I might point out that the FHSU PSM is not unlike another degree that has been popping up around called a Green MBA. The combination of business (or public administration) with biology can be very marketable if your interested in non-government organizations such as management positions with TNC, however, it should also be very marketable to state agencies where often the biologists are more administrators than biologists.
Several times I have advised students interested in state and federal jobs to take a few public administration courses during their degree. In fact, when I was back in St. Louis, SIUE had a MPA program in which I myself took grantsmanship and a couple of other courses. They were very applicable! Unfortunately, in my case I took the regular courses through an adult learner program so that you didn't get any credit or transcript!!!! Gained the knowledge but no proof! WHy did I do this? Because it cost me about $25 to take it as an adult learner and of course regular tuition was much much higher!!!! I would not advise taking my approach, you need a transcript. But, this less-than-ideal option was the best option for me at the time. My point being you have to do what will work best for you, if a PSM, MS, MPA, MBA, or M. Ed. are what will work, then do it and don't waste too much time thinking about it!!! The more defined your plans/goals are for your post-graduate time, the more accurately you can satisfy those goals and bring your plans to fruition. I usually try to get undergraduate advisees to start thinking about their post-graduate options at the end of their sophomore year. By then, some trends with grades have been established, but also if there is a bad trend, there is still time to recover. If one starts thinking about it at the end of sophomore year, by the time they are ending their junior year they typically know where they want to be and then have completed their standardized tests, participated in undergraduate research (if that is there thing), and already narrowed a list of schools and faculty with whom they have communicated and to which they intend to apply. Sometimes it doesn't work this way! Another thing for any undergrads out there. If you have decent grades, and you are trying to make yourself really marketable in workplace and graduate school, think seriously about dumping minors and instead doing a double major. A dual major in Ag-Bio, Wildlife-Public Admin, Bio-Chem, Bio-Geology, Bio-Geograph, or Bio-Business, are MUCH more marketable. Consider what it is you want to do and create your own unique degree that pigeon holes you for that field. It will make you less flexible initially, but way more marketable for the specific jobs you want to do. Additionally, take Math every semester until you stop getting C's. Why? because no one will ever ask a biologist why they got a C in a senior level majors math class, instead they will remark, "Wow, you took a lot of math!" No one has ever taken me up on this recommendation, but believe me, if you have math on your plate you can do about anything! Well, enough for now I guess! Hope that helps. On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 8:57 PM, Elmer J. Finck <[email protected]> wrote: > Karen -- Here is my experience at FHSU. We started a PSM program that > caters to students doing human dimensions projects in wildlife management > and to individuals wanting to working in microbiology/molecular biology > labs as technicians. Our program is only two years old, so it is hard to > tell how our program will work. It has been well received by NGO's and > state and federal agencies that see the combination of biology and > business or biology and sociology work well. It is not designed for > students wanting to go on for a PhD. In assisting the development of the > PSM program here, I have done considerable research on the topic. Most > programs are not designed for moving into PhD programs. but rather are > more workforce development programs where people advance in the place they > presently are employed or go into a business/biology programs, .i.e., > NGO's and agencies that are seeking this combination. If you want to look > at our program let me know. > > Personally, at this time I would not go into a PSM program if my goal was > a PhD. Our program like many has greater breadth then strict biology > programs, but are not strong in specifics. > > We have a very strong biology MS program that feeds into PhD programs and > allows our students to get employment in state and federal agencies. I > personally have had 33 graduate students at the MS level in biology. All > but five of them have either gone onto PhD programs or are working for > NGO's, state agencies, federal agencies, high schools, universities, or > community colleges in the field of wildlife biology and conservation > biology. mas tarde, EJF > > Elmer J. Finck > Professor and Chair > Department of Biological Sciences > Fort Hays State University > 600 Park Street > Hays, KS 67601-4099 > e-mail: [email protected] > webpage: http://www.fhsu.edu/biology/efinck/ > phone: (785) 628-4214 > fax: (785) 628-4153 > home: (785) 625-9727 > cell: (785) 650-1057 > > Let us try to recognize the precious nature of each day. > The 14th Dalai Lama > > > Karen Fowler <[email protected]> > Sent by: "Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news" > <[email protected]> > 05/22/2010 08:00 AM > Please respond to > Karen Fowler <[email protected]> > > > To > [email protected] > cc > > Subject > [ECOLOG-L] Masters of Professional Science > > > > > > > Hello all, > > I graduated with several B.S. degrees several years ago, and I have been > unable to get a permanent job, so I have been considering continuing on in > my studies to attain a PhD. While researching programs, I have come > across > several "Masters of Professional Science" programs that are geared more > towards teaching you skills and getting you internships to prepare you for > work than preparing you to continue on towards a PhD. > > What, if any, are the general opinions on these programs versus a standard > Masters program? > > I worry about completing one of these programs, still not being able to > get > a job, and being unable to continue on for a PhD. > > Thank you for any advice, > Karen > -- Malcolm L. McCallum Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! 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