Graduate School

By Markus Min

Overview

Research-based graduate programs in the natural sciences, which are most commonly Ph.D. programs, but frequently M.S. programs as well, are one of the most popular types of graduate programs. The defining aspect of these programs is that in addition to coursework, the primary emphasis of these programs is research under the direction of a faculty advisor/mentor.

Career fits

M.S. or Ph.D. degrees are designed to develop your research abilities and prepare you for a career in research. That being said, they are also highly desirable qualifications for a number of jobs that are not research-focused, particularly management and policy positions in related fields. Based on my experience, the most common positions after graduate school fall into one of three broad categories:

1. Academia: Traditionally, Ph.D. programs were designed to prepare students for jobs in academia, which means working at a university. Positions in academia include research scientists, post-doctoral scholars, and faculty positions (professorships), where the emphasis is on generating new knowledge, mentoring students, and teaching classes.

2. Government: Depending on the field of study, there are scientific government agencies who are in need of people with advanced research capabilities gained from graduate studies. Here are a few examples of these agencies:

   1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). For students in the marine or atmospheric sciences, this is the primary government agency of interest. NOAA's primary focus areas include fisheries science and management, atmospheric sciences, oceanography, coral reefs, and marine mammals.

   2. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service

   3. State agencies, for example state departments of Fish and Wildlife, Ecology, or Natural Resources.

   4. The National Park Service

3. NGO/private organizations

Funding

One of the key aspects to research-based graduate programs that is not widely known is that in addition to having your tuition fully covered, you are often also paid a stipend. This is almost always the case for Ph.D. programs, and can be the case for M.S. programs as well. Stipends typically range from $20,000-$30,000 annually.

The application process

Two aspects of the application process for M.S. or Ph.D. programs are fairly unique:

1. A heavy emphasis is placed on your fit with a particular member of the faculty, rather than the program overall.

2. As the university typically has to cover your tuition and pay you a stipend, securing funding for your graduate program is often a major factor in your admissions decision. In the context of graduate admissions, funding refers to sources such as fellowships, scholarships, or grants. It does not refer to personal/educational loans or savings.

Applications are typically due in the fall or winter for the next academic year.

More detail about the application process can be found in the article below.

Examples

Here are some examples of the types of graduate programs that fit under this umbrella:

University of Washington, M.S. or Ph.D. in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences: https://fish.uw.edu/students/graduate-program/

University of California Berkeley, Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management: https://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/graduate-programs

University of California Santa Barbara, Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology: https://www.eemb.ucsb.edu/academics/graduate

By Markus Min

Applying to research-based graduate programs requires a considerable amount of forethought and planning to give yourself the best chance at success. It is very important to start early, typically a year or more before you’d like to enter your program - this means that summer is usually when you would want to start the process of applying for graduate school.

A common saying when applying to research-based programs, particularly Ph.D. programs, is that you are applying to a lab, headed by a specific professor (or “principal investigator”), more so than you are applying to a program or university. This entails that when applying to these sorts of graduate programs, communicating with professors prior to even applying is essential.

Identifying a faculty advisor

Your faculty advisor (professor) is arguably the most important aspect of your happiness and success in graduate school. This is the person that you will work the most closely with throughout your time in graduate school, who will provide you with mentorship and feedback, and will be your primary advocate. As such, it is important to take the time to find faculty members that fit your research interests and you think you will work well with prior to even applying to graduate school.

Once you have found a graduate program that you are interested in, you should find the webpage for the faculty members of that graduate program. From there, you should read the bios of the various faculty members and note which ones have interests that are similar to yours. For example, if I was interested in applying to the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, I would visit this page and note which faculty members do research that I am interested in. These pages will also frequently have the lab websites of individual faculty members listed, which should have more detailed information on their research and lab.

Contacting a faculty advisor

Once you have identified professors/labs that you are interested in working with, you should reach out to them via email to let them know that you are considering applying to the graduate program and are interested in their research. This should be done by the summer or fall prior to applying to the program - not after you have already applied. Sooner is better than later.

When contacting faculty advisors, you should look for information on their university faculty page or website for anything specific that they would like you to include when reaching out to them. Commonly requested items are a CV, statement of research interests, or transcripts. Attention to detail is crucial in this step - it is very easy to make a bad first impression by not including information that faculty members have specifically requested. If you cannot find this information, you should include in your initial email a general description of your research interests and past research experience, as well as your CV.

Learning more about the advisor

As I mentioned previously, it is crucial that not only do your research interests fit those of your faculty advisor, but that you also think that you will get along on a personal level. It is an unfortunate reality in academia that some professors are less interested in the success of their graduate students than others, and as such you will want to know before joining a lab if a potential faculty advisor fits the type of mentor that you are looking for. To better understand the faculty-graduate student dynamic in a lab, there are no better resources than current or former graduate students, information on which should be listed on the lab website of the professor. For any labs that you are seriously considering applying to, I would strongly encourage you to contact the graduate students of the professor to learn more about the professor’s advising style and day-to-day life in the lab.

The application process

Once you have identified a program and a faculty advisor (or multiple) within that program, you are ready to begin the application process. Typical components of an application are 1) A personal statement, 2) Transcript(s), 3) Letters of Recommendation, and occasionally 4) GRE scores. GRE scores are becoming less commonly required, but if your program still requires them, make sure that you have your scores by the deadline set by your program. The application will also frequently ask you to identify faculty members that you are interested in as a potential advisor.

Securing funding

Securing funding for your graduate program is often a primary hurdle for admission. It is very common that the only thing stopping professors from accepting a student is a lack of funding to support that student. It is therefore important to discuss funding with potential faculty advisors to learn if they have any funding available for graduate students, or if graduate students would need to secure their own funding to attend. Please see our guide on securing funding for graduate school to learn more about how you can find and apply for funding sources on your own.

Further information

Have questions about applying to M.S. or Ph.D. programs? Please use the form below to send me any questions, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.