Maine's Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI), a partnership between the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine offers opportunities for cutting-edge interdisciplinary learning experiences at the graduate level, including up to 25 PhD fellowships at the University of Maine. SSI is a $20 million, 5-year program funded by the National Science Foundation’s EPSCoR program.
Students with backgrounds in a wide range of disciplines are encouraged to apply: e.g., social sciences, biological, earth, and chemical sciences, natural resource management, communication, engineering, education, mathematics, and more. SSI’s mission is to create an integrative research program and strong stakeholder partnerships that generate improved solutions to intersecting ecological, social, and economic challenges in and beyond Maine.
Graduate students will be part of an integrated research program built on strong stakeholder partnerships and collaborative, interdisciplinary research teams focused on urbanization, forest ecosystem management, and climate change. These efforts address the dynamics of social-ecological systems with an emphasis on moving from knowledge to action.
We anticipate awarding up to 25 Ph.D. fellowships with a large portion beginning in the fall of 2010. These fellowships would provide up to five years of support for students, and will include a stipend of $20-25,000/yr, a tuition waiver, subsidy for health insurance, and funds to support dissertation research.
Students interested in sustainability science research and study options can follow one or more of the following paths:
- Check for any specific openings for which applications are being solicited. Click here for our current listing.
- Contact a member of the core faculty whose research area is of interest.
If your interests align closely with one of the faculty members listed, you should contact one (or several) of these people to express your interest, describe your background, and determine if they might be willing to guide you through the application process. For example, together you might be able to outline an avenue of research that would fit your common interests and contribute to an on-going or planned research project.
- Contact the team leader of any of the on-going research teams.
Many research projects are being pursued by interdisciplinary teams and the project list will be updated as more are approved for funding. All students will eventually work with one of these teams, but if at this stage you can identify one or two teams that seem especially close to your interests, you should contact the team leader to discuss what you might be able to bring to the team. Your chance of a successful application would be enhanced if it were clear how you could bolster a team’s capacity.
- Contact the Doctoral Fellowship Coordinator (Malcolm Hunter) to help identify appropriate faculty and projects if you need assistance. You should also contact the Fellowship Coordinator if you are interested in pursuing a relatively independent program.
- For masters level opportunities in sustainability and community planning at the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School of Public Service see www.muskie.usm.maine.edu or contact Professor Charles Colgan.
Fellowship recipients can pursue a variety of traditional degrees: Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Communication, Civil Engineering, Forest Resources, Wildlife Ecology, Biological Sciences, Higher Education, and others. In addition, SSI is in the process of developing a new interdisciplinary degree in Sustainability Science.
Review of applications will begin in December 2009 and continue until all positions are allocated, probably in February 2010. You should explore the paths outlined above before submitting a formal application through the UMaine Graduate School.
Application Procedures and FAQs
A. After you have made contact with one or more SSI faculty and they have encouraged you to apply for a fellowship please fill out the standard graduate school application with particular attention to the following items:
Proposed Program of Study: List the name of the degree you wish to pursue (for example, Ecology and Environmental Sciences).
Major Area of Interest: Enter Sustainability Science here to make sure your application is reviewed by the Fellowship Selection Committee.
Correspondence: List the key SSI people with whom you have communicated, especially your likely advisor or co advisors.
Recommendation providers: You need to list at least three people who will serve as your regular, external references AND in addition list one or two SSI faculty who have agreed to support your application. They will need to write letters explaining how you would be integrated into their SSI research work.
B. If you are selected as a finalist you will be invited to attend an Open House at UMaine. This will probably be a two-day event during which you would meet faculty and students, see the campus, and be interviewed by the Fellowship Selection Committee. Reasonable costs for travel to the Open House can be covered.
C. Fellowship recipients will be selected within a few days after the Open House and will be asked to accept or pass on the offer soon thereafter.
Tentative Schedule (likely to change):
