Announcing three graduate fellowships at Oregon State University for Fall 2020

The Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society (FES) in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon has three funded positions available for new graduate student Fellows, beginning August 2020. The Fellowships will support one PhD student and two Masters students interested in conducting research on collaborative governance and fire ecology in wildfire management, focused in central Oregon. 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 landscapes of eastern Oregon including the wildland-urban interface.

• One Masters student will work with Dr. Meg Krawchuk on fire ecology and conservation
• One Masters student will work with Dr. Troy Hall on science communication
• One PhD student will work with Dr. Reem Hajjar on collaborative governance.

The deadline for submitting documents to the potential advisors is December 1, 2019 (note: this is earlier than FES graduate program deadlines).

You can download a .pdf copy of this advert here: Collaborative governance and fire ecology graduate fellowships

Overview of the Program:

• In summer before their first quarter of study, the team of faculty and students will tour eastern Oregon to engage with stakeholders about science questions related to forest and fire management. 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 a student-led conference at OSU, acquire training in science communication, and teach or TA at least one relevant course in the department.

Funding for the positions will cover tuition and stipend for 2 years for Masters students (including 2 quarters 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.

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 Tribes, 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, the funding agency requires individuals must be citizens or nationals of the United States.

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, 2019 (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 and conservation): meg.krawchuk@oregonstate.edu

Dr. Troy Hall (MS in science communication): troy.hall@oregonstate.edu

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 their chosen position.

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

PhD position on collaborative governance in fire management (Advisor: Dr. Reem Hajjar, http://foliage.forestry.oregonstate.edu/)

Required qualifications

-        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

Preferred qualifications 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

MS position in fire ecology and conservation (Advisor: Dr. Meg Krawchuk, http://people.forestry.oregonstate.edu/meg-krawchuk/)

Required qualifications

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

-        Desire to develop skill with simulation models as tools for assessing landscape dynamics and scenarios in the context of wildfire

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

-        Excellent writing and oral communication skills

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

Preferred qualifications for MS position

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

-        Basic knowledge of GIS and spatial data manipulation

-        Field experience in fire, fire ecology, natural resources

-        Experience working collaboratively on projects

-        Interest in working on interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary projects

MS position in science communication (Advisor: Dr. Troy Hall; http://directory.forestry.oregonstate.edu/people/hall-troy)

Required qualifications

-        Excellent writing and oral communication skills

-        Ability to work effectively in teams in the office and in the field and adapt to dynamic situations

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

-        Bachelor’s degree in a social science discipline

-        Coursework or experience conducting social science research, from study design to data analysis

-        Interest in developing skills in science communication with diverse audiences

-        Ability to travel to conduct research

-        Interest in working on interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary projects

Preferred qualifications for MS position

-        Coursework in communication and social psychology

-        Experience working collaboratively on applied projects with sciences, stakeholders, and/or community members