Grad School in Marine Biology

[Anonymous]

DD is interested in getting a Masters in Marine Biology. Anyone BTDT with advice on schools, types of research needed, etc? She's been hearing that you have to have research experience prior to being accepted, which seems odd to me. (I did my PhD in a different science 30+ yrs ago, and you went to grad school to do research, not the other way around).

TIA

[Anonymous]

Check out Dauphin Island Sea Lab (U of South Alabama in Mobile, AL).

[Anonymous]

I work in a related field - yes, she needs research experience in college to get accepted. I would also not put all her effort in the field and have backup options. Lots of funding uncertainty in marine biology research right now.

[Anonymous]

Ask George Costanza

[Anonymous]

Stony Brook

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask George Costanza

Probably not wise to compare yourself to a Renaissance man like Art Vandelay, though.

That career pivot from architect, to importer/exporter, then to marine biologist would be tough to replicate.

[Anonymous]

For any thesis-based masters degree program that is respected in the field one is going to need research experience to be competitive. The top ones, ie the ones that lead to preferred careers, have funding to cover part of tuition/costs, usually in the form of research or teaching fellowships. Top programs want students with experience, whether that be bench research or historical research. Even masters in humanities programs require undergrad research, for the desirable programs. Every college or university worth its cost has access to undergraduate research across all fields and opportunity for undergraduate thesis completion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in a related field - yes, she needs research experience in college to get accepted. I would also not put all her effort in the field and have backup options. Lots of funding uncertainty in marine biology research right now.

+1
OP your student is likely well aware research is needed to get in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in a related field - yes, she needs research experience in college to get accepted. I would also not put all her effort in the field and have backup options. Lots of funding uncertainty in marine biology research right now.

+1
OP your student is likely well aware research is needed to get in

OP here. Yes, she mentioned that. (She's just started her BS). I just found that odd, or maybe interesting is a better word. Wasn't that way before (at least in my field) but times change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For any thesis-based masters degree program that is respected in the field one is going to need research experience to be competitive. The top ones, ie the ones that lead to preferred careers, have funding to cover part of tuition/costs, usually in the form of research or teaching fellowships. Top programs want students with experience, whether that be bench research or historical research. Even masters in humanities programs require undergrad research, for the desirable programs. Every college or university worth its cost has access to undergraduate research across all fields and opportunity for undergraduate thesis completion.

So if I'm understanding this correctly (OP again) she needs to focus on that during her undergrad time. Is there a way to do it between undergrad and prior to applying to grad school?

[Anonymous]

There are no jobs in this area.

[Anonymous]

Dh and I are both scientists, and honestly I'm not sure we'd encourage a marine biology specialization. There aren't a lot of jobs out there in that discipline, and some of them are going to be very remote, in harsh conditions.

Also, a Masters'? Why not a PhD? Has she done adequate research on the job market for both?

[Anonymous]

DC went to W&M undergrad and started volunteering, and then eventually got an internship at their Marine Lab. Also had a summer internship through the Smithsonian (who knows the status of that now ), and did a semester abroad with SIT where he could do marine science research https://studyabroad.sit.edu/

Professors he worked with were a huge help when it came time to apply to grad school.

[Anonymous]

My cousin graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and went into a PhD program. She is a faculty member now.

Her degrees might have been in plain biology but her focus was on marine biology.

I recall that, during undergrad, she did a summer research experience on the Atlantic Coast that was operated by a different university. Don't remember the details. She also interned at the Baltimore Aquarium.

[Anonymous]

My kid is in grad school for that now.

Yes, to be competitive she should have wotked in the field, hopefully presented research and ideally published peer reviewed research. Any kid seekng graduate study in a field should want this exposure anyway, to be sure they will like it.

It is a difficult time for marine scientists ( what with NOAA cuts and climate change denial). But perhaps by the time your daughter graduates, voters will have installed leaders who are more sane.

Here are some tips that helped my daughter. First of all, look up the Hollings scholarship out of NOAA if that program has not been cut. It is amazing opportunity . Highly competitive, yes, but it gives recipients a summer job of your choosing. A partial scholarship junior and senior years of undergrad, and expenses to present their research at two marine biology conferences senior year. It is really fantastic but kids can only apply for that scholarship when you are a sophomore in college so again, make sure you look it up. ( It also available to kids studying other things that NOAA focuses on such as meteorology.)

Be careful because this is a field that has a lot of experiences that in fact, our money makers for nonprofits or travel agencies, so your kid should really try to only work with organizations that are academically oriented (ie, affiliated with the university). The other prestigious thing that your child could try to get on her resume is an REU award (Research Experiences for Undergrads). Those are funded research opportunities with scientific mentors around the country. You can Google it.

Last, I will say that when your child applies to graduate school they’re going to have to find a scientist (at least for PhDs) studying they aspect of marine biologist that interests them, and they’re gonna have to contact that scientist in advance to get him or her to endorse their application. For funded programs at least, schools won’t accept applicants who cannot identify (on their application) a scientist who is willing to work with them. So that’s another hurdle that your child will have to overcome to find a slot in grad school or at least that was my daughters experiences.

(PS she was successful ultimately, and got into two schools, but it I was challenging —and is probably even more so given the current political environment. Good luck though. )