CSU Fullerton - Worth Applying?

[strudelle]

I have already turned in most of my apps for next year.  Unfortunately, I'm limited to a very small geographic region - CSUF is in this region! 

 

I'm interested in biological anthropology.  In particular I'm interested in osteology, dental anthropology, bioarch, paleoanthropology, paleodemography, and lifestyle/diet/health reconstruction of past populations.  I want to do research and am interested in working in a museum and doing community outreach and teaching underrepresented populations. 

 

CSUF seems to have an interesting interdisciplinary approach, but doesn't seem to be as biologically focused as I was hoping for.  At the same time, some of the grad students do seem to be pursuing research that is very similar to what I would like to do.  They also offer some museum studies classes and seem to offer a lot of interesting classes that are in line with my research interests.

 

Anyone know anything about the program?  Is it worth applying?  I was encouraged not to apply by one professor at my undergrad institution, and encouraged to apply by another.  I'm curious about the quality of the program as well as the reputation of the school, because I would most likely want to pursue a PhD after getting my masters.   

[VioletAyame]

I did my undergrad there, but in a completely different department. I can't tell you much about your specific program, but I've known plenty of people who had no trouble getting into top-tier PhD programs after getting their Masters here.

[NoSleepTilBreuckelen]

Strudelle, I don't know much about that program specifically, but you might ask and see if there would be the option to take a class or two in another department like biology or paleontology to see if you could  put together a curriculum that supports your interests. I'm excited to see someone else interested in outreach education -  it's amazing how curious students are about the past and about anthropology!   

I'm an outreach educator at a museum and, at least where I am, it's a subject that hardly gets touched on in the standard grade school curriculum...

 

MAC2809, if you're looking to go into student affairs, you're going to need to find a more constructive way to communicate with others about education. I think calling a certain major "dumb" only reflects poorly on you, and if you want the students you work with in the future to respect your advice, you're going to need to be able to be kind, supportive, and articulate.

[strudelle]

NoSleepTil - thanks for the perfect response to MAC2809, first of all.  Bravo.

 

Second, heck yes to outreach education!  What museum do you work at, if you don't mind me asking?  Feel free to PM me if you don't want to share on the public forum.  I'm very interested in learning how you got a position in a museum doing outreach ed and what kind of advice you might have. 

 

Are you applying to grad schools now?  Where are you applying and for what kinds of programs?

[NoSleepTilBreuckelen]

Agreed! I have a blast doing it. I teach earth science programs at the museum and at schools, so everything from the history of life on earth to climate and weather. I had been involved in a science education non-profit in college (a paleontology-focused one, which was pretty great) and decided I wanted to give it a try as a career. I applied to museums all over the US and finally got a place at one (it took like 60+ applications!). I've been there three years now and it's been fun (lots of liquid nitrogen experiments and the likes ). I'm applying to PhD programs so that can continue to do my own research, but I definitely looked for schools that had big outreach or engagement programs.

 

My advice would be to get experience, even if its volunteer or part time, an outreach education groups that your school might have or at a museum/nature center. It's definitely that combination of science knowledge and prior experience working with kid that, at least, our museum looks for. One of my friends there has a degree in archaeology and used to work at Disneyland, which totally made her the perfect candidate for the job.

 

I highly recommend it. I think that so many grade school students these days shy away from science careers because they 1) don't see scientists as relatable and 2) don't see science as fun. I was at a school recently and we were doing a really simple demo with dry ice and water to represent the water cycle (the smoke that comes off dry ice is actually condensed water, like clouds...) and one of the kids exclaimed "Wow, this is real science!" While the student obviously enjoyed the experiment, it made me sad that with funding for science the way it is (or isn't, really…), most students don't actually get to do many experiments. They probably just see science as learning hard vocab words.

 

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now, but I definitely recommend it! I'm apply to archaeology programs, what sort of programs are you interested in?

Edited January 6, 2014 by NoSleepTilBreuckelen