<p>Zoosergirl is going to major in Environmental Science, which is in the biology department of her school. It's a biology/chemistry/earth science type major with serious science classes, as well as some policy/economics. She is delighted with the class selection and field experience. My question is this: Is it only possible for her to obtain a master's in Environmental Science, or could she possibly be considered (depending on the graduate school of course) for a master's in straight-up biology? I guess what I'm asking is if it's possible to obtain a master's in a slightly different discipline than one's bachelor's. When the time comes she'll ask potential graduate schools, but I'm curious as to whether it's a completely off the wall concept. Anyone care to offer some enlightenment here seeing as how I know nothing about graduate school?</p>
<p>It should be no problem to continue to grad school in Biology if she's taken the hard-science classes required of a biology major, I mean all the prerequisites for a biology major and then some upper division coursework in biology.</p>
<p>it is definitely doable, especially in the sciences. Lots of physics majors and cs majors are graduate students at my school in biology-- many of them had not taken many biology classes previously. It would be good if she takes some quantitative courses (stats, cs, something like that) and has a decent foundation in biology (biochem, cell, genetics) which will make graduate school easier for her, as she will not be seeing everything for the first time. Research will be useful when applying to graduate school, but it can definitely be fieldwork of some sort in environmental science.</p>
<p>She's going to take things like intro to environmental studies, intro to geology and the next geology, zoology, botany above the 100 level, two chem classes above the 100 level, environmental chemistry, ecology, geographic information systems, microbiology, along with a choice of electives that include things like organic chemistry, invertebrate zoology, animal behavior, quantitative analysis, etc. THere are also economics and political science classes geared toward energy/conservation policy. Plus a field component. It's good to know that she could possibly have the course work for a master's in biology. I hadn't thought to look at the undergraduate requirements for the schools she's interested in for graduate work. I'll have her consider that, though. Great advice as always.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It's very common for people to go to graduate school in a field that differs from their undergraduate major.</p></li>
<li><p>If you decide to apply to a particular graduate program early enough, it's usually possible to meet the requirements (if you haven't already), at the latest, during your senior year in college.</p></li>
<li><p>I believe it's also pretty common for people to be accepted into a graduate program on the condition that they complete some additional undergraduate-level courses as part of their graduate work, or before they begin it.</p></li>
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