Grad school in STEM

Interested in applying to a Master's or PhD program in STEM and don't know where to start? This is a common issue, and here is a bit of advice from my perspective.

First, I encourage students to chat with a few trusted sources at Boston College, like professors and/or grad student TAs that you know and admire. You likely hear that paths to graduate school vary widely from person to person, and there is no universal path that you should follow. Talking with current graduate students that have gone through the application process more recently might be particularly helpful.

There are a lot of articles on the web about applying to grad school in STEM, it can be daunting to sort through. Here are few resources that I think are helpful:

Applying to Biology PhD Programs by Casey Dunn

This article by an evolutionary biology professor at Yale hits a lot of topics, including why to apply, defining jargon, applying to programs (more common in cell and molecular biology) vs specific labs (more common in ecology and evolution), deciding where to apply, how applications are assessed, and financial support.

Master's versus PhD by Scribbr

This guide breaks down some of the main differences between a Master's and PhD degree.

Preparing for Graduate School in STEM: Advice from 3 Current Students by Boston College Career Center

This page has short videos in which current grad students at BC answer questions about how they approached applying for grad school.

Field Guide to Graduate School Application by University of Minnesota

This page has a lot of information about graduate school and the application process. It is mostly geared toward students looking to apply to ecology and evolution programs.

Tips for Applying to Graduate School in STEM by The Leadership Alliance

This pdf compiles tips from an organization started at Brown University, and mainly focuses the application process.

Demystifying the Graduate School Application Process in Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America

This journal article gives information geared toward students interested in graduate programs in ecology and evolution. It includes info on preparation, finding/contacting an advisor, and the application process.