<p>Any advice on which program would be better for graduate studies in geophysics: UVa's environmental science (concentration in geoscience) or William & Mary's geology program? I really like both programs, but I do like UVa's interdisciplinary nature of it's program with more class choices better than at W&M.
But at the same time, Williamsburg seems to have more things to do and see for family (I have two babies, 1 yr and another almost 3 yr), and W&M is a smaller school, which I like.
Eitherway, Im extremely excited and grateful to go to either school, and realize how lucky I am that I could take advantage of the guaranteed agreement articulations with the VCCS here in Virginia.</p>
<p>UVa’s Environmental Science program is fantastic…but I’m clearly biased. I didn’t even know W&M had geology. I’ve never heard anyone talk about it, so I can’t weigh in on it.</p>
<p>I think most people would say that Charlottesville has WAY more going on than Williamsburg. The art, music, and food scenes in Cville are head and shoulders above.</p>
<p>That being said, there are scores of happy students at both schools. :)</p>
<p>The EnviSci department at UVa is pretty awesome, I’ve taken a few classes from their professors and loved them, including a geology professor. I think you’ll get a broader educational experience as well, but that’s just my opinion.</p>
<p>That said, I think you’ll find equal to do in both locations, though Cville may be cheaper for living/raising a young family. There’s also a bigger population of other young families at UVa than W&M. Not deal breakers, but something to consider.</p>
<p>I had a friend who attended law school at W&M. He always complained about the slow tourists on the road, making him late for class. Cville is much larger than Williamsburg, and has a real downtown.</p>
<p>If you are in a graduate program, the size of a college or university doesn’t impact you in the same way it would an undergrad. You do almost all your coursework in one department, with the same limited number of fellow grad students taking pretty much all the same classes. So look at the specific culture of the departments you are interested in, and particularly at the faculty in your likely field of specialization–not at generalizations about the whole school.</p>
<p>Hi yoonashley, I don’t know anything about W&M’s Geology program, but there’s a lot going on in the field of Environmental Science at UVa. Check this out.</p>
<p>[News</a> Releases about Environmental Science at UVa](<a href=“All News | UVA Today”>All News | UVA Today)</p>
<p>One thing I loved about UVa and Charlottesville was that there was always something going on…from the [Virginia</a> Film Festival](<a href=“http://www.virginiafilmfestival.org%5DVirginia”>http://www.virginiafilmfestival.org) to the [Virginia</a> Festival of the Book](<a href=“http://www.vabook.org/index.html/]Virginia”>http://www.vabook.org/index.html/).</p>
<p>Thank you all for the replys.</p>
<p>I hadn’t thought C’ville would be cheaper than Williamsburg, but thank you so much for that advice, really something to weigh on. Also UVa having more to pick from is important to me.</p>
<p>I’m currently in undergrad program, but I realize I will need a graduate degree in this feild. Anyone know if energy companies recruit from UVa or that it would be possible to find work in that industry w/o being recruited from graduate programs at U Texas, Texas A&M, or Mines?</p>
<p>Another question, I read this on the program’s website:</p>
<p>“Your major is the sum of your experiences as they relate to your interests in environmental sciences. It is this full mix of your experience that you will explain to others in cover letters and interviews at each stage of your career advancement. Your official University of Virginia transcript upon graduation will carry the designation Environmental Sciences Major, but will not identify the courses that counted toward the major. Thus, you define and explain your personal major and the relevant experiences each time you are asked. Your transcript designation of the major only certifies that the Department believed you had taken at least the minimum experience needed to be an Environmental Scientist.”</p>
<p>Will this bar me from entering graduate studies from other universities that require specific classes as prereqs (such as linear algebra, modern physics, and/or petrology) by not listing them on my transcript?</p>
<p>That wording is strange. I believe all UVa transcripts will list all courses, and all grades of classes you completed at UVa.</p>