EGSA Admissions Survival Guide (Please note this was written prior to the electronic application.)
Introduction
You probably have a stack of grad school applications in front of you that all look the same. The Graduate Group in Ecology (GGE) at Davis is DIFFERENT. We're a graduate GROUP, which means faculty come from different departments all over campus. The Group is organized into ten Areas of Emphasis (AOEs) in order to bring faculty and students with different research interests and applications within Ecology together. AOEs are important to the GGE. To find basic AOE information, go to the EGSA AOE page, and the GGE AOE page. Another important site to check out is the EGSA Diversity page.
The information and tips you find here are designed to provide you with the ESSENTIAL elements of a successful application. It's no guarantee, but we've found that a significant portion of admissible applicants miss out because of potentially avoidable errors.
STEP I. Getting Started
1. Application materials - it's your responsibility to make sure that all materials are received by the GGE office on time. Disregard deadlines posted through the Office of Graduate Studies, follow Ecology deadlines!! If you are not sure if something has been sent, check with the source (e.g. recommendation letter writer, transcript office at your college/university) BEFORE you check with the GGE office.
2. Application content -
a) Make sure you haven't left anything blank on the application. It's particularly important that you include the list of faculty you have been courting (see BELOW for much more detail on "FINDING A MAJOR PROFESSOR")
b) Your statement of purpose is your biggest opportunity to stand out and show how you think. It should reflect your interests in Ecology and the direction you'd like to take. It isn't necessary to explain what inspired you to pursue Ecology. It's more helpful to include what specific areas of Ecology fire you up - e.g. it's not enough to write that you are interested in conservation of predators. Keep in mind the admissions committee is also trying to match your interests with a professor in the GGE.
Step II. Finding a Major Professor (translation - the critical step!)
It would be great if all you had to do was to send in a great application and wait for the acceptance letter to come rolling into your mailbox. BUT../../ FINDING A MAJOR PROFESSOR IS MORE IMPORTANT. You must have a major professor agree to take you as a student in order to be admitted. Not all graduate programs require this, but the GGE at UC Davis does. (Remember to check out the EGSA AOE page, the EGSA Diversity page and the list of faculty currently accepting new students for more information).
HERE ARE SOME TIPS:
1. Timing: START NOW - it's never too early. You need to be in the final stages of securing a professor by the application deadline. Even though final decisions are often not made for a few months after the application deadline, getting started as soon as you decide you want to apply to Ecology, UC Davis will really help you out.
If you are too late for this year consider waiting a year to submit your application. If you do decide to wait and had already begun to contact faculty members, you have a head start for next year!
2. Strategy:
- You will need to know what type or area of research you want to do before you try to convince someone to take you. You can do a much better job of finding a professor to take you on if you have some concrete research ideas to present.
- Go through the ENTIRE LIST OF GGE FACULTY. It may seem tedious, but it will pay off. Remember that faculty members in all departments are doing ecological research. Don't be put off by unfamiliar department names, like Environmental Horticulture or Agronomy and Range Science, for example. All faculty are doing ecological research, or they wouldn't be in the GGE. Cast a wide net!!!!
- Once you have identified your own interests and have made a long list of potential faculty matches using the paltry few sentences that are listed under each faculty's name in the Faculty directory, familiarize yourself more thoroughly with a professor's interests. You can do a literature search for recent publications at a library, check out their websites, and talk to professors at your own school who might have some additional insights. This process will allow you to eliminate professors from the list whose interests may not be compatible after all, and get you ready for one-on-one contact with the professors.
- The next step (at this point, a list of 6-10 professors is probably good) is to contact the professor (see below for more details). This can be very intimidating and frustrating. Keep two things in mind. First, it is part of their job to talk with applicants. Don't feel guilty or shy! Second, remember that the GGE receives MANY applications and that certain faculty, because of their interests, receive the majority of the inquiries.
Here's one possible route to take in contacting professors:
- First contact the professors by e-mail or letter. E-mails are usually easier to answer. Briefly explain your interests and background/experience and why you think you'd be a good match. You shouldn't be asking them what they do, because you already did that work (see "Strategy" section, above)! Your goal is to concisely put your best foot forward. Ask them if they will be accepting students and would be willing to talk with you.
- Allow about 10 days (this is a suggestion, not a rule) for a reply. If you don't hear back, send another e-mail or letter. Briefly re-state your interests and refer to your previous letter. Politely re-ask the professor if they are accepting students next year and would be willing to talk with you.
- One indication of a good professor is their willingness to respond to applicants' inquiries. If some professors have gotten
back to you, go for it! If you encounter enthusiasm from professors, don't hold yourself back because of fears that
research interests don't perfectly match up. Take the enthusiasm as a sign that the professor has recognized some overlap in your
interests and is potentially a good mentor. If nothing else, the more experience talking with professors the better. They'll
give you additional insights into the GGE and may have some good suggestions about other people to contact.
Don't take it personally if you never hear back from a professor or if, in the course of discussion, a professor decides it's not a good match. Ask for feedback and suggestions for other professor matches. - If you've followed these suggestions and still are hitting the brick wall, there are some people you can contact. Application review happens within each AOE (which is why you cannot leave the AOE selection blank on the application!!). Go check out the EGSA AOE page for more AOE info and for the names of the people who can HELP when all else has failed. The EGSA is dedicated to increasing diversity in the GGE at UC Davis. The EGSA Diversity page can provide other contacts if you need some help.
Once you've found a major professor: It's IMPORTANT to talk openly with a professor about several issues: funding, research projects, funding, working styles and expectations, and funding. It is also extremely useful to talk with graduate students currently with your prospective professor. They are an excellent resource and are usually happy to have an audience. They will help you to understand what to expect from the professor, and what not to expect. You will be in a much better position to make the most of the relationship, and therefore get the most out of graduate school, if you are prepared for all aspects of the interaction.
More Stuff you Should Know
One question all applicants ask is "How am I going to support myself while I'm at Davis?" Since the GGE does not guarantee funding to most of its graduate students, as is common at other universities, this is another area that you need to be prepared to deal with yourself, and early on.
Funding: There are many different ways students are funded throughout their graduate career. Some faculty won't take students without having funds available or in the works. Others consider the student's likelihood of securing their own funding as part of the selection process. Some faculty don't take it into account at all. It's very important when you are talking with potential major professors that you understand their approach to graduate student funding. Another way to find out a faculty member's success in funding students is to talk to their current students!
Here are the primary ways students are funded:
- Some folks come in with funding (e.g. NSF pre-doctoral, Fulbright, host country sponsorship, GGE block grant awards, other fellowships).
- Some faculty fund an incoming student within an existing grant. This means the faculty provides a job for a new student or the new student agrees to perform the research as their own graduate project.
- Some students get fellowships during grad school. You'll find out more about how to apply for them, who is eligible, application deadlines, etc., once you are here.
- The majority of students at Davis teach as a teaching assistant (TA). Unlike other schools, TA jobs aren't guaranteed because of the separation between the GGE and the departments.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM OR FOR THE APPLICATION FORMS GO TO THE GRADUATE GROUP IN ECOLOGY HOME PAGE