The Biology department at the College of William and Mary is looking to recruit new research Masters students in behavioral ecology, plant ecology, wetlands ecology, viral ecology, spatial ecology, and conservation biology to start in Fall 2014.
We offer a two-year research-intensive Masters program where students are supported by teaching assistantships and full tuition waivers. For many students, getting a Masters in two years and having some publications and grants under their belt before applying to a top-flight Ph.D. program is a very attractive option. We have a great track record of our recent MS students going on to excellent PhD programs or professional research positions. We would greatly appreciate it if you circulated this message to any talented senior undergraduates or recent grads you know who: are thinking about graduate schools but may not be quite ready to apply to a high-profile Ph.D. program, or see a terminal research-MS as the best option for their career path. With a low student to faculty ratio (approximately 8-10 new students each year with 23 full-time faculty) we can offer an intimate and highly personalized research and education experience. Also, our graduate students often work closely with and mentor undergraduates, offering numerous informal teaching and personal development opportunities. Importantly, we have real strengths in many aspects of ecology and conservation (e.g., behavioral ecology, plant ecology, quantitative ecology, wetlands ecology, viral ecology, and conservation biology, including interdisciplinary collaborations in geospatial analysis and biomathematics). We are one of the few smaller universities that have several ecologists on their faculty including John Swaddle and Dan Cristol (behavioral ecology and conservation), Harmony Dalgleish and Martha Case (plant ecology), Randy Chambers (wetlands ecology), Kurt Williamson (viral ecology), and Matthias Leu (conservation biology and landscape ecology). We have fully equipped labs to conduct behavioral and evolutionary studies in captivity with vertebrates and invertebrates, perform ecological experiments in a greenhouse and lab setting, analyze molecular data using core facilities, and analyze spatial data in state of the art GIS labs, including our Center for Geospatial Analyses. The proximity of William and Mary to county, state, and federal parks as well as the Chesapeake Bay allows for extensive field research opportunities. Please feel free to pass this message on to any students you think may be interested and suitable. They can get some general information about our program from the department website: http://www.wm.edu/biology/graduate.php and more specific information at the following research lab web pages: John Swaddle: http://jpswad.people.wm.edu Dan Cristol: http://wmpeople.wm.edu/site/page/dacris Harmony Dalgleish: http://wmpeople.wm.edu/site/page/hjdalgleish Martha Case: http://macase.people.wm.edu/ Kurt Williamson: http://wmpeople.wm.edu/site/page/kewilliamson Randy Chambers: http://rmcham.people.wm.edu/ Matthias Leu: http://wmpeople.wm.edu/site/page/mleu Thanks for your help. John Swaddle, Dan Cristol, Harmony Dalgleish, Martha Case, Kurt Williamson, Randy Chambers, and Matthias Leu.
