Chicago Botanic Garden

Education — Degree Programs

Landscapes, Ecological, and Anthropogenic Processes
(LEAP) Ph.D. Program

PHOTO: LEAP program field tripLandscapes, Ecological, and Anthropogenic Processes (LEAP) is a multidisciplinary Ph.D. program offered by the University of Illinois at Chicago in partnership with the Chicago Botanic Garden. Launched in 2005, the program fosters understanding of ecological processes in human-altered landscapes. Students are trained to integrate a variety of scientific disciplines with relevant economic and social sciences studies. The overarching goal is to improve how human activities relate to the native species of plants and animals, natural communities and ecosystems. The program combines applied research with basic theory and incorporates both community and species level approaches. To prepare graduates who are able to protect and enhance biodiversity, students are encouraged to network with stewardship professionals and other land-management stakeholders. Moreover, they participate in an internship program and conduct research with scientists at the Chicago Botanic Garden and other partner institutions in the Chicago region.

LEAP is funded by the National Science Foundation via an Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) grant.

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