Reed Scott

Reed Scott

PhD Candidate at the University of Vermont studying disease ecology.

Diary of a Graduate Student

4 minute read

Published:

What does it mean to be a graduate student anyway? This is a big question, and one I should be well poised to answer (I’m in my 6th cumulative year of graduate school). Generally, graduate school refers to anyone pursuing a Master’s of Doctoral degree; Med school and Law school for example are kind of their own thing. An additional and important distinction is that graduate degrees are typically either thesis or non-thesis degrees. A thesis degree typically includes, well, a thesis: that means that the capstone to your degree is some sort of research thesis that typically will end up published as a paper(s) in an academic journal. A non-thesis degree will typically consist of just taking classes, with the potential for some sort of large final exam(s) at the end of the degree. I’ll be focusing mostly on thesis degrees in this post, as that’s what I know because both my degrees are thesis degrees.

So why should you go to graduate school in the first place? Well, probably the same reasons you went to college in the first place: passion and/or money. Most bluntly, having a graduate degree can lead to better job opportunities. For example, in my field it’s often an expectation that you’ll have a master’s degree for most supervisory roles, or it can make it easier to get those roles. Having a higher degree can also lead to more money. On average, in 2021 the average income for 25-34 year olds was \$74,600 for those with a master’s degree or higher vs \$61,600 for those with just a bachelors (National Center for Education Statistics, 2023). There’s also something to be said about pursuing a master’s degree because you’re particularly passionate about a topic. “If graduate degrees were easy, everyone would get one,” said someone, probably. Graduate school can be a somewhat arduous process, and the decision to go to graduate school shouldn’t be taken lightly.

How do you find a position as a graduate student? For thesis degrees finding graduate student positions can be a lot like finding jobs. In fact, most postings I’ve found have been on large job boards. In my field that includes checking out places like The Texas A&M Job Board or USAJobs. Also, don’t discount the power of social media! I found my PhD position through a FaceBook group. Once you’ve found a posting you’re interested in, applying is a lot like applying to a job: you’ll probably have to submit a cover letter and resume detailing why you’re interested in the position and what qualifications you have for the position.

What does it look like to be in graduate school? And what’s the difference between graduate school and undergraduate? Again, this is based mostly on my personal experience so take it with a grain of salt. The biggest difference is that you’re not actually taking classes the whole time. In fact, you may only take classes for the first 1-2 years (although admittedly I’m still in a class in my third year of my PhD). So what do you do with the rest of your time? Research! Doing your thesis is basically working. You may spend your days setting up and running experiments, writing grants or papers (or blog posts), attending meetings, and any number of other research related activities. Grad school is almost akin to an apprenticeship; you’re taking classes and learning, but you’re also acting as a scientist and conducting research. Also, if you’re doing a thesis degree you should be paid a liveable wage for your work. You shouldn’t have to take out loans to pay for school or to survive while doing work.

If you’re beginning to explore the idea of graduate school, I hope you find this post helpful. Graduate school can be an intense but rewarding process. Again, please keep in mind that the advice given is based mostly on my own personal experience. However, I hope that this alleviates some of the mystery around graduate school, and provides some helpful insights on how to get into and how to get into graduate school and what it’s actually like.

Citations

National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Annual Earnings by Educational Attainment. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 10/09/2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cba.

Ranavirus

6 minute read

Published:

Globally, amphibians are currently facing massive declines and extinctions as a results of human activity(Carey et al. 1999; Daszak et al. 1999; Campbell Grant et al. 2020). While there are a number of factors involved, including the classics such as climate change and habitat loss, amphibians have also suffered losses as a result of emerging infectious diseases (Daszak et al. 1999, 2001; Greer and Collins 2008). An emerging infectious disease is defined as “a disease caused by a pathogen that is currently increasing in geographical range, is infecting an increased diversity of hosts, and/or has recently evolved”(Daszak 2000; Duffus et al. 2008). Here, we focus on an EID among amphibians: ranavirus. While ranaviruses have not received nearly as much attention as other amphibian disease (see my discussion of the amphibian chytrid fungus), it is in fact an EID that has been the cause of mass mortality events among amphibians in North America, Europe, South America as well as fish populations in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia(Cunningham et al. 1996; Bollinger et al. 1999; Gray and Chinchar 2015a). Here, I provide a brief outline of ranaviruses by describing their taxonomy, pathology and symptoms, as well as steps that could be taken to prevent or control the spread of ranaviruses.

The Amphibian Chytrid fungus

15 minute read

Published:

Chytridiomycosis is a skin disease currently devastating amphibians worldwide. The fungus that causes the disease, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (BD), operates by infecting keratinized cells of the amphibian epidermis (skin)(Ouellet et al. 2005). The disease was first described in 1998 in amphibian populations in Australia and South America(Berger et al. 1998). Since then, the disease has been reported on every continent except Antarctica and is estimated to have played a part in the decline of at least 500 species and the presumed extinction of 90 species(Scheele et al. 2019). Chytridiomycosis is arguable the greatest threat to biodiversity caused by a pathogen, and as such has warranted in-depth research and intense conservation efforts. Here, I will briefly describe the history, biology, and ecology of chytrid, and current conservation efforts to combat its spread.