r/Soil • u/KnownChemistry9335 • 3d ago

Grad school opportunities—where to start?

Hi everyone. I’m reaching my final undergrad year at Montana State University. I’m currently in general environmental science (B.S) but I’m really loving all of the soil classes I’ve taken surrounding soil identification and remediation. I don’t have the craziest GPA (3.5) but I think that this is a field I’m really passionate about. How have other people gone about pursuing a masters regarding soil science? And how do you figure out where you want to go?

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u/exodusofficer 3d ago

Pick an advisor, not a destination or a program. Your relationship with them will supersede everything else. They will be your mentor, not the department.

Have you been to conferences and met potential advisors? If not, try to make it. Work in a lab as soon as possible. Contact people based on their recent publications and talks.

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u/TickTamer505 3d ago

Look at scientific articles that interest you and look up the professors that are pushing them out. If there is a particular portion of study you are interested in then look up for specialist. For example, after about a decade of field work I think I am interested in cryptobiotic soils and looking into specialist and programs.

It is a slow process. If you have time I suggest finding some Assessment Inventory and Monitoring work or similar and you can be the soils person on the crew! You will go out and dig soil pits and classify horizons, correlate to soil series, and much more. This would give you practical knowledge while showing you can do field work during your hunt and likely make you an even more appealing candidate.

Curious what others have to say!

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u/UpbeatKey1446 3d ago

Check out the University of Idaho and Dr. Strawn's work

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u/200pf 3d ago

What do you want to do or study both in school and afterwards? As for where to look, land grant universities in agricultural states ie. Idaho, Kansas, Texas, Iowa, etc. Utah state is also decent.

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u/KnownChemistry9335 2d ago

I’m not entirely sure yet. I’m definitely more interested in the remediation side of things

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u/200pf 2d ago

One person I know doing that type of thing is Dan Richter at Duke University. Send him an email and see what he says, very nice guy.

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u/Goodrich_Yous 2d ago

Look for advisors whose research interests you and reach out to them directly. You can ask MSU soil professors for suggestion too they can also point you toward good programs. As most of the soil science master’s programs offer funding through assistantships.