National Estuarine Research Reserve Graduate Research Fellowship
All reserve staff are ineligible to submit an application for a fellowship under this announcement. Students must be admitted to or enrolled in a full-time master's or doctoral program at a U.S. accredited university in order to be eligible to apply. Students should have completed a majority of their graduate course work at the beginning of their fellowship and have an approved thesis research program.
National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) research funds are provided to support management-related research projects that will enhance scientific understanding of the reserve ecosystem, provide information needed by reserve management and coastal management decision-makers, and improve public awareness and understanding of estuarine ecosystems and estuarine management issues (15 CFR 921.50).
* Academic resume or C.V.
* Cover Letter
* Unofficial copy of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts
* Signed letter of support from your graduate advisor
* Two signed letters of recommendation
* Research proposal (specific requirements - see pdf file on website or visit Student Funding Office)
*Proposed budget for project
*Requests for Estaurine Reserve support services
*Coordination with other research in progress or proposed
*A copy of any applicable local, state, or federal permit applications to conduct research
The applicant may request funds under any of the following categories as long as the costs are reasonable and necessary to perform research: personnel, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual, construction, other, and indirect.
The amount of federal funds requested must be matched by the student's eligible institution by at least 30% of the total project cost. Cash or in-kind contributions directly benefiting the research project may be used to satisfy the matching requirements. Waived indirect costs may also be used as match. Funds from other federal agencies and reserve staff salaries supported by federal funds may not be used as match.
We anticipate 27 openings for fellowships in 2011.The amount of each fellowship award is expected to be $20,000, which will be available to all current and prospective Fellows. These funds are intended to provide any combination of research support, salary, tuition, supplies, or other costs as needed, including overhead. Awards are issued as grants to the recipient institution, and are not awarded directly to the Fellow.
Graduate student fellows who are selected for funding will be required to:
1) work with the Research Coordinator or Manager at the host Reserve to develop a plan that is relevant to the
student's research and will allow for the Fellow's professional development as well as service to the NERRS.
The plan will describe how the Fellow will participate in the Reserve's research and/or monitoring, stewardship,
education, or coastal training programs for up to 15 hours per week. Fellows conducting multi-site projects may
fulfill this requirement at one or a combination of sites.