Potential Grad Students

Background
Since accepting a permanent position at HSU in the fall of 1992, I have accepted 19 graduate students and eleven have finished, 6 are writing, and two are currently collecting data. Most of my students study forest birds but I currently have students studying small mammals, the endangered San Clemente Sage Sparrow, and White-tailed Kites. Their research questions have focused on habitat selection, the effects of habitat fragmentation on bird populations in redwood forests, juvenile dispersal, the effects of silvicultural practices and fire on bird and mammal communities, nest site selection, and the identification of nest predators.

Potential MCs Candidates
If you are interested in working with me, send me a formal letter including a statement about your career goals and what you hope to gain from obtaining a master’s degree, your research related experience, your specific research interests, and why you are interested in coming to HSU. I also will need to see a list of undergraduate courses and grades (and overall g.p.a.). I will eventually need to see a complete resume (indicating contact information for 3 academic/professional references) AND a 2-3 page proposal developing an idea for a potential MSc project. The proposal will give me an idea about your thinking and writing skills. Ideas that are outlined in the initial proposal are often quite different in the final proposal.

Assessment of applications are based on writing skills, compatibility of interests, G.P.A., undergraduate background (including statistics and computing), field/lab experience, references, and potential funding.

Funding
I have several ongoing research projects that include funding for graduate research. Occasionally I will advertise the availability of funded positions in the OSNA newsletter but recently I have been getting a sufficient number of unsolicited inquiries to allow me to select students for these positions without posting announcements. I generally do not accept students without some source of funding for their project. Students with their own source of funding for projects that are related to my research interests are encouraged to contact me.

Application Procedures
To learn about the university application process for graduate studies go to Humboldt Graduate Studies and/or to Wildlife Graduate Studies Information page.