Prospective Students
Welcome to the Raimondi-Carr lab. Our combined research and teaching interests focus on a wide variety of aspects of the basic and applied ecology and evolutionary biology of coastal ecosystems. We study coastal ecosystems that span the land-sea interface, including coastal tributaries, estuaries, rocky intertidal, and kelp forests. Our research aims to (i) understand the processes that influence geographic variation and dynamics of the populations and communities of fishes, invertebrates and algae that constitute these ecosystems, and (ii) the relationships between species life histories and the structure and functions of populations, communities and ecosystems, and (iii) use this understanding to inform management and policy. For more information on our research interests, research programs, and access to publications, use the links under "People" and "Research".
If you are interested in pursuing a graduate degree in our lab (Masters or Ph.D.), please consider the following. Dr. Carr and Dr. Raimondi separately advise students, so it would be beneficial to identify whose interests most align with your own. That said, both groups operate as a single lab. Our students largely conduct empirical field studies, and complement that work with a variety of other ecological approaches, including modeling, genetics, and physiology. For a better feel for the breadth of topics and diversity of approaches our students use, visit the current and past student web pages. We can only take students if we can support them or they bring independent support (e.g., NSF Graduate Research Fellowship).
The majority of freshwater ecology in our lab is conducted by our graduate students who work with the National Marine Fisheries Service Santa Cruz Lab here at the Coastal Science Campus at UCSC. These students almost always work on aspects of ecology and evolution of salmonids. Because NMFS researchers collaborate with our students, it is best to contact them directly to inquire about possibilities with them. They may be able to direct you to others at the NMFS lab interested in mentoring graduate students. Also, you should contact Dr. Eric Palkovacs in our department (EEB). For estuarine research, it is largely conducted by graduate students co-advised with Dr. Kerstin Wasson at the Elkhorn Slough Foundation. The Kroeker Lab researches global change and marine systems. It is a good idea to apply for an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, which supports students in our lab. We’re both happy to meet with you if you come to the west coast to check out grad schools. Best wishes with your efforts to find a graduate program.
Very importantly…
Dr. Carr is intending to retire within the next three years and, therefore, not taking new graduate students.
We apologize if we have not responded to your personal inquiries for graduate studies in our lab, it is difficult tracking the voluminous e-mails and responding individually. Don’t assume that we have not received your inquiry just because we have not responded!
It is very difficult to predict the kinds and level of funding that will be available to support students between now and fall of each year. Therefore, we recommend that students who are interested in the topics described in the preceding paragraph apply to the lab (both Mark Carr and Pete Raimondi individually) as well as other faculty at UCSC who share your research interests, and that will allow us to consider you beyond the deadlines identified by the University. If you don’t apply, we can’t consider you between now and next fall.
We very rarely accept students who we do not meet face-to-face, so we suggest you schedule a visit to UCSC in conjunction with other schools on the west coast. If you do this sooner than later, we also try to help identify other prospective graduate programs that fit your research interests. Because we have trouble keeping up with e-mail, please consider calling us.
For a broad, general overview of the application process to grad school, see this document prepared by the German Lab at UCI.
Thank you for your inquiry and we look forward to meeting you!