Doris Duke Conservation Fellowships are awarded to masterí¢â‚¬â„¢s degree students who show outstanding promise as future leaders in non-profit or governmental conservation.í‚   The Fellowships are supported by grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) to selected universities, who have been chosen based on the quality of their interdisciplinary environmental programs and commitment to educating conservation practitioners. Graduate programs with multidisciplinary professional masterí¢â‚¬â„¢s programs are well placed to produce future conservation leaders because of their emphasis on practical problem solving, collaborative approaches, and career-oriented training.í‚   In addition, these masterí¢â‚¬â„¢s programs provide students with a solid grounding in science, economics, policy, and law.í‚   Recognizing the complexity and interconnectedness of environmental issues, these programs also provide the opportunity to study issues such as social justice, urban-rural dynamics, and transnational and maritime environmental issues.

Since the DDCFEnvironmental Program focuses primarily on conservation within the United States, it is reasonable to expect that the majority of Doris Duke Conservation Fellowships will be awarded to U.S. citizens working on domestic habitat issues.í‚   However, due to the increasingly global nature of environmental issues and the increasing international interaction of environmental leaders, it also is reasonable to expect that Duke Conservation Fellows may include some outstanding individuals from other countries; that some new Fellows will spend at least part of their careers working for international organizations and national agencies outside the United States; and that some Fellows will pursue maritime and transnational conservation issues.

Currently eight universities (Michigan, Yale, Duke, Cornell, Florida A&M, Northern Arizona, Wisconsin and California at Santa Barbara)í‚  receive funding and SNRE anticipates being able to select 5-6 fellows for the 12th cohort.í‚   The program provides:í‚   up to $5,000 in support while participating in a relevant summer internship following the student's first academic year in the masterí¢â‚¬â„¢s program, and partial tuition support up to a maximum of $28.121.í‚  í‚  

Eligibility criteria

1. Masterí¢â‚¬â„¢s student whose first term at SNRE is Fall 2009.
2. Intention to obtain employment in the public or non-profit sectors upon graduation.
3. The current focus of the Foundation is on habitat conservation in the United States, and the preponderance of fellows should have a focus that matches that interest.í‚   However, the UM selection committee defines that interest area broadly (including, for example, large-scale design and planning for conservation purposes, ecological restoration, environmental education through conservation-oriented nonprofit organizations, conservation policy, terrestrial ecosystem science or management, or an interest in aquatics if it connects to the landscape scale, among others.)

Selection criteria/factors to be addressed in the studentí¢â‚¬â„¢s statement of interest

1. Leadership qualities and experiences
2. Commitment to a career in conservation
3. Commitment to the non-profit and/or public sectors
4. Academic strengths

The application, selection and awards process

An e-mail announcement is sent to all masterí¢â‚¬â„¢s students and faculty in mid-September. An information session is held to provide an overview of the program and answer questions about the application process. (This year it will take place from 12:00-1:00, oní‚  2 October 2009, in room 2024 of the Dana Building). The faculty program coordinator will talk about the program, and several current Duke Conservation Fellows will talk about their experiences with the fellowship.

1. Interested students submit a statement of interest (500-word limit) and current ríƒ ©sumíƒ © to Diana Woodworth (dianaw@umich.edu) byí‚  6 November 2009. The statement should address the above factors.í‚   Submit electronically as separate documents.
2. A committee of faculty representing a diverse set of disciplines will review the studentsí¢â‚¬â„¢ statements and ríƒ ©sumíƒ ©s and considering the above criteria, will identify a short list of candidates by 20 November.
3. Diana W. will notify the students individually via e-mail, letting them know whether or not they made the short list.
4. Students making the short list will be scheduled for a 20-minute interview during the first two weeks of December. The interviews will be conducted by a committee of three: the DDCF program faculty coordinator (Professor Steven Yaffee), an OAP representative, and one outside NGO leader from the Ann Arbor area.
5. The SNRE Scholarship Committee, joined by the DDCF program faculty coordinator, will consider the studentsí¢â‚¬â„¢ statements, ríƒ ©sumíƒ ©s, Fall grades, copies of recommendation letters from admission folders, and interview results, and the above criteria, and will select 5-6 fellows. Award decisions will be made by mid-February 2010. Students and advisors will be notified via e-mail and letter shortly thereafter.

The Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship is open to individuals regardless of race, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or gender. We encourage individuals from groups historically underrepresented in environmental conservation to apply.