Do you want to know how you compare to other job applicants in ecology? Here are the publication rates for all applicants to our 2013 tenure-track faculty position in ecology. These include only peer-reviewed publications. Publications on which the applicant was first- or senior-author are often given greater weight in job searches, so they are […]
What you need to be competitive for a faculty position
Faculty positions are extremely competitive in ecology (and most other fields). It is not uncommon for 200+ people to apply for one opening. Most of these applicants are qualified, so if you want a faculty position you must establish a truly exceptional record. Here are some goals to reach if you would like to be […]
Dissertation preparation
Structure of the dissertation When you are preparing your dissertation, be sure to follow the formatting requirements specified by the Graduate Division of UCI. The earlier you apply the formatting, the better. You don’t want to be revising your dissertation at the last minute just to re-format it. Also, when you submit your dissertation to […]
Advancement to Candidacy and Dissertation Proposal
Characteristics of a good dissertation proposal A good dissertation proposal accomplishes a few important goals. First, it motivates you to organize and define your research plans for one or two potential chapters of your dissertation. Second, it allows your committee members to provide useful feedback on these plans. Third, it demonstrates to your committee that […]
Some common characteristics of high impact publications in ecology
•Solidifying emerging perceptions in a concept, opinion, or review paper •Developing a conceptual framework •Synthesizing ideas and knowledge from multiple disciplines •Overturning a common assumption •Developing a widely-applicable tool (e.g., a primer set or informatics pipeline) •Conducting a highly novel experiment (important element of scientific progress, but not always highly-cited) •Quantifying widespread effects from previously-published […]
What do you need to be a successful researcher?
Passion for science and research —By far, this is the most important. It will help you maintain your motivation even during challenging times in your career (which will be more frequent than you’ll expect). One way to protect your passion for your research is to select research topics that are important to you. They should […]
Sample timeline for PhD students
Year 1 Read broadly and deeply in area of interest Apply for fellowships and student-oriented grants Develop plan for summer project (by April) Perform field or lab project in summer Year 2 Apply for fellowships and student-oriented grants Develop idea for dissertation research and begin writing dissertation proposal (by December) Complete formal literature review, meta-analysis, proof-of-method, […]