Studies

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

Hi everyone,

 

I know it is a bit soon to ask, but I was wondering; if I want to do my Ph. D on the Dromaeosauridae of Liaoning Province, China - where would be a better institution to do research and write my Ph. D? The University of Alberta (Canada) or the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (Beijing, China)?

 

Thanks for any help,

 

 

Christian

[Boesse]

You may not like hearing this, but I think you're going to have to approach vertebrate paleontology with a more open mind. That's a very, very narrow focus. Dinosaur paleontology as it is is already overcrowded and hyper-competitive - have you already completed a master's thesis in a relevant field? Have you published in VP yet? If so, have you been in talks with prospective advisers at each institution? Do you have a thesis project/topic with clearly defined goals already on the table? If the answer to any of these is "no" then you are probably putting the cart before the horse, so to speak.