Advice for prospective PhD students
PhD students are a central component and rewarding part of my work and research. I advise 4-6 PhD students at any given time, and we work closely together as a lab, meeting regularly, sharing resoruces, and providing feedback on each others work. We cultivate a spirit of community and a productive, positive working environment. Of the various models of advising, I am relatively 'hands-on'.
Every year, I receive inquiries from many prospective PhD students. Admissions are highly competitive, and I rarely accept more than 1 new student. To help applicants maximize their chances of success, and I offer the following advice, best considered prior to contacting me:
Five top tips:
1. The most important thing for applicants is to have a clear idea about why they want to work with me. This idea should be based on an understanding of the kind of research done by me and my students, as reflected in our published work. Two of the more theoretical pieces I usually recommend to prospective students are:
Campbell, L.M., N.J. Gray, Z.A. Meletis. A political ecology perspectives on ecotourism to parks and protected areas. Page 111-120 in Transforming Parks and Protected Areas, K. Hanna, D. Clark, and S. Slocombe (eds). Routledge: London.
Campbell, LM. 2007. Local conservation practice and global discourse: a political ecology of sea turtle conservation. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 97(2):313-334.
The above are a starting point. Other papers with more topical foci can be found on my publications page.
2. For biologists wanting to make a transition to social sciences, or to work across disciplines in both natural and social sciences, it is important to demonstrate an understanding of what social science reserach entails. This understanding may come through course work, independent reading, or practical experience. It is particualry important that such appicants read the above references, as theory is a critical part of social science work. I have had several students with natural science undergraduate degrees make the transition successfully, but it is important to understand what is involved.
3. In general, I think students with masters degrees have an advantage as PhD students, but an MA or MSc is not a requirement; many of my current PhD students came to the program with an undergraduate degree, although most of them also had practical experience. However, I am unlikely to accept an undergraduate with a natural science background and no social sciences training or equivalent experience. This is not a bias on my part, but when such applicants are compared to equally strong ones with social science backgrounds, they have a hard time competing.
4. Duke's deadline for PhD applications is December 15. If you are contacting me within 1 month of this deadline, you will have to make a very compelling case. Not only is this a busy time of year, but by that point in time I will have been corresponding with many applicants. A last minute inquiry will have a hard time catching my attention.
5. Finally, once you have contacted me, follow up if you don't hear back. I won't mind.