split appointment as professor of anthropology and zoology in 1993. We are committed to striving for the highest standards of research and teaching about apes, monkeys, and prosimians. Miami’s primatology program is multi-level, and some features are probably unique in American higher education.

At the undergraduate level, students of primatology typically major in anthropology or zoology or both, or minor in these subjects, formally or otherwise. Miami may well offer more undergraduate courses with a significant primatological content than anyone else:

ATH 255
ATH/ZOO 395

ATH/ZOO 400
ATH 455

ATH 496/596
ATH/ZOO 497
ATH/ZOO 498

More unusually, there is a Primatology Club, a student-run society that meets fortnightly during the academic year. Its activities include trips, debates, newsletter, visiting speakers, service weekends, and good fun!

In addition to university-wide funding for undergraduate research, such as Dean's Scholarships and University Summer Scholarships, there is dedicated funding for primatology. The Rebecca Jeanne Andrew Memorial Awards provide financial support for off-campus research. “Rebecca” awardees have studied wild primates in Costa Rica, Kenya, Madagascar, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Thailand, as well as in zoos or other facilities in the USA and abroad, e.g. Chester Zoo in England.

At the graduate level, Miami offers both Masters and Ph.D. opportunities in the Department of Zoology. (There is no graduate program in the Department of Anthropology.) Funded assistantships are available on a competitive basis, and summer workshops provide additional financial support for field research. So far, students have worked abroad in Congo (DRC), Kenya, and Tanzania, and in American zoos and laboratories. Please see the Zoology Department’s website for details of eligibility and application.

At the post-doctoral level, the Zoology Department is occasionally able to offer 1-2 year research fellowships in primate ecology. These are full-time salaried positions with field benefits and some supplementary support funds, but funding for field research must be obtained externally. Post-doctoral fellows so far have been Dr. Barbara Fruth (Germany, wild bonobos), Dr. Alison Fletcher (England, wild gorillas), and Dr. Jill Pruetz (USA, wild chimpanzees). Each has been assisted by Miami undergraduates.

Miami has no non-human primates on campus, and has no plans to add any. Instead, we have ongoing working relations with nearby zoos and other facilities further afield. For example, both Cincinnati and Columbus Zoos have breeding groups of bonobos and western lowland gorillas.

Miami primatology is committed to ethical treatment of our nearest living relations, and so we are active in both welfare and conservation. Students volunteer their labor at the Kentucky primate Rescue Center, and both faculty and students take part in Chimp Haven, a non-profit organization establishing retirement refugees for ex-laboratory chimpanzees.

If this sounds interesting to you, please look over the rest of our website. For further information, please contact Dr. Linda Marchant (marchalf@muohio.edu), Dr. Bill McGrew (mcgrewwc@muohio.edu) or Dr. Scott Suarez (suarezsa@muohio.edu).

E-mail Dr. Marchant Dr. Suarez Dr. McGrew

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