To become an ethnobotanist, a person can take a variety of routes. They all entail getting a college education, and many of them require students to get a graduate degree. Becoming an ethnobotanist necessitates a great deal of effort and dedication, but it is also extremely rewarding once people have completed their education and training. Once qualified, an ethnobotanist can work in a variety of fields, ranging from pharmaceuticals to anthropology, depending on his or her interests.
Ethnobotany is the study of the interactions between humans and plants. Plants used in traditional healing by tribal peoples, the history of agriculture, superstitious beliefs about plants, plants that can be used for dyes, plants used in textiles, and so on are all covered in this field, which is quite broad and sometimes ill defined. Because ethnobotany is such a broad field, people can approach it from a variety of perspectives, resulting in multiple paths to becoming an ethnobotanist.
Ethnobotany is a field in which a small number of colleges and universities offer bachelor’s degrees, with more schools offering graduate level work in this field for those interested in becoming ethnobotanists. Students who are interested in specific topics, such as discovering new pharmaceuticals or learning about traditional native plant uses, should conduct research to see what types of coursework and research are offered by various ethnobotany programs.
Working with academic advisors and college staff, a student can also create a customized ethnobotany degree. Ethnobotanists are trained in fields such as general botany, anthropology, sociology, molecular biology, pharmacology, and biology, among others. Students who are interested in taking this route should contact the schools they are considering to see if they will allow them to create an ethnobotany curriculum and if they will receive the necessary logistical support.
Students should consider internships and other ethnobotany opportunities while in school. Summer research with working ethnobotanists, helping to catalog botanical collections, participating in anthropological research to learn more about working with tribal populations, and other activities can help someone who wants to become an ethnobotanist get a head start. This experience will be useful when the student seeks employment in the field; he or she may be able to turn a summer internship into a career or use work experience as a resume item to pique the interest of a potential employer.