Natural Resource Workforce Development Fellowship
The Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (SW CASC) Natural Resources Workforce Development (NRWD) Fellowship was developed to provide graduate students with opportunities for training and practice in developing use-inspired and actionable science to inform natural resource management decisions. Key aspects of the training include: methods to foster collaborations and the development of science that informs resource management decisions; experience in interacting and collaborating with natural resource management decision-makers; and experience in effective communication of research results to enable use of that research. Each year, the fellowship will have a different science theme. The science theme for the 2023-2024 NRWD Fellowship is: Despite dire warnings, how well does the public and resource managers understand the increasing aridity phenomenon in contributing to the megadrought in the southwestern U.S.?
The fellowship is open to graduate students enrolled in research-based thesis or dissertation-granting programs at the seven SW CASC consortium institutions. One applicant from each institution will be selected to take part in each fellowship cohort. Fellows will work as a team to conduct research, and are required to attend two one-hour cohort teleconferences per month and two in-person meetings per year, submit a news item for the SW CASC website, and submit a written report of results and findings. Funding for successful applicants includes a stipend of $8,000, with an additional travel allowance of $1,250 for each Fellows cohort meeting that occurs away from their home campus.
