Brown's Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology (EEOB) is an interactive group of 20 faculty and approximately 35 graduate students engaged in research and coursework that spans the fields of anatomy, behavior, ecology, evolution, genetics, genomics and paleontology utilizing a range of organisms from microbes to dinosaurs.

Before enrolling, students typically identify one or two faculty with whom they want to study. Independent research begins early in the program, which is designed to prepare students for careers in research and higher education. Each student develops a program of preparation based on close mentoring by a thesis committee. Students are also required to take at least three graduate seminars that cover current topics in individual faculty members' areas of expertise. Students participate in the EEOB graduate seminar taught by a pair of faculty members who bring different perspectives to classical and current literature in ecology, evolution, and organismal biology. Weekly colloquia give students contact with visiting scientists from a wide variety of disciplines.

Collaborative training programs: EEOB faculty also train students in collaboration with the Center for Computational Molecular Biology and the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and the School of Engineering, and faculty from those units often serve as co–mentors to EEOB graduate students.