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Biological Sciences The biological sciences cover a broad range of specialties, including anatomy, biochemistry, biophysics, cellular and molecular biology, ecology and evolutionary biology, endochrinology, genetics, immunology, marine biology, microbiology, neuroscience, pharmacology and toxicology, physiology, plant biology, and zoology. An advanced degree (M.A., M.S., or Ph.D.) in one of these areas can help prepare you for any number of career pathways. While many advance degree recipients go on to medical school or laboratory work, an increasing number are also entering careers in consulting, marketing, and other business-related fields. What Does Getting an Advanced Degree Entail? The requirements for a master's degree vary from school to school, but most programs require 2-4 semesters of coursework, including lab rotations. Typically, the learning you do in the classrooms and laboratories is capped off with a comprehensive written exam, which will test your basic biological reasoning skills. While some masters programs also require you to write a thesis based on your lab work, many do not. Therefore, as you investigate various programs, you'll need to pay close attention to the specific requirements of each one.
The Ph.D. is a more intensive endeavor. Like masters programs, the curriculum for the Ph.D. begins with at least a year of coursework and lab rotations. The lab rotations allow you to see the kind of work each of professor in the department is doing, so that you can make an informed decision as to whom you would like to have as a mentor and research supervisor. After your coursework is completed, you will have to pass a series of comprehensive written exams to prove that you have mastered the course material. Once you have successfully completed the exams, you'll be ready to proceed to the final stage of the program--the dissertation. Your dissertation will be centered around an independent research project, designed to contribute new knowledge to your field of interest. Typically, your research will be an outgrowth of the work being conducted by your mentor. This fact will make your relationship with your mentor quite intense. It therefore will be crucial that you pick a mentor wisely, and maintain a good working relationship with him/her. Before you actually begin your research, though, you will spend a good deal of time just writing the dissertation proposal. In the process of constructing your proposal, you'll gain valuable writing experience that will serve you well when you have to apply for competitive grants. As you might expect, most of the time you spend on your dissertation will be spent in the lab. Only when your experiments have been completed will you be able to sit down at your computer and write up your findings. When the final "i" is dotted and "t" crossed, however, your work still will not be done. As a last step, you'll have to defend your conclusions in front of your department colleagues. Once your research has survived their scrutiny, though, you'll finally be ready to get your diploma! For most Ph.D. candidates, the whole process (including coursework, exams, and disseration) takes 4-6 years. What Can I Do With My Ph.D.? A Ph.D. in the biological sciences has always been a fairly flexible degree. After finishing their education, many Ph.D.s naturally find work in research laboratories at universities, pharmaceutical companies, or government offices. Depending on what your specialty is, you might consider consulting. For instance, someone with a Ph.D. in ecology or evolutionary biology would be a prime candidate for a career in environmental consulting. If you are a skilled writer, you might forge a career in scientific writing, working either for a science magazine or for a corporation. Be on the lookout, however, for ways to begin working toward your career goals while you're still in graduate school. Part-time or freelance work opportunities can eventually lead to full-time positions when you finish your degree.
Even though a smaller percentage of science Ph.D.s look for an academic job compared to humanities Ph.D.s, competition for teaching positions at colleges and universities is still intense. Most doctoral programs will give you the opportunity to do some teaching, probably as a T.A. If you have your heart set on an academic career, though, you should look for other teaching opportunities as well. Adjunct (part-time) jobs that give you the chance to organize your own courses and deliver your own lectures look excellent on a resume. At the same time, you'll also need to seize any chance to present your research at regional or national conferences, so that you can introduce yourself and your work to people who might one day be in a position to hire you. Even if you are diligent about teaching and networking, be prepared: before you win your first teaching job, you may have to do a post-doctoral program or a fellowship in order to beef up your credentials. Deciding Where to Apply Choosing the school that is right for you will take some legwork on your part. First of all, not all schools are organized along the same lines. Some have a single biology department, while others have separate departments for biology, biochemistry, evolutionary biology, and so on. Moreover, not every department has both masters and doctoral programs. Therefore, you will have to research which schools offer the degree program in the specialty that you want. To do this, try browsing the Web, or perusing a book like Peterson's Graduate Programs in the Biological Sciences. You should also go visit your biology professors during office hours and consult with them as to which graduate school might best suit your needs and areas of interest.
If you are applying for a Ph.D., you also need to investigate which departments have professors with research interests similar to your own. Remember, you will be conducting your dissertation research in a lab headed by a professor. If you go to a school where there is no professor who shares your research goals, you will have a difficult time getting the support you need to do the work you want to do. Just as someone interested in a Ph.D. in the humanities would want to attend a school with an extensive library, you will want to get your degree at a school that has a modern laboratory facility with instrumentation that will support the kind of research you are interested in pursuing. The Peterson's guide provides some information about the lab facilities of various schools. University Web pages should provide even more detail about the kinds of equipment that students are able to work with. Putting Together Your Application To apply for an advanced degree in the biological sciences, it is not necessary that your undergraduate degree be in biology. However, you must be able to prove that you have enough basic scientific knowledge to excel in graduate school. In part, admissions committees will be able to judge your fitness for a graduate degree by your transcript, which will show how many science courses you took at Penn and how you did in them. Doing a research project or working in a professor's lab also helps to prove your readiness for graduate work. Admissions committees will also pay close attention to your general GRE (Graduate Record Exam) scores. The general GRE, which is similar to the SAT, is an entrance requirement for every graduate program, and is now taken by computer. There is also a subject GRE in biology, but many schools only ask that you take the general test. Take the GRE very seriously. Your GPA and GRE scores are the first things that admissions committees will look at when they consider your application.
Your recommendations and personal statement will also be important, especially if the numbers on your transcript and GRE report place you on the borderline between acceptance and rejection. Be sure to get letters from professors who can comment on both your classroom performance and your laboratory skills. If you can also get a recommendation from a professor in the humanities that attests to your ability to write well, so much the better. Your personal statement will give you the opportunity to explain to the admissions committee the kind of research that interests you. Make sure that you have other people proofread your work. Naturally, admission committees want to see personal statements that are clearly written and error-free. Where To Go Once you have collected all of your acceptance letters, you will have to decide which program to attend. Financial considerations should be central to your decision. You do not want to go into heavy debt in order to pay for your education. And for the sciences, you should not have to. University research facilities receive both government and corporate sponsorship, which often translates into fellowship money for graduate students. In addition, teaching and research assistantships are always available. But the assistantships and fellowships are competitive. Having a high GPA at Penn and a strong GRE score can go a long way toward helping you secure the money you need to finance graduate school. Keep in mind, however, that decisions about fellowships and assistantships may be reviewed every year; in order to maintain your funding, you will have to excel in your program. Before you begin any graduate program, be sure to find out how funding works. You do not want to face any surprises where money is concerned.
The financial aid package you are offered should be weighed against the cost of living. In expensive cities like Boston or New York, a teaching assistantship might not be enough to cover your basic expenses--especially rent. Also, be sure to ask whether the fellowships or assistantships you are offered come with a tuition waiver. If not, a chunk of your financial aid will wind up going right back into the school's coffers. And never matriculate at a school before visiting it. Meet with professors and graduate students at the departments you are considering. Ask pointed questions and try to gauge how the students get along with each other and with their mentors. As you will find, your departmental colleagues will either make your time in graduate school rewarding and fun, or they will make it miserable. Visiting a school can help ensure that you enter a learning environment that is both personally and academically enriching.
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