Need help with Ecology/Evolutionary Bio programs

[Angulimala]

Hello all,

 

I am new to the Biology section of the forum, I am a Ph.D. student in sociology.  But I am inquiring at the behest of my SO.  I was wondering what are some schools who are strong in ecology/evolutionary bio.  I would like to be knowledgeable of ones that lie outside the T20 in addition to the programs in the T20.  Also, how is the application process for biology.  I know in sociology we had to send in a writing sample of notable length and also write a statement of purpose along with our application.  Is there a comparative process for biology??? If so what artifacts do you have to send in that represent you as a focused student etc etc....

 

Thanks for the help in advance

[zabius]

There is generally no writing sample required for biology programs; writing samples are usually only asked for in the humanities or social sciences. For all of the programs that I applied to, I just needed a statement of purpose (in which I described my prior research experiences and plans for the future, including what I intended to work on and why I chose that school specifically). Some schools will also ask for shorter supplemental essays, but these are generally ~1 page in length and are aimed mostly at assessing whether or not you're a good fit for the program. Many programs also allow you to upload copies of any scientific publications you may have, as well as your CV, but in most cases these things are optional. Then of course there are the standard things-- LORs, GRE scores, transcripts, etc. Some programs may recommend the biology subject GRE, but I generally find that exam to be a worthless endeavor; I'd only recommend it if the school requires it (or "strongly recommends" it), or if your SO doesn't have a strong biology background.

 

The SOP is what your SO should really focus on the most. That's where he'll be able to sell himself as a focused student, by describing his commitment to research and presenting ideas for possible PhD projects. The more details he can provide, the better (though of course he shouldn't come across as *so* focused on one project that he seems inflexible... there is a balance to be had here).

 

As for which schools are good... it really depends on your SO's interests. A school that may be really strong in, say, social animal behavior or chemical ecology might be really weak in something like restoration ecology or systematics or macroevolutionary theory. EEB is a really large field (actually, it's three fields-- ecology, evolution, and behavior), and so it's really hard to generalize. There are rankings available (http://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-Ecology/124723/), but since the field is so broad I don't know if I'd really trust the rankings all that much. Your SO should do a search for labs that work on his system(s) of interest and then go from there-- the professor's publication record and his/her record of placing students in good careers will give you a much better sense of the lab's quality than the rankings will.

 

On a related note, it's worth mentioning that, in my experience at least, many EEB programs either require or strongly suggest that you contact individual faculty members whose research interests you before you submit the application. In some cases, you cannot be accepted into the program without a faculty member to sponsor your application (this is especially true if the funding comes from your advisor's grant money). I know that in other fields you simply apply to the program and then choose an advisor after you're admitted, but EEB generally doesn't work like that. Rotations, which are common in other biological sciences, aren't very common in eco/evo/behavior labs. So, your SO really should put together a list of individual labs that interest him instead of a list of schools, and then email those professors to ask if they are taking new students next year. Of course, this doesn't mean that program/school quality isn't important, because it is-- the departmental atmosphere can really make all the difference in your graduate school experience. But I think that's something to assess and worry about a little later on, perhaps during interviews/visitation weekends. When it comes to choosing where to apply, I'd say choose based on your fit within the lab itself.

 

Also, depending on your SO's interests, he may want to look not just at faculty in EEB departments, but also at people in other, related departments. For example, professors who do cool ecological/evolutionary/behavioral work on insects may be found in entomology departments. There are also zoology departments, plant science departments, etc. that contain faculty who do EEB work. Conversely, at smaller schools there may only be a single general biology department, which includes all of the EEB faculty as well as the celluar and molecular biologists. These are just things to keep in mind when looking for labs.

 

I hope this helps! Good luck to your SO with the applications!

Edited April 13, 2013 by zabius

[Monochrome Spring]

EEB is very broad, as zabius said, so you have your work cut out for you finding programs that you want to apply to.

 

While I was choosing which programs I want to apply to, I first thought of what organisms I wanted to focus on. For me, that's plants. Then I thought about the habitat. I want to be more specific and look at tropical ecosystems. In addition to that, you have to think about whether you want to look at things like animal behavior, molecular evolution, phylogenies, community structure, herbivore interactions, etc. You don't have to be very specific, but you should have a general sense of those types of topics.

 

Looking at the top schools, many of them didn't even fit my research interests, despite being top programs. They are the best for specific subfields within ecology, but not my own. I would do a google search for the specific subfields that you are looking at, and look at universities that have more than one faculty that are doing research in that area.

 

As for the application process, zabius pretty much covered it. The biggest difference I've noticed between EEB and other programs is that EEB programs often require that you have already made contact with professors of interest, while other programs often just  suggest that you do so. By contacting professors, you can also get a better idea of what subfield you are interested in working in.

 

If you can narrow the search like that, it'll be easier to give you the names of universities that are best to apply to.

[iowaguy]

Ecology programs sometimes have very specific strengths, as Monocrome mentions.

 

Don't worry so much about applying to the top schools, apply to the top programs that best fit your research interest.  For example, I applied to 4 programs after looking at the top 20 or so.  These were the programs where I had the best fit, and I got into 3 of them.  You ultimately want to attend a program that's a great fit, with ideally multiple profs doing research in the area you're interested in.  That's where your interests/passions will come through and you'll thrive.

 

Definitely contact professors ahead of time, if you want to maximize your chances of being accepted.  Go meet them face-to-face if at all possible, it worked well for me...  Best of luck!