The department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, the Bell Museum, Cedar Creek Natural History Area, Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories, offer a number of opportunities for fellowships and summer stipends.
The EEB Graduate Program has funds available for support research fellowships. This funding is provided by the College of Biological Sciences. The awards in the past have been equal to a 3-month assistantship. Deadlines and details are announced by the DGS of the EEB Graduate Program during the Spring term.
Occasionally, the EEB graduate program has funds available for support of research or student travel to professional meetings. If available, a competition is held; deadlines and details are announced by the DGS of the EEB Graduate Program. Funding amounts depend on availability, typically on the order of $1000-2000.
The EEB department administers the Elmer C. Birney Fellowship, which carries a summer stipend equivalent to a 3-month Research Assistantship. An annual competition is held, deadlines and details are announced by the DGS of the EEB Graduate Program during the Spring term.
The Sigerfoos Fellowship is for short-term zoological studies by graduate students at another institution (for instance, OTS courses in Costa Rica) or research area. Preference is for study of marine or tropical zoology. Apply through the department head of EEB.
Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve provides partial summer support for graduate students who are conducting research at Cedar Creek and who would like to mentor undergraduate student researchers. Applications are invited from Cedar Creek graduate student researchers at any stage of a graduate program. Funding is available for up to six Fellowships each summer. Preference will be given to applicants who plan to spend a considerable amount of time on-site at Cedar Creek because this helps build our research community.
Together, the team of Graduate Fellows will:
- mentor undergraduate interns pursuing independent research projects throughout the summer;
- organize a research symposium at the beginning of the summer in which faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students present results from their ongoing studies at Cedar Creek;
- organize a weekly seminar;
- offer weekly workshops that provide formal training on research proposal writing, reading journal articles, data analysis, poster presentations, and oral presentations; and
- organize a research symposium at the end of the summer in which undergraduate student researchers present the findings of their independent research projects.
The Itasca Biological Station has funds available for graduate students to conduct short-term research projects in or near Itasca State Park. Full-time graduate students may apply for a fellowship award to pay for their research and living expenses at IBSL. Only single-investigator, single-project proposals will be considered for these 'seed-to-root' grants. Fellowship awardees are expected to share a research talk at IBSL and must submit a summary of their work at the conclusion of their research project. For more information, contact IBSL@umn.edu.
Below are several fellowship opportunities which are administered by the Bell Museum. Please contact the Bell Museum (Caitlin Frey - crfrey@umn.edu) for more information.
The Florence Rothman Fellowship provides support for students working with Bell Museum faculty or doing field work in EEB (deadline: February 28, 2017).
The Huempfner Ruffed Grouse fund supports graduate students doing avian research, with preference for studies using telemetry, studies with management implications, or studies of ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) and their habitat (deadline: February 28, 2017).