Welcome to the Ask a Grad Student Blog
This blog allows undergraduate students interested in marine and coastal sciences to submit questions that will be answered throughout the school year.
Please Note: These answers represent the views of the Grad students who respond to them. Consult with your academic advisor before making any high-impact decisions about, or changes to, your academic plan.
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Read the Q&A
Meet the Grad Students
Q&A:
Q: Should I apply for grad schools even if the advisors I contacted do not respond to my mail?
A: Applying to grad school can take several paths and can depend heavily on the type of program you are entering. If you are applying to a program in which you identify a specific professor that you plan to work with at the point of entering the program then it is very beneficial to contact the PI in advance. Ideally during the summer or fall before you apply to grad school you will have reached out to professors that you are potentially interested in working with. Many professors are incredibly busy and emails are easily lost, thus if you are really interested in working with a specific person don’t be afraid to send them a second email! In this email, it would be good to tell them a bit about yourself including your current research interests and your past research experiences, as well as highlight some of the reasons why you are interested in that specific PI’s research (if your email sounds like it has been cut and paste and has nothing specific about that researcher, they will likely ignore it). Even if you haven’t gotten in touch with a specific professor at a school, you can still apply to a graduate program there. The first round of the admissions process is usually mostly focused on your grades and past research experiences, and the program may invite you for an interview even if you haven’t contacted any professors. However, most professors usually will have already chosen their top potential candidates by this stage of the process, thus your chances of actually getting into the school are lower. Also, applying to grad school can be expensive and time-consuming, so it's better to focus in on a couple of schools with professors that you are really interested in working with, rather than to apply blindly to many schools.
Emily Longman, PhD student in the Population Biology Graduate Group
Q: Which focus area did you take within the Coastal Sciences major and what made you choose it? What advice would you have for undergrads trying to decide which focus area to choose?
A: Due to the fact that the Coastal Sciences major is new and cohorts are just now starting the graduate, there are no CMSI-affiliated graduate students who have gone through that specific program. Consequently, none of the current graduate students are able to give advice on this question from personal experience. However, we can tell you a bit about what played into decisions we made on what to study while we were in college.
Helen: When I entered college, I enrolled as an International Relations major with a focus in environmental policy. I was really interested in environmental issues around the world and hoped to one day use my degree to develop solutions from a political/diplomatic standpoint. My major required that I take some courses in science to help better understand the underpinnings of environmental problems. This was where things changed for me, I loved my science classes and found myself arguing with my advisor to allow me to take more. I realized that if I wanted to do science so much, I should just go do science...so I picked up a double major in Environmental Science. In the end, my undergraduate coursework looked a bit like the Oceans & Earth Systems focus in the MCS major.
Alisha: Similar to Helen, when I first started as an undergraduate I was on a career track for radiology and nuclear medicine. I soon found, however, that the required environmental science courses I had to take demonstrated that my love for natural history and ecology could provide me with a career path instead of just a pastime. After talking with my academic advisor and changing my degree, I then had to decide whether I wanted my Biology degree emphasis (similar I believe to the focus of MCS) to be environmental studies or aquatic studies. With either I could continue to pursue coursework in ‘wet’ ecosystems and so I decided on aquatic studies and then added a minor in environmental studies. In sum, don’t worry too much about whether your focus will reflect on your ability to join a graduate program; programs evaluate the student as a prospective scientist and as a contribution to the program community, not as the title of the degree/degree focus. For example, by just looking at the background undergrad degrees of the students in the Gaylord lab at BML you will find a range of majors--we have chemistry, aquatic biology, freshwater biology, and ecology all represented...yet, we all are in the same graduate program!
Since college, we’ve found that having a foundation in any science (biology, chemistry, and physics) is very important for applying to graduate school or applying for jobs in marine science. This is regardless of the major or emphasis or focus topic you decide on. And lucky for you, the MCS major does an excellent job in helping you to get that experience no matter which focus you sign up for! When making the next step after graduation, your own interests and extracurricular experiences (like research experience) become more important. For example, in our cases, having an interest in marine conservation/aquatic biology and some undergraduate research experience was more important in getting into graduate school than whether or not we had taken a course like Marine Invertebrates...which neither of us did! (Marine Invertebrates is an awesome course though and you should take it; Alisha actually ended up taking it as a first year grad student to orient herself to west coast systems!).
Overall, our advice is to think about what you enjoy learning about most and then pick the MCS focus that best matches your interests. Don’t worry so much about pigeon-holing yourself or limiting your opportunities by picking the “wrong” focus. No matter which focus you choose, the MCS major will set you up to be highly competitive for a wide range of opportunities.
Helen Killeen, Graduate student in the Graduate Group in Ecology & Alisha Saley, PhD student in the Ecology Graduate Group
Q: I’ve been having trouble finding a graduate program that combines my technical skills with my interests. Should I join a program that lets me build on my technical skills, even though I may not be super interested in the research topic? Or should I keep exploring my options?
A: This is a great question to ask yourself before committing to a graduate program and can also be reframed to consider which is more important to you ‘at this time’.
When looking for a graduate program, think about what’s most important to you. Reflecting on our own experiences, we believe that it is important to find a lab and faculty mentor that overall aligns with your working style and interests. Finding a program situated in a place where you feel you will be able to create a healthy lifestyle outside of work is also important. It can also be helpful to think long term: what are you hoping to do after you graduate? Will having really advanced technical skills be important to landing your dream job? Or something else? If you’re unsure, consider doing some informational interviews with people in the field you hope to work in after graduate school. Here’s a resource for learning more about informational interviewing.
Neither of us are really able to speak about choosing a master’s program, however, you may want to first consider the differences between choosing to pursue a master’s versus a PhD as a next step. Specifically, master’s programs are generally shorter and a bit more prescribed (depending on the topic of interest) and so, they may allow you to refine a skill set in a different topic/system to later use in a PhD or career position more aligned with your interests.
If you are dedicated to finding a graduate program that you can both match your interests and advance a particular skill set, don’t hesitate to research specific lab groups within your graduate program of interest. You may find that individual research groups will allow you to work on research that you’re interested in while gaining particular technical skills. For example, within the Graduate Group in Ecology at UC Davis there are myriad sub-disciplines and lab foci that may not be apparent from just looking at the graduate program website. Even looking within specific labs at BML you will find a large range of interests and skill sets applied. More importantly, there are faculty advisors who are eager to expand the breadth of research interests within their labs, and so, if you find a location that can support your technical training you may figure out that collaborations/co-advisors might offer the interest/skills training you are looking for.
UCD provides this resource for “preparing for and applying to graduate school” that you may want to check out: https://geology.ucdavis.edu/students/careers/gradschool
Helen Killeen, Graduate student in the Graduate Group in Ecology & Alisha Saley, PhD student in the Ecology Graduate Group
Q: How did you know that you wanted to go to grad school for Ph.D. or masters? Did you have to know what you wanted to study when applying to grad school? How does funding work?
A: Great question! Everybody’s journey to graduate school is a little different, so I will just be speaking from my own perspective. I wanted to get a Ph.D. to have the opportunity to continue on into academia in the future, and many of my role models and mentors (who were doing what I wanted to do) also had a Ph.D. However, when I started, I didn’t realize how many opportunities were out there for those with a master’s, or how competitive the academic job market was. What I now personally recommend is that if you are unsure at all about what you are interested in, or what you would like to do as a career, that you consider a master’s degree to start. Most Ph.D. programs require a 5-7 year commitment, which is a long time to do something you aren’t passionate or excited about. Also, don’t feel like you have to make this decision immediately upon graduating! I took a gap year, and know many folks who took several, to get hands-on work experience to learn more about what they wanted to pursue long-term.
Relatedly, it is worth taking the time to think critically about what you want to study before you commit to a program. That is not to say you cannot change your mind once you are in graduate school, but it will be much easier to find a good fit (for both programs and supervisors) if you have an idea of topics you’d like to pursue. I know it can seem daunting to decide, so I recommend thinking about papers or specific classes that really interest you. Consider questions and systems (aquatic, marine, terrestrial, etc.) that you find yourself wanting to answer or examine. Write them down somewhere, and periodically revisit them as you begin to search for graduate programs. I also found it useful to note the researchers who were studying those topics, so that when I went to search for graduate programs, I began by looking at their labs or institutions. Bottom line: you don’t have to know exactly what you want to study before you begin graduate school, and trust me – what you think you will be studying will likely change to some degree as you pursue your thesis. However, having a general idea of what interests you will go a long way in improving your graduate school experience.
Finally, funding in graduate school can be initially hard to understand, and it is very important to clarify the funding situation with any potential supervisors. There are at least two major financial components to grad school: tuition/stipend, and research funding. First, in most biological sciences, you do not need to cover these expenses out of pocket. However, you should make sure that there is a way to cover your tuition while you are enrolled as a student at the university. You should also receive a stipend to cover personal and living costs, often from the same pot of money that covers your tuition. You can do this in a few ways. Sometimes supervisors have funding from big grants that can cover a student. In cases where they do not, you can either serve as a teaching assistant or grader, or you can apply for (and receive) a fellowship that can cover these expenses. Regarding research funding, that will either come also through your supervisor, or through individual grants to which you yourself will apply. Again, each situation is sufficiently unique that it requires a thorough discussion with your potential supervisors. Don’t be afraid to ask about their expectations regarding funding, and it never hurts to do some preliminary searching for funding opportunities on your own.
If you’d like more information on the graduate school process – the timeline for applications, some potential funding sources, what happens after you apply – feel free to check out this piece on the UC Davis Animal Behavior Grad Group blog, The Ethogram: https://theethogram.com/2018/05/16/so-you-want-to-go-to-grad-school/.
I hope that was helpful, and thanks again for submitting your question to the blog!
Ph.D. candidate, Animal Behavior Graduate Group
Q: How do you get into doing research? What do/don't you like about doing research? What's surprising about it? Is getting research experience worth it if you don’t want to do it for a living? How can I find research experiences?
A: Find answers to all of these and more in this blog by Priya Shukla: Demystifying Undergraduate Research Experiences
Meet the Grad Students:
These are the grad students who will be answering questions throughout the 2020/2021 school year. Get to know them, their interests, and their areas of study below.
Alexandra McInturf
I am a PhD candidate in Animal Behavior at UC Davis. I graduated from Williams College in 2015 with degrees in Biology and English. My research focuses on the link between physiology, behavior, and movement in salmon and sharks. I am also very interested in science communication, and consequently maintain my own research blog (Move.Eat.Meet.Repeat) and edit The Ethogram, the official blog of the UC Davis Animal Behavior Grad Group.
Alisha Saley
Hi I'm Alisha! I am a PhD student in the Ecology Graduate Group studying marine ecology, based out at the Bodega Marine Lab. Coming from a freshwater background in the midwest, I am highly interested in understanding how the confluence of carbonate chemistries (along with other abiotic conditions) from marine and freshwater sources drive the patterns in ecological processes we observe in nearshore systems.
Andrea Odell
I am a PhD student in Ecology originally from the island of Guam. I earned my B.S. in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences from the University of Washington in 2018 and worked as a lab technician at Scripps Institution of Oceanography prior to coming to UCD. I am interested in marine fisheries, population and community dynamics, and conservation and resource management. I also enjoy playing soccer, exploring the food scene, and traveling to new places (near and far).
Ann Holmes
I'm a PhD Candidate in Ecology and the Genomic Variation Lab. My research combines field biology, aquatic ecology, conservation genetics, analytical chemistry, and bioinformatics. I'm currently studying fish, aquatic invertebrates, and Sacramento Valley bats. Much of my work involves developing environmental DNA (eDNA) methods in estuaries and coastal environments and interpreting results for potential applications in conservation and management. I have a BA from Cornell and an MS from San Francisco State's Estuary and Ocean Science Center.
Ben Rubinoff
I am a PhD Candidate in the Graduate Group in Ecology based out of the Bodega Marine Laboratory. I'm originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and have a background in stream ecology and environmental science. My research focuses on how environmental stress influences species interactions and filter feeding invertebrate communities. I have research projects in Tomales Bay, CA and Puerto Lindo, Colón, Panama with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. As a proud queer scientist, I am passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM and academia.
Cait Livsey
I am a 5th year PhD candidate in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department studying paleoceanography and paleoclimates using the geochemistry of planktic foraminifera. I completed my undergrad in geosciences and hispanic studies at Hamilton College in upstate New York and then a Master's in Geology at Penn State. I took a year off in between undergrad and grad school, which I spent doing sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica and working in Australia while completing my scuba certification. I love the ocean, tiny fossils, reconstructing what past oceans looked like, and sharing my passions with others through teaching and outreach.
Daniel Speer
Hey! I am a rising Third year PhD student in the Chemistry Graduate Group studying the properties of lipid molecules and their interactions with cellular machinery like reflectin proteins from D. opalescens. I am originally from the east coast (Virginia Beach, VA), and I received a B.S. in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary. I love to play ultimate frisbee, surf, skate, and read with my free time.
Eliza (Ellie) Oldach
I'm a third-year PhD student in the Grad Group in Ecology and part of the Sustainable Oceans NRT. I study how communities work together to govern marine and coastal resources in times of change. My current research features lobsters, whales, and public lands across Maine and California. Also into: writing, podcasts, hikes, and social dance (in the pre-pandemic world!).
Emily Longman
I am currently a PhD student in the Population Biology Graduate Group at UC Davis. I got my B.S. in ecology and evolutionary dynamics at Brown University. I study local adaptation and eco-evolutionary dynamics in marine intertidal systems.
Helen Killeen
I am a fifth year graduate student in the Graduate Group in Ecology and I study fisheries ecology and oceanography at Bodega Marine Lab! I went to undergrad at American University, in Washington D.C., where I studied International Relations and Environmental Science. In between, I worked as a teacher and am very passionate about K-12 education, science, and policy.
Karli Rice Chudeau
I am a PhD candidate in the Animal Behavior Graduate Group interested in conservation management and assessing animal welfare in wildlife rehabilitation settings using behavior. The ocean, conservation, and outreach have been central themes throughout my life experiences.
I got my undergraduate degree in Psychology with a minor in Marine Biology from University of Hawaii at Manoa. I worked as an aquarist, zoo keeper, & animal trainer for 4 years before going back and getting a Master's in Psychology from California State University San Marcos.
My research examines wildlife rehabilitation with a conservation behavior lens. I am currently studying how we can use behavioral management interventions to improve foraging behavior and ultimately reintroduction success with pinnipeds (i.e. seals, sea lions, & walruses).
Mandy Frazier
I am currently a second year PhD student in the GGE in Anne Todgham's lab. Prior to joining the GGE, I received my B.S. in Marine Science, Biology, and Ecosystem Science and Policy from the University of Miami, RSMAS in 2017 and my M.S. in Animal Biology from UC Davis in 2019. My research interests lie in understanding how animals "stretch" their physiology and behavior to cope with anthropogenic stressors such as ocean warming and acidification. I am especially interested in polar species, because their adaptation to extremely cold environments makes them particularly vulnerable to climate change.
Maya Weeks
I'm a PhD candidate in Geography here at UC Davis working on marine debris, gender, and political economy. I use artistic research for a critical lens on marine debris in a tradition of feminist political ecology. I have worked with Tessa Hill at Bodega Marine Lab and am interested in interdisciplinary projects! A first-generation college student, I hold my BA in Language Studies (Spanish) from UC Santa Cruz and my MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Mills College. When I'm not working, I love to surf.
Priya Shukla
I'm a third-year PhD student in the graduate group in Ecology and the Lead Mentor for undergraduate students in the Marine and Coastal Science Major. My research explores the effects of climate change on shellfish aquaculture in California. I am working with the Hog Island and Tomales Bay Oyster Companies to explore whether pre-conditioning the commercially farmed Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) to elevated seawater temperatures improves the species’ resistance to disease outbreaks. Prior to beginning my PhD, I received my Master’s in Ecology from San Diego State University and my Bachelor’s from UC Davis in Environmental Science and Management, with a minor in Oceanography. I have also worked as an environmental consultant, a high school teacher, a policy specialist, a public educator, and a lab manager. Additionally, I am an active science communicator and deeply invested in improving the accessibility of marine science.
Ryan Swanson
I'm an ecology Ph.D. student in the Department of Environmental Science & Policy, in the Sustainable Oceans NRT program, interested in ocean and coastal policy. I'm currently also a volunteer in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. I recently completed my Masters in Marine Affairs (MMA) from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington in Seattle, and in 2014 earned a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Prior to that, I served in the US Navy for six years, four of which were onboard the submarine USS Ohio. I'm originally from Chicago, IL.
Theresa Burnham
I only saw the ocean a few times during my childhood, so moving to coastal Boston to attend Northeastern University for undergrad opened my eyes to a brand new ecosystem and field of study. When I learned to dive my interest in marine science was solidified and when I worked on lobster boats after graduation, my passion for fisheries ecology emerged. Now, I'm a PhD candidate in the Joint Doctoral Program in Ecology between UC Davis and San Diego State University. My research is focused on measuring spatial variation in the biology and ecology of an important, binational marine fishery species, the California spiny lobster. Understanding more about how environmental conditions and fishing pressure impact the characteristics of lobster subpopulations will enable researchers, managers, and fishers to create more effective management plans for the benefit of coastal resource users and community members.