A PhD fellowship in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM) at Oklahoma State University is available as part of the Dr. Fritz L. Knopf Doctoral Fellowship Program in Avian Conservation. The start date for this position is August 2016.
The fellowship will focus on large-scale conservation issues for bird populations and/or communities in the Great Plains region. The fellow will have the flexibility to pursue independent research interests within a broad collaborative group including Drs. Scott Loss, Craig Davis, Dwayne Elmore, Sam Fuhlendorf, and Tim O'Connell. Appropriate research topics would fall under the broad objective of bringing together diverse existing data sets to answer conservation-relevant questions related to factors that operate at landscape, regional, and/or national scales (e.g., land use practices, climate change, energy development, disturbance regimes). There will also be an opportunity to conduct collaborative side-projects and interact with other Knopf Fellows (at Iowa State University, University of Colorado Denver, and Utah State University) and to participate in, contribute to, and use data from existing field projects at OSU (examples of existing projects for the above faculty members can be seen on the NREM web page: http://nrem.okstate.edu/people-1/faculty). The fellow will be expected to participate in grant applications, peer-reviewed and popular publications as first author and co-author, presentations at regional and national meetings, and professional organizations. The Knopf Fellowship provides funding to support advanced training of doctoral candidates in pursuit of an illustrious career in avian ecology and conservation. The intent of this funding is to provide the candidate with the opportunity to develop the professional network and prolific record of technical and popular presentations and publications needed to develop a highly competitive young professional. The funding provides a stipend for 4 years (~$21,000 per year), tuition and fees, health insurance, and a professional development allowance to present at conferences and for short-term research residencies in labs where other Knopf fellows are based. QUALIFICATIONS: Fellowship selection will be based on academic merit as demonstrated by: (1) Academic and professional strengths articulated in letters of nomination, (2) Clarity of direction and commitment to avian ecology research articulated in student's letter of interest, (3) GPA, (4) Demonstration of effective oral and written communication as demonstrated by professional presentations and/or relevant research published in refereed scientific journals; and (5) Demonstrated leadership. Applicants with extensive experience in spatial analyses (e.g., GIS) and quantitative approaches will be especially competitive. A master's degree is strongly preferred but may not be required for students with extensive independent research experience. TO APPLY: send (to scott.l...@okstate.edu by February 26th) an application consisting of a single ZIP file that includes: (1) a statement of interest (2-page max) outlining general interests in avian ecology and specific potential research topics under this fellowship, (2) CV, (3) unofficial academic transcripts, (4) GRE Scores, and (5) contact information for 3 references that are able to write letters of nomination upon request.
