Duke Nicholas vs. Yale F&ES

[MCU]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm looking for input regarding Duke/Yale Master of Environmental Management programs, and just trying to do some general information gathering. 

 

First, can any alumni from either program please provide feedback about their experience and career options?

 

Second, do any MEM Fall 2013 students have strong opinions?

 

Thanks!

[iowaguy]

Yale/Duke host a joint job fair

 

http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/duke_yale_fair/registration.html

http://environment.yale.edu/careers/fairs/DY12/

 

open to M.S. students of both Duke Nicholas School & Yale FES, so they apparently think they're on the same playing field with regards to the strength of their grad students.

 

I personally think that, generally speaking, in the Environmental Sciences the exact name of your degree matters less than in some fields.  Every program seems to have their own specialties, and in most programs your degree is basically what you make it (you can choose most/all of your classes).  Many of my friends have been surprised that I wasn't applying to (*insert esteemed university name*) environmental science/environmental engineering/ecology/earth & ocean sciences/aquatic science/etc. program.  But not all schools are strong in all of the different sub-fields.  Some schools that I looked at only had a couple of professors researching topics in my sub-field.

 

In the end, which of these programs (Duke vs Yale) best fits your research interests, and are there several professors (with similar interests) that you could potentially collaborate with?

 

IMHO you don't want to end up at a university just because you think it is a top name in your field (and Duke & Yale are both in the top 5 or 10, depending which ranking you look at, so this is less of a factor here).  You want to be sure that you will be surrounded by professors, post-docs, and fellow grad students that are also strong in your sub-field.  You will likely learn more from your fellow grad students than you will from the formal classes/professors, and your fellow grad students will be a strong professional network for you down the road.  So, best to be sure that many of them are also in your sub-field and share your same interests, IMHO.

[AdInfinitum]

MCU,

 

I'm also torn between Duke and Yale.  Regarding iowaguy's comment on class selection, it seems that Yale is the more flexible of the two, and we are able to take 50% of our courses outside of FES.  Duke seems to be more structured.  What are your thoughts?  Are you attending the open houses?

[cunninlynguist]

AdInfinitum: While FES is the more malleable program overall, there is plenty of flexibility through Nicholas. I took some notes during an admissions chat, and the staff mentioned a few things: 

 

Even if you are in one concentration, you can take courses in other concentration areas, and much of what you do, in classes, outside of classes, in internships, in your Master's project, and in other experiences, help you to "customize" your study quite a bit. ... It is common for students to take classes that are comprised of students from varying program areas of study. You can also take classes outside of the Nicholas School, as well--e.g., you can take classes in business, or law, or public policy, in the schools on campus as well...so you can use that to customize.

 

Free electives are open and available for students to take graduate level courses in their area of interest. ... You are allowed to take as many elective courses outside the Nicholas School as you like.

 

For my interests, the Sanford School and Law School will likely be where I select the vast majority of my electives. All told, it'll probably be a 60-40 split between Nicholas and the other schools at Duke, so the curriculum is what you make of it. FES has always been known as highly "free" in the sense that you can construct whatever path you want. Nicholas also offers certificates and things like the Environmental Policy and Law Clinic open to only Nicholas and Law School students.

[MCU]

AdInfinitum: I will be attending Yale's Open House; I did not make it to Duke's Admitted Student's Weekend.  Were you able to go to Durham last Fri-Sat?  If you went, what did you think?

 

iowaguy:  Thanks for the info; I agree professional network is critical when considering graduate school (and to consider: will my potential network have positions in the fields I wish to enter?).  Out of curiosity, what is your sub-field of environmental science?