Advice please: path to PhD from undergrad
Hello soon to be phds, I would like to solicit any and all advice on getting to a PhD in environmental health from undergrad. I am currently a rising senior biology major at a top liberal arts college, and I am preparing to apply to masters programs, PhD, and RA positions this summer/coming fall. I would appreciate it if you could tell me what you think the best choice is moving forward based on my experience and my goal because you all have experience with the application and transition process.
I have participated in REUs/summer research programs for the past 3 years at different schools of public health: Colorado, Rutgers, Harvard.
For the past year, I have been working in an environmental chemistry lab working on microplastics method development, and I plan to do an independent thesis next year. *There are limited research opportunities at my college for non-traditional sciences.
My GPA is 3.7, which I've worked hard for, and I foresee that it might continue to increase this semester. I have 1 publication from my first summer of research, though it is not a first-author. My PI for this summer says that he can make it a priority to focus on publishing papers I can co-author, so I might have more after this summer.
There is likely more, such as leadership positions held, or community engagement, etc.
It would be helpful to hear if you think I should pursue a MPH or MS, or try applying to PhD this fall. If PhD, how should I gauge which programs I'd be able to get into? Funding for masters and competitiveness? Thank you!
