thebreath

I'm a music major with 10+ years work experience, mostly in environment and science museums. Most MS biology programs won't look at my application because of that, and those that will require a bit more coursework which I have been working on. I'm at a point where I could apply to some schools for the fall, but the research interests aren't the best match, or take another year of upper undergrad courses and go for a school that could match me with more relevant research. (I ultimately want to get into astrobiology and origin of life research and have been looking at CSU East Bay, with connections to NASA Ames.) Is it a bad idea to go for a program that will get me started this year, counting on finding an outside thesis advisor or making do with less related research? While it seems more important to do good research and even publish, regardless of subfield, I don't want to be stuck with no advisor or one who doesn't care to advise me.

Thanks Rothman! That's super encouraging. Who was your thesis advisor at CSU? (East Bay?) Did you know you wanted to go for a PhD before you went to CSU?

Unusual background: I have a BA in Music from a top liberal arts college (2005) and intend to get into research on astrobiology and the origin of life. I was a bio minor so right now I'm loading up the other course requirements I need to apply to grad school. Of course most programs won't look at an application from a BA Music with no research experience so I'm angling for CSU East Bay's Biotechnology Certificate Program (BCP), which offers the coursework for an MS Biology with an option for thesis research upon completion. I have been working in science fields and am aggressively looking for work as a lab tech. (Literally going to office hours and labs with files in hand. Not my favorite.) I am wondering if anyone knows anyone who either: 1) Got into a nice PhD program in biology or microbiology after being in a masters program at a CSU 2) Started with a non-science BA and got into research another way. If the BCP is the best way forward I apply in Spring 2018. I have liked research coming out of the Scripps Institute, U Arkansas, U Washington, Santa Fe Institute, Carl Sagan Center at SETI, and U Illinois, among others. Any well-intended suggestions are appreciated. My GRE score is tops, GPA 3.0 from aforementioned rad college, current make-up coursework mostly As.