Masters opportunities in Ecology and Conservation at the College of William and Mary

The Biology Department at the College of William and Mary is recruiting new
research Masters students in behavioral, plant, wetlands, viral, functional,
spatial, physiological, evolutionary, mathematical, and conservation
ecology, to start in Fall 2016.

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 writing publications and grants
before applying to highly competitive Ph.D. programs or jobs is a very
attractive option. We have a great track record of our recent MS students
going on to excellent PhD programs and professional positions.

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. We are one of the few smaller universities that have many
ecologists on their faculty including Harmony Dalgleish (plant ecology),
John Swaddle and Dan Cristol (behavioral ecology/ecotoxicology), Laurie
Sanderson, Jon Allen and Joshua Puzey (functional ecology, evolutionary
genomics), Randy Chambers (wetlands ecology), Kurt Williamson (viral
ecology), Matthias Leu (conservation/landscape ecology), Helen Murphy
(evolutionary ecology), Drew LaMar (mathematical ecology), and Paul Heideman
(physiological 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.

General information about the program is available on our department website
http://www.wm.edu/as/biology/graduate/index.php and more specific
information about potential advisors is available at the following research
lab web pages:
Jon Allen: http://wmpeople.wm.edu/jdallen
Randy Chambers: http://rmcham.people.wm.edu/
Dan Cristol: http://wmpeople.wm.edu/dacris
Harmony Dalgleish: http://wmpeople.wm.edu/hjdalgleish
Paul Heideman: http://pdheid.people.wm.edu/
Drew LaMar: http://www.people.wm.edu/~mdlama/
Matthias Leu: http://wmpeople.wm.edu/mleu
Helen Murphy: http://www.helenmurphy.net
Joshua Puzey: http://puzeylab.weebly.com
Laurie Sanderson: http://slsand.people.wm.edu/
John Swaddle: http://jpswad.people.wm.edu/
Kurt Williamson: http://wmpeople.wm.edu/kewilliamson

Applications are due on Feb 1st 2016 but we strongly advise applicants to
contact potential advisors well in advance of that date.