enderall

How do I handle having a BFA and wanting to get into an MS program? Will departments take life and work experiences into account? I have a strong history of Outdoor Ed and Interpretation, high past GPAs- in my final art coursework and some previous early bio coursework, and a desire to move away from children's ed into more research or field-work or adult-oriented work. I already assume I will have quite a few pre-reqs to complete going into it. Thanks for suggestions!

I'm new to this forum, so some of these questions may already be out there in a post I couldn't find. My biggest sense of confusion right now is the steps before the application steps. 1. Is it appropriate or welcome to contact professors, advisors, or other grad students in a program before you have a clear/specific research area developed? I have read student and professors projects/pubs to get an idea of work a department is doing, I just think I need a little clearer understanding of the broad application of a specific program (after grad school). I do not intend to go on to a PhD in the near future after completing a MS. 2. Any suggestions how to get a sense of real world application (jobs) and general understanding of a program topic, specifically ecology versus natural resources and/or human dimensions in natural resources? 3. How does a generalist in the outdoor field develop a specific research goal, if they aren't really interested in studying one very tiny specific area? For example, studying the wood rat's adaptation to chewing plants a certain way...I don't see that as being what will help me when I leave school. I need/want a broad understanding of multiple ecological systems. Thanks for any and all answers! The first vague steps are always the hardest for me. Once defined and clarified, everything falls into place.

Enviro22: Great questions, as I am in a similar dilemma about Ecology vs Natural Resources vs Human Dimensions (including Interp). My background is mostly interp and enviro ed, but I am looking to take it to a higher level of science knowledge and education. Hopefully moving away from children's ed. Anyway, just wanted to respond because my sister is doing her PhD at CSU under Warner College. She's in watershed and geosciences I think, but has encouraged me to look at their HDNR program as she knows some people in that program and it sounds like a great match for a person who wants the sciences, but people part too. It is still a fairly new program, but that could offer more flexibility in creating your own area of interest. In fact, some of the phD students in that program area were part of an interdisciplinary team that my sister was on doing research in Mongolia last year. Cool stuff! Quote from the advisor when my sister connected me to her and I told her my background "with your background in art/humanities and field experience in environmental education – our program could offer more diverse natural resource training and well as tools to move into career-level environmental ed – either for adults or children." The department offers more than just EE though, so well worth looking into. Plus that school and Ft. Collins are just great places to be. I am waiting to hear from a grad student and an advisor in that department just for general conversation. I'll post more if I get to talk to them. If you like interp studies, you might want to check out SUNY's Enviro Interp Masters: http://www.esf.edu/efb/envint/ Good luck, hope that helps!