Advice for new students
Before enrolling in a graduate study program, please think about the following:
- How are you going to pay for your day-to-day life? A M.Sc. generally lasts for 2 years and a Ph.D. is 4 year long. Most graduate students get a fellowship from the Canadian or Quebec government, or from other sources.
- Why are you interested in graduate studies? The main cause of failure in grad studies is a lack of long-term motivation. Two bad but common reasons to start graduate studies are to be afraid to face the work market and the social pressure. The only good reason to start graduate studies is a strong will to get a high level formation in research or conservation. You have to be prepared to spend lots of time and energy in this formation.
- Have you already talked to M.Sc. or Ph.D. students ? Do you have a clear idea on what graduate studies are about, and how your life is going to be during graduate studies?
- If you want to work with animals in the field, do you have any pertinent experience with that respect ? Do you have any reason to believe you will be happy living for months at a time in field condition where comfort is minimal ?
- There is of course a field part (15-30% of your time) during graduate studies in the field of ecology, but most of the time is spent reading, writing, and analyzing data. The quality of a M.Sc. or Ph.D. thesis is generally mostly determined by the intellectual effort that is put in it.
If you have carefully thought about all these points, do contact Dominique Berteaux or Joël Bêty to know what projects are available within the Canada Research Chair on Northern Biodiversity, or to suggest your own ideas.
When grad studies go well, they stay as perhaps the most exciting years of one’s life.
