Conservation Phds

[thehairyone]

hi there,

I am currently working as an ecologist but want to go back to university to study a Phd. I was wondering if anyone knows of any websites that advertise Phds in the conservation/ecological/zoological etc. fields. I know of findaphd.com but find it very clumsy and it only covers UK institutions. Any help would be appreciated.Thanks.

[StuartDH]

you could try

Postgrad UK – postgrad courses, masters degrees, MA, MSc and MBA in the UK

[Dan Salter]

Originally Posted by thehairyone

hi there,

I am currently working as an ecologist but want to go back to university to study a Phd. I was wondering if anyone knows of any websites that advertise Phds in the conservation/ecological/zoological etc. fields. I know of findaphd.com but find it very clumsy and it only covers UK institutions. Any help would be appreciated.Thanks.

Does that imply you DONT want to do a uk based phd?

in which case stuarts link may not be what your after?

I was going to suggest checking the Ad's in British Wildlife magazine but im guessing they are all uk based as well....
Mind you this is a UK based forum! haha....try Wildlife and Environment Forum

[thehairyone]

Im in Ireland but the UK would be my preferred destination for a Phd but don't want to rule out somewhere in America. The UK has findaphd.com but I can't find a similar site that would cover the US. I was just wondering if anyone knows of any websites that specifically advertises conservation Phds (no matter where they are). Thanks for your replies so far.

[JonSadler]

Try Findaphd.com and check out the British Ecological Society Web site (look for the list server). One word though - you might be a little late as the round for next academic year is pretty much done and most places will have interviewed candidates and offered appointments by now. But there will still be some out there that are worth a punt.

Best of luck

Regards
Jon

[tom00_uk]

find a phd covers other countries but its less common to see places out side the uk there

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by thehairyone

hi there,

I am currently working as an ecologist but want to go back to university to study a Phd. I was wondering if anyone knows of any websites that advertise Phds in the conservation/ecological/zoological etc. fields. I know of findaphd.com but find it very clumsy and it only covers UK institutions. Any help would be appreciated.Thanks.

I don't think Phds work like that, and I mean in a philosophical way. If you want to do a Phd, you are driven to a certain focus, you don't just find one knocking around and decide to make it yours. I would suggest that if you were able to say that you wanted to find funding for a Phd working on the effect of butterflies on cheese making, you probably want to study at that level.

I am not being negative, or being facile. I have supported a dearly loved person through a self funded Phd recently, and it is a massively traumatic experience, probably ending in seeing that person moving into a driven world where it is difficult to follow.

You don't want to do a Phd, you have to.

[zan]

I would agree with Meta Menardi on this one. Studying a PhD will involve 3 years of mega stress, and you'll only get through it if you work on a topic that you are really interested in, and that motivates you. This doesn't have to be something very very specific, but it would be really helpful to have a couple of topic ideas that you could see yourself really wanting to get into, even when it all goes wrong and nothing comes out the way you think it will!

I haven't done a PhD yet for these same reasons. I will probably pursue one in the next few years, but I don't believe it's a decision you can rush into or take lightly.

Anyway, I also don't want to sound really negative, and I have no idea where you are in this process already, or your motivations for doing a PhD so feel free to take my advice with a great big pinch of salt! Good luck whatever you decide!
zan

[tom00_uk]

there are some real perks of doing a phd out side the uk

in norway they pay you a normal wage and you also have the same rights as full time staff, ie 12 months off for women after having a child

uk tiny amount of money and no help

[thehairyone]

Hi All,

Thanks for your all your advice so far. Rest assured i have not entered this decision lightly. Although through the vagueness of my original post I can understand why people think I have not put much thought into this. However, things work slightly differently in Ireland. In Ireland the main funding body IRCSET will give full (and very generous) funding to applicants from any country in the EU. In Britain, from what I've gathered, the NERC will only give full funding to applicants that have been resident in the UK for 3 years prior to application. Which is why I have been looking for an advertised position rather than securing my own funding. I have applied for a couple of Phds in the UK already but to no avail, I am a recent graduate and have an MSc. too and in my opionion a very good CV but what I don't have is much volunteering experience. Worthwhile environmental volunteering does not really exist in Ireland so the conservation experience I have has all been paid. It seems to me, that volunteering for say a year is more highly regarded than being employed for a year (but this is just my opinion) and from reading this forum and others like it, it seems most people in the UK have a considerable amount of volunteering experience under their belt.

Anyway this is what I've found so far;

For any anyone looking for a Phd or job in Ireland, check out the listserv on this website;
Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland Homepage
It is by no means a definitive website in relation to environmental jobs/Phds in Ireland but it does advertise a few Phds/Jobs per month.

For the UK, Ive found this to be good for Phds;
jobs.ac.uk - job search - science, research & academic vacancies in the UK and abroad

For the USA I have found this website;
https://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=ecolog-l
and this;
Society for Conservation Biology (SCB)

Hope this helps anyone in the same situation as me, and if any one knows of any any other sites, please post them up.

thehairyone