Dolomiti

I am working in the same lab I came in at. We have 40+ students and I don't know anyone that has switched labs during a degree program (a few that have between their master's and PhD). The good thing is in our 6000 level classes there is usually a lab project of some kind that allows you to research another aspect of the field. You can also do special projects with a professor of your choice, for credit. Our school also has an agreement with the University of Ghent, Karl Franzenzs Univ, and another school in France that allows a semester or summer research programs. Personally, I don't have the desire to switch labs. I would like to do something different if I go on for a PhD, but for my MS I'm fine with only one lab. I was looking for 2 things: a productive faculty and one of those faculty that were doing research I find interesting. Two years isn't a lot of time....

I shopped around to like 10 schools (sending emails to professors and stuff), but I only applied to 2 schools. Wisconsin and Arkansas. Arkansas: I got an email from the professor I wanted to work with 1 week after I applied. The official notice was like 2 weeks later. Wisconsin took a little longer...like 3 weeks, but they placed me a lab that I didn't want. So, I came down here to Arkansas Are you in contact with the professors you want to work with? I pretty much knew what professors were interested in me, so I only applied to those schools. If a lab doesn't have the funding then you won't get accepted. Maybe some of the large programs have a different system but here all the students are on assistantships and I think that is pretty common. I think every schools timeline is different...So I wouldn't worry about that.

Oh yeah, here is a link that drove my program decision: http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?year=2007&primary=2&secondary=20&bycat=Go

Hey everyone, I rember reading through this forum about a year ago. Anyways I'm a first year MS student at the U of Arkansas specializing in food chemistry. I know a little about admissions because I went through the process a year ago. If you have any questions I'm willing to answer them. I might ask my own, as I'm currently debating on a PhD program attempt.