Introduction
Methods
Are you thinking about enrolling in the Master of Environmental Science or Master of Forestry Science (MESc/MFS) program at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (F&ES)? If so, read on to gain perspectives of former students on the characteristics, value, and challenges of the MESc/MFS program. Whether you consider yourself a natural scientist or social scientist, this handbook should be of interest to you, particularly if want to learn more about what you should do to succeed in the MESc/MFS program. There are many old‐wives tales about assessing your advisor’s “style.” One theory suggests that senior professors tend to be hands‐off, while junior‐level professors tend to be hands‐on. This, of course, is often not the case, and proper assessment of a
The MESc/MFS is a sprint degree. As a student of the program, your goal is to conceive, plan, execute, and write up original research. The requirement of substantial independent research distinguishes the MESc/MFS program from the School’s management‐degree programs. Because of the short, two‐year timeframe, it’s important to start on your research early and work steadily, usually under your own volition. While conducting research, which may involve work in the lab, field, or in front of a computer, you will also be taking classes, so you will have plenty to juggle. This handbook is intended to improve the quality of your experience as a MESc/MFS student by offering advice on (1) interacting with your advisor and getting good academic counsel; (2) formulating and launching your independent research; and (3) coursework selection and sequencing.
Objectives
Hands‐on advisors meet with you often and actively seek you out (either via lab meetings, e‐mail, or Hands
on advisors meet with you often and actively seek you out (either via lab meetings e mail or
one‐on‐one •
Hands‐off advisors cannot or will not meet often and do not expect frequent status updates, but do expect a polished end product. When you initially contact your advisor (by email, phone, or in person) to gauge the level of your mutual interests, you should ask how often she meets with students. •
Discover how many students your advisor typically works with and, similarly, how many research projects your advisor is leading.
•
NOTE: Despite her best intentions, a typically hands‐on advisor can easily become hands‐off when she has too many students, projects, and other commitments. This is not unusual. It’s not necessarily your responsibility to assess whether or not your prospective advisor is overextended, but it’s certainly something to keep in mind.dafdaffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
•
Contact your potential advisor’s current students. You will find their first‐hand experiences as advisees invaluable for informing your own decisions. Some MESc/MFS students undertake research projects almost entirely of their own conception, while other students conduct studies that are closely aligned with their advisors’ research programs. We do not recommend one route over the other, but we would like to emphasize that working in close coordination with an advisor’s research program has several advantages: Styles of faculty advising defy generalization and are not readily amenable to simplification. There is, however, one element of advising style that can be •
•
Both advising styles have their pros and cons. What matters here is fit. A student who flourishes under one style of advisor may not do so under another. Know what you’re looking for
•
More interest or attention from your advisor . It will likely be easier for you to get specific feedback and help on your project if your advisor is intimately familiar with your research topic. Keep in mind that many faculty have of expertise.
•
Logistical feasibility Just as your advisor will provide more feedback on theoretical aspects of your study if she is familiar with the topic, there may also be better infrastructure when carrying out a study in your advisor’s system. For instance, you may be able to take advantage of your advisor’s lodging arrangements (e.g., a research station), MESc &MFSSurvivalHandbook:
AdvicefromYourPeers
SarahFederman,MFS2012
Tara Ursell MESc 2013
TaraUrsell,MESc
Results
Conclusions
Ideally, your faculty advisor should be your “go‐to person” for counsel on academic and research matters, but there are many other sources of supplemental guidance. Consider the following sources for help:
All good research starts with a clear problem statement and a well‐defined research question that, in turn, informs the approaches and methodologies necessary to carry out the study. So how do you go about formulating your overarching research question? Here are some suggestions:
Read – a lot Even before you arrive at FES, stay up‐to‐date with the latest research in your field of interest and try to get a sense of what your contribution may be. You may not pin down a specific research question until you arrive, but you’ll become better informed about what interests you. Furthermore, you need to be familiar with the relevant literature or you risk duplicating past work or missing good suggestions of established scientists on ways to advance your field. Speak with your advisor and other FES faculty CoolFinding
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Senior members of your lab. They’re frequently available, and they can help you with lab techniques or computer programs and by pointing you towards the relevant literature. PhD students, post‐docs, just getting started and because they often want mentoring experience. Some reciprocity may be in order: if they make a substantial contribution to your work, you can add them as a co‐author on your publication. The Yale StatLab. Here, consultants can work with you on data analysis and statistical programming See http://statlab stat yale edu/
programming. See http://statlab.stat.yale.edu/
The SCOPE SIG. This research SIG has workshops and peer review sessions, often close to grant deadlines. The actual state of the SIG will likely vary from year to year. Non‐F&ES Faculty. There are plenty of resources open to you beyond the walls of F&ES. Students have developed successful advising arrangements with faculty from departments and programs outside F&ES (e.g., Departments of Geology and Geophysics; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; and Chemical Engineering) while retaining an F&ES faculty member as an official co‐advisor.
Seek “professional” advice If you have worked with an NGO, government agency, or some other group that does research, you may want to work on a related project for your master’s degree. This is an especially good idea if you plan on pursuing a non‐academic career path. It also may make you eligible for funding that is more professionally‐oriented. To take advantage of these types of opportunities, speak with Peter Otis or groups like the Tropical Resources Institute (TRI). They may be able to connect you with alumni and other affiliates that may have ideas or specific projects for you..During the fall semester of your inaugural year, you must enroll in the natural‐science or social‐science variant of the Research Methods course. To fulfill the requirements of this course, you will be expected to conduct an extensive literature review in your field of interest and draft a proposal for supervised research. Ideally, your advisor will read and comment on the completed draft of your written proposal. The burden of soliciting feedback will fall solely on you, regardless of your advisor’s style. If possible, you should make arrangements to meet regularly to gain input from your advisor as you develop your proposal. The goal for the end of your first semester is to produce a carefully considered plan for research that is societally and scientifically relevant, technically sound, accomplishable within a two‐year time frame, and
Our colleagues in the social sciences also strongly recommend supplementing the research methods course with either Intro to Society and the Environment or Social Science of Conservation and Development, both of which will help provide the theoretical basis for your project
Acknowledgements
• JimSaiers,ProfessorofHydrologyandAssociate
DeanofAcademicAffairs
• JoanneDeBernardo,DirectorofStudentServices
• Alaine Ball,MESc 2012
Welcome!
AreyouthinkingaboutenrollingintheMasterofEnvironmentalScienceorMaster
ofForestryScience(MESc/MFS)programattheYaleSchoolofForestryand
EnvironmentalStudies(F&ES)?Ifso,readontogainperspectivesofformer
studentsonthecharacteristics,value,andchallengesoftheMESc/MFSprogram.
Whetheryouconsideryourselfanaturalscientistorsocialscientist,thishandbook
shouldbeofinteresttoyou,particularlyifwanttolearnmoreaboutwhatyou
shoulddotosucceedintheMESc/MFSprogram.
TheMESc/MFSisasprintdegree.Asastudentoftheprogram,yourgoalisto
conceive,plan,execute,andwriteuporiginalresearch.Therequirementof
substantialindependentresearchdistinguishestheMESc/MFSprogramfromthe
School’smanagement‐degreeprograms.Becauseoftheshort,two‐yeartimeframe,
it’simportanttostartonyourresearchearlyandworksteadily,usuallyunderyour
ownvolition.Whileconductingresearch,whichmayinvolveworkinthelab,field,
orinfrontofacomputer,youwillalsobetakingclasses,soyouwillhaveplentyto
juggle.Thishandbookisintendedtoimprovethequalityofyourexperienceasa
MESc/MFSstudentbyofferingadviceon(1)interactingwithyouradvisorand
gettinggoodacademiccounsel;(2)formulatingandlaunchingyourindependent
research;and(3)courseworkselectionandsequencing.
1
Contents
1.Advising.................................................................................................................................................3 1.1Advisingstyle..............................................................................................................................3 1.2Choosingyouradvisor............................................................................................................3 1.3Workingwithyouradvisor..................................................................................................4 1.4Othersourcesofscholarlyadvice......................................................................................5 2.Creatingasuccessfulresearchprogram.................................................................................6 2.1Gettingstarted............................................................................................................................6 2.2Maximizethebenefitsoftheresearchmethodscourse...........................................6 2.3Makingyourresearchtractableandsuccessful..........................................................7 3.Courseselection................................................................................................................................9 3.1Planningacurriculum.............................................................................................................9 3.2DataAnalysis...............................................................................................................................9 3.3Independentstudies.............................................................................................................10 4.CareerDevelopment.....................................................................................................................11 5.FinalThoughts.................................................................................................................................12 2
1.Advising
1.1Advisingstyle
Stylesoffacultyadvisingdefygeneralizationandarenotreadilyamenableto
simplification.Thereis,however,oneelementofadvisingstylethatcanbeassessed
inatleastasemi‐objectivefashionandwillinfluenceconsiderablyyouracademic
experience.Thatis,somefacultyadvisorsarehands‐on,whileothersarehands‐off:
1. Hands‐onadvisorsmeetwithyouoftenandactivelyseekyouout(eithervia
labmeetings,e‐mail,orone‐on‐oneinteractions)forstatusupdates.Hands‐
onadvisorsoften,butnotalways,haveyouworkontheirresearchprojects.
NOTE:anadvisorwhoishands‐onforthosestudentsworkingdirectlyonher
researchprojectsmaybehands‐offforyou,ifyouchoosetoworkonaseparate
topic.
2. Hands‐offadvisorscannotorwillnotmeetoftenanddonotexpectfrequent
statusupdates,butdoexpectapolishedendproduct.
Bothadvisingstyleshavetheirprosandcons.Whatmattershereisfit.Astudent
whoflourishesunderonestyleofadvisormaynotdosounderanother.Knowwhat
you’relookingfor,usingyourpreviousexperiencesandworkpreferencestoguide
youradvisorselection.
1.2Choosingyouradvisor
Therearemanyold‐wivestalesaboutassessingyouradvisor’s“style.”Onetheory
suggeststhatseniorprofessorstendtobehands‐off,whilejunior‐levelprofessors
tendtobehands‐on.This,ofcourse,isoftennotthecase,andproperassessmentof
apotentialadvisor’sstylecannotbemadewithoutsomeduediligenceonyourpart.
Herearesometried‐and‐truetips:

Whenyouinitiallycontactyouradvisor(byemail,phone,orinperson)to
gaugethelevelofyourmutualinterests,youshouldaskhowoftenshemeets
withstudents.

Learnifyouradvisorholdsregularlabmeetings.(Thesemeetingsaregreat
forumsfordiscussionandforgainingfeedbackonyourideas.)

Discoverhowmanystudentsyouradvisortypicallyworkswithand,
similarly,howmanyresearchprojectsyouradvisorisleading.
NOTE:Despiteherbestintentions,atypicallyhands‐onadvisorcaneasilybecome
hands‐offwhenshehastoomanystudents,projects,andothercommitments.This
isnotunusual.It’snotnecessarilyyourresponsibilitytoassesswhetherornotyour
prospectiveadvisorisoverextended,butit’scertainlysomethingtokeepinmind.
3

Contactyourpotentialadvisor’scurrentstudents.Youwillfindtheirfirst‐
handexperiencesasadviseesinvaluableforinformingyourowndecisions.

Askabouttheadvisor’spreferredstyleofinteraction:drop‐ins,lab‐group
meetings,e‐mail,orregularlyscheduledone‐on‐onemeetings?

Askwhetherstudentsareencouragedtoworkontheadvisor’songoing
projectsoronprojectsconceivedindependentlybythestudents.
1.3Workingwithyouradvisor
SomeMESc/MFSstudentsundertakeresearchprojectsalmostentirelyoftheirown
conception,whileotherstudentsconductstudiesthatarecloselyalignedwiththeir
advisors’researchprograms.Wedonotrecommendonerouteovertheother,but
wewouldliketoemphasizethatworkinginclosecoordinationwithanadvisor’s
researchprogramhasseveraladvantages:

Moreinterestorattentionfromyouradvisor
Itwilllikelybeeasierforyoutogetspecificfeedbackandhelponyour
projectifyouradvisorisintimatelyfamiliarwithyourresearchtopic.Keepin
mindthatmanyfacultyhaveinsufficienttimetoassumeahands‐onrolein
yourresearchprojectifitmeanssteppingoutsideoftheirareasofexpertise.

Logisticalfeasibility
Justasyouradvisorwillprovidemorefeedbackontheoreticalaspectsof
yourstudyifsheisfamiliarwiththetopic,theremayalsobebetter
infrastructurewhencarryingoutastudyinyouradvisor’ssystem.For
instance,youmaybeabletotakeadvantageofyouradvisor’slodging
arrangements(e.g.,aresearchstation),equipmentandsupplies,or
institutionalknowledge(e.g.,localcontacts,recommendedtransitoptions).

Financialsupport
Youradvisormayalreadyhaveagrantforastudythatcouldbecomepartof
yourfundingsource—eitherforalivingstipend,orforequipment,supplies,
travelcosts,andothernecessities.
Werecommendagainstframingyourresearchtofitwithinyouradvisor’sresearch
programifitpreventsyoufromexploringthequestionsthatyoufindmost
interesting.Researchishardworkandyouneedtobeexcitedaboutyourproject;
thismayrequireadeparturefromyouradvisor’sresearchagenda.Inmanycases,
youradvisorwillbeabletoprovidecounselonmanyaspectsofyourresearcheven
itliesoutsideofherexpertise,but,inthiscase,youshouldbesurethatyouare
comfortablewithassumingagreaterdegreeofautonomy.
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1.4Othersourcesofscholarlyadvice
Ideally,yourfacultyadvisorshouldbeyour“go‐toperson”forcounselonacademic
andresearchmatters,buttherearemanyothersourcesofsupplementalguidance.
Considerthefollowingsourcesforhelp:

Seniormembersofyourlab.They’refrequentlyavailable,andtheycanhelp
youwithlabtechniquesorcomputerprogramsandbypointingyoutowards
therelevantliterature.PhDstudents,post‐docs,andsecond‐yearMESc/MFS
studentsareofteneagertohelpbecausetheyrememberwhatit’sliketobe
justgettingstartedandbecausetheyoftenwantmentoringexperience.Some
reciprocitymaybeinorder:iftheymakeasubstantialcontributiontoyour
work,youcanaddthemasaco‐authoronyourpublication.

TheYaleStatLab.Here,consultantscanworkwithyouondataanalysisand
statisticalprogramming.Seehttp://statlab.stat.yale.edu/

TheSCOPESIG.ThisresearchSIGhasworkshopsandpeerreviewsessions,
oftenclosetograntdeadlines.TheactualstateoftheSIGwilllikelyvaryfrom
yeartoyear.

Yourpeers.Don’thesitatetosetupagrouptoreviewresearchproposalsand
manuscriptdrafts,discussdataanalysis,orpracticepresentations.

Non‐F&ESFaculty.Thereareplentyofresourcesopentoyoubeyondthe
wallsofF&ES.Studentshavedevelopedsuccessfuladvisingarrangements
withfacultyfromdepartmentsandprogramsoutsideF&ES(e.g.,
DepartmentsofGeologyandGeophysics;EcologyandEvolutionaryBiology;
andChemicalEngineering)whileretaininganF&ESfacultymemberasan
officialco‐advisor.
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2.Creatingasuccessfulresearchprogram
2.1Gettingstarted
Allgoodresearchstartswithaclearproblemstatementandawell‐definedresearch
questionthat,inturn,informstheapproachesandmethodologiesnecessarytocarry
outthestudy.Sohowdoyougoaboutformulatingyouroverarchingresearch
question?Herearesomesuggestions:

Read–alot
EvenbeforeyouarriveatFES,stayup‐to‐datewiththelatestresearchin
yourfieldofinterestandtrytogetasenseofwhatyourcontributionmaybe.
Youmaynotpindownaspecificresearchquestionuntilyouarrive,butyou’ll
becomebetterinformedaboutwhatinterestsyou.Furthermore,youneedto
befamiliarwiththerelevantliteratureoryouriskduplicatingpastworkor
missinggoodsuggestionsofestablishedscientistsonwaystoadvanceyour
field.

SpeakwithyouradvisorandotherFESfaculty
Youradvisorlikelyhasseveralresearchprojectsinplay,someofwhichare
focusedonquestionsthatcouldbeaddressedwithinthecontextofamaster’s
studentproject.Evenifyourinterestsdon’tintersectexactly,keepinmind
thatyouradvisorhasmadealivingfromconductingscholarlyresearchand
hencewillbeabletohelpyoudistillyourideasintosuitablyrefinedstudy
objectives.Donothesitatetoreachouttofaculty,inadditiontoyouradvisor,
forguidance.

Seek“professional”advice
IfyouhaveworkedwithanNGO,governmentagency,orsomeothergroup
thatdoesresearch,youmaywanttoworkonarelatedprojectforyour
master’sdegree.Thisisanespeciallygoodideaifyouplanonpursuinga
non‐academiccareerpath.Italsomaymakeyoueligibleforfundingthatis
moreprofessionally‐oriented.
Totakeadvantageofthesetypesofopportunities,speakwithPeterOtisor
groupsliketheTropicalResourcesInstitute(TRI).Theymaybeableto
connectyouwithalumniandotheraffiliatesthatmayhaveideasorspecific
projectsforyou.
2.2Maximizethebenefitsoftheresearchmethodscourse
Duringthefallsemesterofyourinauguralyear,youmustenrollinthenatural‐
scienceorsocial‐sciencevariantoftheResearchMethodscourse.Tofulfillthe
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requirementsofthiscourse,youwillbeexpectedtoconductanextensiveliterature
reviewinyourfieldofinterestanddraftaproposalforsupervisedresearch.
Ideally,youradvisorwillreadandcommentonthecompleteddraftofyourwritten
proposal.Theburdenofsolicitingfeedbackwillfallsolelyonyou,regardlessofyour
advisor’sstyle.Ifpossible,youshouldmakearrangementstomeetregularlytogain
inputfromyouradvisorasyoudevelopyourproposal.Thegoalfortheendofyour
firstsemesteristoproduceacarefullyconsideredplanforresearchthatis
 societallyandscientificallyrelevant,
 technicallysound,
 accomplishablewithinatwo‐yeartimeframe,and
 appropriateforpublicationinapeer‐reviewedjournalorsomeotherforum.
NOTE:Ifyouradvisorisunabletoprovidefrequentfeedbackduringthis
semester(anessentialtime‐periodforapplyingtoimportantgrantssuchasthe
NSFandEPA*)wecannotemphasizeenoughtheimportanceofsoliciting
feedbackfromoutsidesources(seesection1.4).
Ourcolleaguesinthesocialsciencesalsostronglyrecommendsupplementingthe
researchmethodscoursewitheitherIntrotoSocietyandtheEnvironmentorSocial
ScienceofConservationandDevelopment,bothofwhichwillhelpprovidethe
theoreticalbasisforyourproject.
2.3Makingyourresearchtractableandsuccessful
Asyoudeveloptheintellectualframeworkforyourprojectthroughtheresearch
methodscourseandthroughoutyourfirstyear,itisalsoimportanttokeepinmind
severalstrategiesforimplementingyourideas:

Honeyourskillsinpreparationforresearch.Ifyoudon’talreadyhave
experiencewithyourmethodsandprotocols,considerworkinginyour
advisor’slabinyourfirstorsecondsemester.Alternatively,considera
projectcourseorindependentstudythatistargetedspecificallytothedata
collection‐and‐analysistechniquesthatyouintendtoemployinyour
research.

Ensurethatyourplanfordatacollectionisfeasiblegivenyourtime
constraintsaswellasthetimingofthephenomenathatyouintendto
explore.Youdon’thavemuchtimetocollectdata–onesummerandthose
partsofthefall,winter,andspringthatyouarenotdevotingtoclasses,
homework,andotheracademicpursuits.Furthermore,thephenomenonyou
areseekingtoobservemayexhibittime‐sensitivepatternsthatare
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unsympathetictoyourclassroomschedule,andtheremaybeseasonal
restrictionsonaccesstoyourfieldsites.Determineyourtemporalresearch
constraintsasearlyaspossiblesothatyoucanplanoutyourresearch
scheduleonacalendar,leavingampleroomforadjustments.

Haveaclearsenseofyourproject’slogisticalchallenges(andstrategiesfor
overcomingthem),especiallyifyouaredoinginternationalwork.Youmay,
forexample,needtoplanforvisasandimportpermitsandapplyforvarious
otherpermissions.

Bepreparedtoadapt.Researchnevergoesexactlyasplanned,andmostof
ourstudentcolleagueshaveneededtomodifythescopeoftheirproject
duringthefieldseason.Havecontingencyplansthatwillenableyouto
completeyourwork,whileretainingavalidexperimentaldesignand
preservingthemeaningfulnessofyourstudy.

There’smoretoyourresearchthandatacollection.Leaveyourselfsufficient
timeforthoughtfulinterpretationofyourdata,reflectionuponyourresults,
writing,andre‐writing.Remember,youhaveonlytwoyears.
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3.Courseselection
3.1Planningacurriculum
TheMESc/MFSprogramhasexceedinglyfewcourserequirements,whichis
intendedtoprovidestudentswithagreatdealofacademicflexibilityandto
accommodateasubstantialresearchagenda.Werecommendthatyoulookbeyond
thefirstsemesteranddraftatwo‐yearplanforyoursequenceofcourses.Your
facultyadvisorcanprovideguidanceoncourseselection,particularlyifyouareable
toarticulateyouracademicobjectives.Inadditiontoyourfacultyadvisor,thereare
otherconsiderationsandsourcesofinformationthatyoushouldtakeintoaccount.
Thefirststep,perhaps,istodeterminewhichcourseswillbeofferedduringyour
timeattheSchool.TheF&ESwebsiteisagenerallyreliableresourceforlistingsof
currentlyavailablecourses,butoccasionallyinstructorschangethetimingoftheir
coursesinwaysthatarenotreflectedonthewebsite.Similarly,facultymaytake
sabbaticalsthatspanalargeportionofyourtimeatF&ES.
Owingtothesevagariesinscheduling,youshouldconfirmwiththeinstructorthat
theywillbeteachingthecourseyouwantwhenyouwantit–orelseleaveaspot
opentotakethecourseinanotheryear.Onceyouknowwhatisavailable,thenyou
candevotesomeefforttodeterminingthesubsetofcoursesthatarewelltaughtand
bestfityourneeds.Herearesometipsforgaininginformationtohelpyouevaluate
coursesbeforeyouactuallytakethem:

Readcoursereviews,whichareavailableonlineat
https://faculty.yale.edu/fesevals/student/

Talktosecond‐years,PhDstudents,andalumnitogetrecommendations.

Approachtheinstructorwithspecificquestionsaboutthecontentorother
aspectsofthecourse.

ConsidercoursesinotherdepartmentstosupplementF&ESofferings.
3.2DataAnalysis
Manystudents(andevenprofessionalscientists!)forgostudyingstatisticsinthe
hopethattheywillbeabletoanalyzetheirdatathroughadhocconsultationwitha
statistician.Don’trelyonthis!Takingstatisticscoursesisimportantfor
 framingaresearchquestioninawaythatwillleadtomeaningfuland
defensibleresults;
 preparingyourselftoaddressmethodologicalandstudy‐designissues,
especiallyasyoumayneedtoquicklyadjustyourstudyinthefield;and
 analyzingyourdata.
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Starttakingthesecoursesimmediately;thiswillallowyoutoanalyzeyourdata
quicklyratherthantryingtolearnnewmaterialasyouexamineyourresults.
Considerthefollowingcourses:

IntrotoStatsinyourfirstsemester,ifnecessary.Thisisarequirementfor
furthercoursesandforanydataanalysis.

Samplingmethodology.Thisisarecommendedfirstsemestercoursefor
projectdevelopment,especiallyinthenaturalsciences.

Regressionand/orMultivariateStatistics.It’sagoodideatotakebothduring
yourtimeatF&ES.Speakwiththeprofessorsorotherstudentstoascertain
whichisbettertotakefirst(i.e.,morelikelytobeusedforyourdata).

Advancedsocialscienceclasses(e.g.,AdvancedReadingsintheSocialScience
ofConservationandDevelopment;Disaster,Degradation,Dystopia;Property
Rights)arealsohelpfulforprovidingacontexttoanalyzesocialsciencedata.
3.3Independentstudies
Youmayfindthatyourtimeiswellspentonanindependentstudy.Thiscanbethe
caseif

aprofessorpermitsyoutocompleteanindependentstudyasasubstitutefor
acoursethatsheisnotofferingingivenyear;

youwanttogointogreaterdepthonatopicthanwhatiscoveredinalecture
course;or

youareconductingasecondaryresearchproject.
Keystoasuccessfulindependentstudyinclude

findingafacultymembertodirecttheproject(manyoftheadvisingrules
mentionedabovealsoapplyhere);

havingaconcreteideaorsubjectandverifyingthiswiththefacultyadvisor;

makingthedeliverablesexplicitfromthebeginning(e.g.,finalpapers,
projects,readingresponses);and

beingself‐motivated.
OneuniqueformofindependentstudyistheDirectedIndependentLanguageStudy
(DILS).ThisisavailabletoYalestudentsforlanguagesnotofferedattheuniversity.
BeawarethattheapplicationforfallenrollmentisdueonMarch31.
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4.CareerDevelopment
YouprobablyalreadyknowthatoneofF&ES’sassetsisitsfocusonprofessional
development.Whetherornotyouwillbegoingintoacademia,takeadvantageofthe
following:

EnvironmentalCommunicationcourses.Whilemarketedtowardsthe
professionalstudentsandthosecontexts,thecommunicationcourses
providevaluabletechniquesforwritingandoralpresentations.

TechnicalSkillsModules.Throughtheseworkshops,youcanlearnavariety
ofskillsandprogramsthatmaybeusefulforyourresearchorcareer–for
example,MATLAB,Excel,Access,ArcGIS,speedreading,andothers.The
TechnicalSkillscoordinatorsusuallysolicitideasatthebeginningoftheyear.
TheStatLabalsohasworkshopsonotherstatisticalprograms,includingR
(whichistherecommendedstatisticalprogrambymanyFESfaculty).

TheCareerDevelopmentOfficeandthealumnidatabase.Ifyouareseekinga
careeroutsideacademia,thiswillbeobvious.Butevenifyouareonthe
academictrack,youcanfindcontactinformationandresourcesforalumniat
mostresearchinstitutions.

Lecturesandopportunitiesinotherdepartmentsandinstitutes—e.g.,YIBS,
YCEI,YaleLawSchool,etc.Getonthelist‐servsforthesegroups;thereare
manytalksandeventsthatdon’tgetadvertisedthroughF&ES.Someofthem
drawinterestingandimportantpeoplewithwhomyoucannetworkfor
intellectualorcareerdevelopment.
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5.FinalThoughts
Wehopethatthishandbookhasprovidedyouwithsomeusefulideasandadviceas
youbegintoplanoutyouracademicprogramatF&ES.TheMEScandMFSdegrees
cansometimesfeelisolatingbecauseyouarepursuingindependentresearch,which
canoftentimesbeanintenselypersonalprocess.However,you’llfindthatforan
appropriatelysqueakywheelthereareavarietyofintellectual,financial,and
physicalresourcesatyourdisposal.Don’tbeafraidtoaskaroundforwhateverhelp
orsupportyouneed,butalwaystrytokeepmovingforwardwithyourproject,even
whenitstagnates.Thedegreegoesbyextremelyquickly,butwithperseverance
you’llwalkawaywithagreatskillsetandthesatisfactionofhavingcompleteda
majorproject.Wewishyouallthebestinthepursuitofyourdegree.
Sincerely,
TaraUrsellandSarahFederman
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