The University of Alberta doesn't sound like it's a bad place to attend school. There are many options of where to go in biology, and it also sounds like if you want, you can take a more interdisciplinary approach without specializing in one aspect of biology. TA'ing, while not required, is a common source of funding, so it may be necessary. International students pay significantly more than Canadian students, so this is a major drawback for non-Canadians.
They have a higher GPA requirement than other schools, suggesting a more rigorous program. One thing that is really nice is that the GRE isn't required, though it is preferred. The number and variety of courses is amazing. This is my favourite thing about this school. Most courses are for undergrads, but I don't see why graduate students couldn't take them, especially if you need to make up deficiencies. I don't like that they don't list pre-reqs anywhere. They also seem to have lots of research areas nearby, such as a mycology herbarium at the Botanic Gardens. Overall, I recommend this school for those interested in any aspect of biology.
Areas of Emphasis: Ecology, Microbiology & Biotechnology, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Physiology and Cell Biology, Plant Biology, Systematics & Evolution
Degrees Offered: MSc, PhD Students typically must have a master's before going for the doctorate. However, exceptional students can get admitted, and after beginning the master's one can get admitted for the doctorate.
Appealing Courses: Advanced Mycology; Advanced Comparative Immunology; Environmental Microbiology, Advanced Parasitology; Advanced Molecular Plant Physiology; Wetland Ecology & Management; Global Biogeochemistry; Conservation Biology; People, Pollution, and the Environment; The Ecology of Below-Ground Communities; Experimental Parasitology, Wildlife Disease; Microbial Physiology; Marine Phycology; Basic Virology; Plant Genetics; Medical and Veterinary Entomology; Lake and Peatland Development; Plant Biochemistry; Biology of Bryophytes; and many, many more.
NOTE: All costs are in Canadian Dollars.
Canadian Students Total Costs: $14, 037
International Students Total Costs: $26, 170
Financial Aid: Students going for their MSc get $22,686/yr. with a TAship; PhD students get $23,332/yr. with a TAship. (First year students only get about $15,000/yr for TA'ing.) International students also receive $3590/yr. to help pay for the international student fee. There is also a $500 TA scholarship available that covers one year. About half of students get funding via a TAship. Other awards and scholarships require TA'ing. There are also Research Assistantships available. Support is provided for 2.6 yrs for MSc students, and 5 yrs for PhD students.
TA'ing required: No
Pre-requisites: None specified
min. GPA: 3.3; may be higher, depending on what other applicants have
min. GRE: The General test is preferred, but not required.
Subject GRE required: No
Showing posts with label PhD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PhD. Show all posts
Friday, January 9, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
University of Idaho-Environmental Science
Areas of Emphasis: Physical Science, Natural Resource Management, Ecology, Earth Science/Hydrology, Waste Management, Policy/Law, and Environmental Health/Toxicology.
I am not particulary impressed by this college. Their course selection is fairly limited, but not too bad. The online master's program is nice, but likely requires you to have a background in environmental science. It is hard to find information on the program; they don't seem to have much information at all. The program is interdisciplinary. They also don't give much information on financial aid. I cannot recommend this program based on the info. on their website, unless perhaps, you want to take the online option.
They offer an MS and PhD degree. Unlike many other schools, you must have a master's in order to apply for a PhD. They also offer an online MS degree for students who live in other states. They also offer a combined MS/Law degree.
Interesting-sounding courses include Microbial Ecology, Physiological Ecology, Fire Ecology, Soil Mineralogy, Environmental Water Quality, Principles of Environmental Toxicology, Plant Environmental Biophysics, Conservation Biology, and many others that are web-based.
In-state total costs are $21, 050. Out-of-state is about $10,000 more at $31,130. They claim to provide full-funding for all grad students. Fellowships and assistantships are available. TA'ing is required for PhD students.
Pre-requisites:
General GRE scores: No minimum score provided.
The subject test is not required.
minimum GPA: 2.8 (3.48 avg. for students entering program in 2001)
The school isn't listed on PhDs.org for environmental sciences/studies, and of course, US News & World Report does not rank environmental science programs.
I am not particulary impressed by this college. Their course selection is fairly limited, but not too bad. The online master's program is nice, but likely requires you to have a background in environmental science. It is hard to find information on the program; they don't seem to have much information at all. The program is interdisciplinary. They also don't give much information on financial aid. I cannot recommend this program based on the info. on their website, unless perhaps, you want to take the online option.
They offer an MS and PhD degree. Unlike many other schools, you must have a master's in order to apply for a PhD. They also offer an online MS degree for students who live in other states. They also offer a combined MS/Law degree.
Interesting-sounding courses include Microbial Ecology, Physiological Ecology, Fire Ecology, Soil Mineralogy, Environmental Water Quality, Principles of Environmental Toxicology, Plant Environmental Biophysics, Conservation Biology, and many others that are web-based.
In-state total costs are $21, 050. Out-of-state is about $10,000 more at $31,130. They claim to provide full-funding for all grad students. Fellowships and assistantships are available. TA'ing is required for PhD students.
Pre-requisites:
- Chemistry or Physics
- Physical Geography or Geology
- Biology (2 courses)
- Social Science (2 courses)
- Statistics
- Math
- English
General GRE scores: No minimum score provided.
The subject test is not required.
minimum GPA: 2.8 (3.48 avg. for students entering program in 2001)
The school isn't listed on PhDs.org for environmental sciences/studies, and of course, US News & World Report does not rank environmental science programs.
Friday, January 2, 2009
University of Colorado-Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Areas of Emphasis: Molecular Biology of RNA and DNA, Molecular Genetics, Cell Motility and Cytoskeleton, Cell Membranes, Developmental Genetics, Astrobiology, Control of the Cell Cycle, Signal Transduction, and Control of Gene Expression
I went to CU for my undergrad. degree in Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology. I love Boulder, but there wouldn't be anything left to take if I went there for my grad in the same program. It sounds like MCDB (Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology) would be a good option for those wanting an advanced degree in those areas. There are quite a few cool-sounding classes in the catalog. However, CU is not known for actually updating their catalog, so some of these may no longer be available. The campus is beautiful, and if you have time to go anywhere and do anything, Boulder can be lots of fun. It should be relatively easy to get into the school, especially if you have all the pre-reqs. It sounds like it isn't too expensive either, especially with tuition remission. Plus, it has strong rankings at PhDs.org and in US News & World Report.
They only offer a PhD.
Possibly interesting courses: Plagues, People, and Microorganisms; Biological Electron Microscopy: Principles and Recent Advances; Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology; Microbial Diversity and the Biosphere; Molecular Neurobiology; Bacterial Disease Mechanisms; and Biology of Stem Cells
It is definitely worth it to get in-state status if you can because out-of-state total costs figure around $37,606 vs. $21,786 for in-state students. Fortunately, much of this should be taken care of by doing well because they claim that graduate students are fully-funded. First years get about $24,282, primarily from TA'ing. But they do provide remission of tuition & fees plus a stipend. Unfortunately, TA'ing is required for two semesters! It is possible to get the requirement waived. Fellowships, Research Assistantships, and departmental training grants provide the support for the rest of the student's program of study.
Pre-requisites:
Minimum GPA: 3.0
General GRE score: No min. required given. However, see below for an idea.
Subject test is optional.
For Fall 2008, the following average stastics for entering grad students are provided:
I went to CU for my undergrad. degree in Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology. I love Boulder, but there wouldn't be anything left to take if I went there for my grad in the same program. It sounds like MCDB (Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology) would be a good option for those wanting an advanced degree in those areas. There are quite a few cool-sounding classes in the catalog. However, CU is not known for actually updating their catalog, so some of these may no longer be available. The campus is beautiful, and if you have time to go anywhere and do anything, Boulder can be lots of fun. It should be relatively easy to get into the school, especially if you have all the pre-reqs. It sounds like it isn't too expensive either, especially with tuition remission. Plus, it has strong rankings at PhDs.org and in US News & World Report.
They only offer a PhD.
Possibly interesting courses: Plagues, People, and Microorganisms; Biological Electron Microscopy: Principles and Recent Advances; Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology; Microbial Diversity and the Biosphere; Molecular Neurobiology; Bacterial Disease Mechanisms; and Biology of Stem Cells
It is definitely worth it to get in-state status if you can because out-of-state total costs figure around $37,606 vs. $21,786 for in-state students. Fortunately, much of this should be taken care of by doing well because they claim that graduate students are fully-funded. First years get about $24,282, primarily from TA'ing. But they do provide remission of tuition & fees plus a stipend. Unfortunately, TA'ing is required for two semesters! It is possible to get the requirement waived. Fellowships, Research Assistantships, and departmental training grants provide the support for the rest of the student's program of study.
Pre-requisites:
- Ochem
- Biochem
- Calculus
- General Biology
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
Minimum GPA: 3.0
General GRE score: No min. required given. However, see below for an idea.
Subject test is optional.
For Fall 2008, the following average stastics for entering grad students are provided:
Verb: 598
Quant: 701
Anal Writ: 4.6
Undergrad GPA: 3.55
US News & World Report Ranking: 33/152
From PhDs.org:
Reputation of the Department: 3.4 (Reasonably Effective)
Percent that find jobs immediately after graduating: 70%
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Indiana University-Bloomington: Environmental Science
Areas of Emphasis: Policy and Law (in the works), Biology, Physical Sciences
Indiana University seems like a good choice for those interested in environmental science. The course selection is excellent, the program is highly interdisciplinary, and there are many areas on which one can focus. However, for those with backgrounds in anything other than science and even those who have a science background in an area different from what they want to pursue in environmental science, may have a hard time getting accepted.
The school offers a variety of MS degrees as well as a PhD. Specific concentrations include Applied Ecology, Water Resources, Environmental Chemistry & Toxicology, and a student-chosen combined emphases program for the MS degree. The PhD program is more interdisciplinary and sounds difficult to get into, but it may be easier to get into after one has been working towards a master's for awhile.
Overall, the school offers a wide variety and good selection of courses. Interesting-sounding courses include Wetlands Biology and Regulation, Forest Ecology and Management, Environmental Toxicology, and Lake and Watershed Management. For chemistry there are many cool-sounding courses, such as Chromatography, Hydrology, Biological Chemistry, Subsurface Microbiology and Bioremediation, Fate of Organic Contaminates in the Environment, and Soil Mechanics and Science.
Tuition and fees for out-of-state students total around $32,514. For in-state students, the amount is about $23,582.
Financial Aid includes stipends, tuition remission, assistantships, and internships. These awards are competitve; only 56% of the previous year's incoming students received such aid. However, the university claims that students who didn't receive aid often receive it their second semester or year. Those who receive assistantships working at least 15 hrs/week also receive free health insurance. Scholarships, need-based aid, and fellowships are also available. No estimates of the costs covered by such awards are given. It appears that TA'ing is not a requirement.
Pre-requisites:
This is perhaps the most disheartening of the things about this school. For admission to the PhD program, one MUST have all of the pre-reqs (the school doesn't tell us what they are) made up. For the MS, they require an undegrad. degree with courses relevant to the area of emphasis chosen by the student. Students interested in research need to have, "an adequate background in quantitative natural science subjects (e.g., math, chemistry, or biology)." Although they don't say there are exceptions to these requirements, they imply that there are not. I recommend contacting them for further information.
General GRE: There is not minimum required score. However, admitted students average around 600 on each section (verbal and quantitative). The subject GRE is not required.
GPA: Information not available.
PhDs.org states that 73% of PhD graduates in Agriculutral and Natural Sciences find jobs immediately after graduating.
Indiana University seems like a good choice for those interested in environmental science. The course selection is excellent, the program is highly interdisciplinary, and there are many areas on which one can focus. However, for those with backgrounds in anything other than science and even those who have a science background in an area different from what they want to pursue in environmental science, may have a hard time getting accepted.
The school offers a variety of MS degrees as well as a PhD. Specific concentrations include Applied Ecology, Water Resources, Environmental Chemistry & Toxicology, and a student-chosen combined emphases program for the MS degree. The PhD program is more interdisciplinary and sounds difficult to get into, but it may be easier to get into after one has been working towards a master's for awhile.
Overall, the school offers a wide variety and good selection of courses. Interesting-sounding courses include Wetlands Biology and Regulation, Forest Ecology and Management, Environmental Toxicology, and Lake and Watershed Management. For chemistry there are many cool-sounding courses, such as Chromatography, Hydrology, Biological Chemistry, Subsurface Microbiology and Bioremediation, Fate of Organic Contaminates in the Environment, and Soil Mechanics and Science.
Tuition and fees for out-of-state students total around $32,514. For in-state students, the amount is about $23,582.
Financial Aid includes stipends, tuition remission, assistantships, and internships. These awards are competitve; only 56% of the previous year's incoming students received such aid. However, the university claims that students who didn't receive aid often receive it their second semester or year. Those who receive assistantships working at least 15 hrs/week also receive free health insurance. Scholarships, need-based aid, and fellowships are also available. No estimates of the costs covered by such awards are given. It appears that TA'ing is not a requirement.
Pre-requisites:
This is perhaps the most disheartening of the things about this school. For admission to the PhD program, one MUST have all of the pre-reqs (the school doesn't tell us what they are) made up. For the MS, they require an undegrad. degree with courses relevant to the area of emphasis chosen by the student. Students interested in research need to have, "an adequate background in quantitative natural science subjects (e.g., math, chemistry, or biology)." Although they don't say there are exceptions to these requirements, they imply that there are not. I recommend contacting them for further information.
General GRE: There is not minimum required score. However, admitted students average around 600 on each section (verbal and quantitative). The subject GRE is not required.
GPA: Information not available.
PhDs.org states that 73% of PhD graduates in Agriculutral and Natural Sciences find jobs immediately after graduating.
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