Announcing two graduate fellowships at Oregon State University for Fall, 2021

Collaborative governance and fire ecology for wildfire management in Oregon

The project: The Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society (FES) in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon has two funded positions available for new graduate student Fellows, beginning August, 2021. The Fellowships will support one PhD student and one Masters student interested in conducting research on collaborative governance and fire ecology for wildfire management in Oregon. A third student already in the FES program will focus on science communication, working with Dr. Troy Hall. Together the three fellows will work as a team to develop skills in making science useful to collaborative organizations, communities, and policy makers working to reduce fire risk and improve forest health in the wildland-urban interface of central-eastern and north-eastern Oregon.

• Masters student will work with Dr. Meg Krawchuk on fire ecology
• PhD student will work with Dr. Reem Hajjar on collaborative governance

Applications: Interested applicants should submit a CV and one-page statement of interest describing their interests and experiences in the topic area, goals, and activities of the Fellowship, and also outlining how they meet the required and desirable qualifications outlined below for each position. Specific details on qualifications and activities are outlined below.

We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply, particularly students who are underrepresented in the field of natural resources management. Experience and perspective as a tribal citizen, working collaboratively with tribal communities, indigenous groups, or intertribal organizations would bring value to this position, as would familiarity with tribal governance structures and/or tribal approaches to resource management. To be eligible for these Fellowships, individuals must be citizens or nationals of the United States.

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We will be contacting applicants and scheduling interviews, and successful applicants will be invited to apply to the FES graduate program. Please do not apply to the FES program without this invitation. The deadline for submitting documents to the potential advisors is December 1, 2020 (note: this is earlier than FES graduate program deadlines).

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Reem Hajjar (PhD in governance and fire management): reem.hajjar@oregonstate.edu

Dr. Meg Krawchuk (MS in fire ecology): meg.krawchuk@oregonstate.edu

To learn more about the FES Graduate program, please see: https://fes.forestry.oregonstate.edu/graduate-programs/forest-ecosystems-society

Required for PhD position on collaborative governance in fire management (Advisor: Dr. Reem Hajjar)

-       Excellent writing and oral communication skills

-       Research experience or work/life experience related to natural resource governance

-       Strong interest in meaningfully engaging with community-based stakeholders throughout the research period

-       Ability to work effectively in teams in the office and in the field

-       Desire to integrate different disciplines in research on collaborative governance in fire management

-       Master’s degree in related field

Desirable for PhD position

-       Experience working collaboratively on projects

-       Experience utilising qualitative and/or quantitative social science research methods

-       Experience working on interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary projects

-       Basic knowledge of GIS, statistical and/or qualitative analysis software

Required for MS position in fire ecology (Advisor: Dr. Meg Krawchuk)

-       Strong interest in tackling complex problems associated with contemporary wildfire, restoration, conservation, and collaborative land management

-       Research experience or work/life experience related to natural resources and wildfire

-       Excellent writing and oral communication skills

-       Ability to work effectively in teams in the office and in the field

Desirable for MS position

-       Experience and/or basic facility with computing software for statistical analysis and/or simulation of landscape dynamics

-       Basic knowledge of GIS and spatial data manipulation

-       Experience working collaboratively on projects

-       Field experience in fire, fire, ecology, natural resources

-       Interest in working on interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary projects

Activities of the Fellowship:  

• In August/September 2021 before their first quarter of study, the team of faculty and students will tour central-eastern and north-eastern Oregon to engage with stakeholders about science questions related to forest and fire ecology, fire management, and social-ecological pressure points. The students will develop their thesis/dissertation questions around issues identified on this trip.
• In their second year, students will participate in job-shadow activities with Extension agents and land managers to learn how stakeholders’ values influence planning and decision-making and the challenges associated with using science in forest management. They will also participate in TREX, a field-based training program in the use of prescribed fire that includes learning about the ecological role of fire, the social dimensions of prescribed fire use, networking, and experience in leadership.
• Students will take courses and gain expertise in their respective disciplines, while also gaining skills in interdisciplinary and collaborative research.
• Although the theses/dissertation projects will be developed individually, the three students will work collaboratively on an additional product useful to stakeholders.
• The PhD student will participate in a short course from the National Conservation Training Center as part of their leadership development.
• All students will help organize the annual College of Forestry student-led conference at OSU, and acquire training in science communication.
• Students will teach or TA least one relevant course in the department.

Funding for the positions will cover tuition and stipend for 2 years for the Masters student (including 2 quarter as a graduate teaching assistant) and 4 years for the PhD student (including 3 quarters of teaching responsibilities), as well as travel and participation in the above-named activities.

This project is funded by the USDA NIFA National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship Grants Program (NNF).