Re: advice...

[Jeffrey Martz <martz@holly.ColoState.EDU>]

> This past several weeks I have been writing and contacting several different 
> colleges 
> about their paleontology programs.  I have also contacted other
> paleontologist through out the year.  I know that a large percentage of
> you do work for museums and or university's.  So I am hoping that
> some one will be able to help me out.  I am almost done with with
> undergraduate studies in biology, and looking for graduate schools. And
> I am not sure which would be the best for me.  I like the biological
> side, field work, and cretaceous dinosaurs (ceratopsia in particular).

Kelly,
     I am also pursuing graduate school right now.  If you are interested
in Cretaceous dinosaurs, I would propose you look into three school in
particular.  All three apparently have great graduate programs for
vertebrate paleontolgy that do work in the Upper Cretaceous.  All three
are at least partially affiliated with the Geology Department of thier
respective schools (although it probably won't be a problem for the
last two, which are also affiliated with Biology), so you might want to
start cramming for the Geology GRE's (I am in the same fix; my degree will
be in Zoology, although I have taken most of the upper division courses in
Geology and T.A. for Physical Geology):

1) South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (Rapid City)
     Has done quite a bit of recent feild work in the Lance Formation of
Wyoming.  Try contacting Phillip Bjork at: pbjork@msmailgw.sdsmt.edu
He does some work with Cretaceous dinosaurs, although I am told he is
mainly interested in mammals.  The other two Mesozoic reptile professors,
James Martin and Gordon Bell, tend to focus on marine reptiles.  
      The SDSMT web site is at: http://www.sdsmt.edu
 
2) Montana State University (Bozeman)
     The geology program itself has no paleontology program per se, but
Jack Horner is adjunct professor in the Geology Department, and you would
be doing most of your work at the Muesum of the Rockies.  Most of Horner's
students at Museum of the Rockies are MSU students, and are in fact
BIOLOGY students (I have written for information explaining how this
works, but haven't gotten a reply yet).
     MSU's web site is at: http://www.montana.edu
     Museum of the Rockies (with a brief discussion of the graduate
propgram is at: http://museum.montana.edu

3) University of Calgary (yes, in Alberta)
     The situation is similar to MSU's; no masters program in paelo,
but Phil Currie is adjunct professor and is cross appointed at the geology
and biology program.  Contact Dr. Anthony Russel in Biology, and Currie
can co-supervise you.  I beleive you would be doing most of your work at
Drumheller.  I don't have as much information about Calgary and I don't
have the web site written down, so you will have to find it yourself.     

Hope this helps.

LN Jeff