Applying to PhD programs, part I

Thinking about applying to a PhD program? There is more to consider than just the interesting research being done at a given university. A successful PhD requires:

1) A great research problem - you're going to be working on and thinking about this research for (probably) 5 years. Do your research online and see which universities have geology departments with faculty doing research in your field of interest...is it one faculty member or several? do they have laboratory/analytical facilities to carry out some of this research?;

2) A graduate advisor you can work with for 5 years - are your expectations for how hands-on or hands-off you want your research advisor to be in line with their advising style? Do your personalities mesh? Talk to a potential advisor's students to get a better understanding...;

3) A place you'd like to live. This goes beyond just geography - yes, it does matter whether the university is in an urban or rural setting, on the east or west coast, or whether it's hot and muggy in the summer or covered in snow in the winter (which do you prefer?), but consider the culture in the department you're applying to (is there a big group of students working on similar problems to yours that you might be able to look to for support? do you like them? are people in the department friendly? are doors wide open in the hallways? are there frequent seminars with interesting outside speakers?);

4) Money. No not just the stipend you're likely to be offered. Money to actually get the research done. You can live on Ramen noodles, but you can't get field work and lab work done without research funding. You can ask a potential advisor about this if you are invited to visit campus, but you can also do a little homework to find out if the advisor has any active grants with the National Science Foundation or at least whether they have a history of grant funding.

Don't get your mind set on one or two grad schools you think you'd like...do some searching on the web to see which universities have faculty working on projects that interest you and try to keep an open mind - A big name university might not be the best fit for you (and no, I'm not suggesting you couldn't get in...).

Look for Part II when I'll give advice on how to approach a potential graduate advisor with things to do before, during, and after actually sending in your application.

Also, continue to consider whether graduate school is right for you - research requires a very different set of skills than taking college courses and it's not a good fit for everyone...

Field camp is a really good thing

Field camp has become less commonly required for geology majors in the last ~10 years. That's a bad thing. In our department, we offer students a choice of either completing a field camp course with another university or completing a research project as part of a senior thesis. I believe most undergraduate geology students should take field camp, and that the undergraduate education in geology is incomplete without it. Field camp is excellent preparation for graduate school, for geotechnical jobs that require field experience, and a minimum of 5 semester units is required to qualify for the exams to become a Professional Geologist in California. Here are lists of over 100 field courses and field camps offered across North America and a few outside the US (even a couple in the southern hemisphere for those who want a winter field camp between November and February). Students in our department have attended – and gave rave reviews on – several of the field camps given through the South Dakota School of Mines & Techonology (specifically Hawaii, Montana, Iceland, Turkey, Morocco & France). 

Choosing a field camp & what to expect

This post has links to articles giving advice on how to choose a field camp and articles discussing what to expect at field camp. When choosing a field camp at another institution, consider finding a group of friends that might want to go with you so that you can apply together. That way, when you're starting out you already know at least a few people. However, one of the comments I hear frequently from students on their return is how great it was to meet students from so many different places. 

Field camp isn't cheap

Please see this post that points you to a few resources that might help. You can reduce the cost by 1) attending field camp at your home institution so that you don't have to cover the cost of tuition at another university; 2) attend a field camp close to home to reduce the amount of travel needed to simply get to the field camp site; 3) attend a field camp in which you're actually expected to camp in tents (many offer cabins or other accommodations that increase the total cost); or 4) choose a field camp in a location that you can find cheap air tickets to/from.