Masters Students from USU

This week in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from two Masters Program students at Utah State University. First, we heard from Melody Reed, who is earning her Masters of Horticulture in Plant Soils and Climate. She went over information about: advice if you're thinking of going to graduate school, what to look for in a masters program, and suggestions to prepare for graduate school.

Some advice Melody suggested when thinking about graduate school is:

• To decide if grad school is for you, do an internship as a research assistant, since doing research is a large part of grad school.
• Check out the internet for conferences that relate to your desired subject, and go to them.
• Learn to like scientific articles, you'll be reading a lot more once in grad school.

Some things that Melody suggested when looking for a masters program are to:

• Think about if grad school is really for you--if you like school, do it! If you don't like school, maybe you should look into something else.
• Think about your interests, and how you can delve deeper into a particular subject.
• Find a good professor to work with. She suggested getting referrals from your current teachers for potential schools or professors to work with.

Once you've decided you want to go to graduate school, you should:

• Start emailing potential advising professors early, so you get to know them, and they get to know you. Networking is everything.
• Be sure to take enough chemistry and math--especially statistics--so that you'll be prepared for your advanced classes.

Second, we heard from Sherri Jones, a student earning her Masters of Landscape Architecture, which is a first professional degree. Sherri talked about how she got to where she is as a grad student, explained what kind of program she is working with, and that thesis papers can be about almost anything.

Starting out, Sherri talked about how she ended up at USU.

• She majored at BYU-I in Horticulture, with an emphasis in Landscape Design.
• She decided she wanted to look for grad schools that were accredited with ASLA, the American Society of Landscape Architects.
• Decided what kind of plant materials she wanted to work with, geographically. She picked a school in the geographic area that would teach her to use plants that she wanted to work with in the long run.
• Once the schools were narrowed down geographically, she looked at what coursework was available at each school in her program, so she could find an ideal fit for what she wanted to do.

Sherri's program is actually a three year Masters Program, which is unusual because typically, Masters Programs are only two years. During her three years, Sherri's expected load is:

• The first year will be all coursework.
• The second year will be some coursework, and research will begin.
• The third year will be all research, unless additional coursework is needed.

Lastly, Sherri spoke about what kinds of thesis papers her professors and classmates have done, which vary greatly depending on what the student wants to specialize in. Some of these examples are:

• How to reduce criminal behavior in parks
• Recreating pioneer gardens in environmentally friendly ways
• Roof gardens in small space designs
• Optimizing the landscape

Overall, it was a very interesting and informative Seminar, given by two former BYU-I students. Both ladies mentioned that as a grad student you must be very self motivated. Teachers don't hang due dates over your head, or remind you to get assignments done. Most grad students get stipends and assistanceships for their research, which, more or less, make them their own boss. Yes, that's right, you get paid to go to school!

So, if you're thinking about going to graduate school, talk to your professors and see how they can get your feet in the door. Brother Dewey mentioned that when it comes to graduate school, "Horticulture has lots of demand, but not enough supply," your teachers would be happy to help you with looking up possibilities.

Because of scheduling changes, next week we will have a presentation from Chanshare Farms.