Achievement

We once again integrated MS students (funded through a NSF-funded Science Masters Program) into our IGERT as Associates and now have 11 Associates and 13 Trainees, which had many benefits including 1) IGERT trainees had a greater opportunity to serve in a leadership capacity, 2) IGERT trainees who were younger and less experienced had more "colleagues" at their level, 3) increased diversity of research interests, cultural backgrounds, and educational backgrounds, and 4) greater exposure to nonacademic career interests. An IGERT trainee told us, “I think that it's great having the two communities as one. There are more opportunities to hear thoughts and experiences from other students who are interested in ecosystem sustainability and to see things from another's point of view.” Based on our positive experience integrating these interdisciplinary MS and PhD programs, we recommend that other IGERTs explore ways to programmatically include MS opportunities.