Edelweiss8

What is your research interest? How well does it fit with the professors'? What is your goal after getting a PhD?

Dear Aradhana94, Thanks for your reply. Yes it is a MA+PhD program at SB, with tuition waiver and nearly 20k TA/RA/Scholarships each year. Yale offers no financial aid, the total cost per year is estimated 60k, but affordable. I will take a good look at the courses. Thanks again.

Hi guys, I am choosing between the MA/PhD program at UCSB Geography, and Master in Environmental Sciences at Yale FES (Forestry and Environmental Studies). My major is Remote Sensing and GIS, and I intend to remain in academia in the future. The advisor at UCSB is an assistant professor who just got started, but she seems to be a rising star with amazing research outcomes. I talked to her before, and she seems really nice. UCSB has a very good reputation in remote sensing and GIS research, with awesome scenery. More than half graduated PhDs got a job in academia, as faculty or postdocs. The advisor at Yale is famous and successful. She got elected as US Academy of Science. What she does really attracts me. However, 12 to 16 courses have to be finished, leaving limited time for research. So the first year at Yale could be tough, since I have to fit in, take many courses, and struggle for research time in order to be competitive when applying for PhD. The employment (and further studies) data do seem optimistic, though. Thanks for sharing your advice.