MS Fellowship in in the Human Dimensions of Ecosystem Science and Management

Master of Science (MS) Fellowship in Human Dimensions of Ecosystem Science and Management, Utah State University, starting Fall 2012

This fellowship will support a MS student to pursue a degree in the Human Dimensions of Ecosystem Science and Management (HDESM) program in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University (USU) starting August 2012. This fellowship is funded by USDA National Needs Graduate Fellowship Competitive Grant No. 2011-38420-20087 from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The full proposal is available at http://www.cnr.usu.edu/wild/htm/available-ms-fellowships. Our goal is to create a small cohort of graduate students whose research will be linked under the theme "Managing for Resilience in Forested Ecosystems of the Intermountain West." Current topics related to management, adaptation, resilience and human dimensions of forest ecosystems in a changing climate will be emphasized. Student fellows will participate in several outreach projects in cooperation with USU Extension Forestry including the planning of a Restoring the West regional conference and publication of at least one article each in the Utah Forest News. The student fellows will also benefit from coordinated mentoring by an Advisory Board of faculty members from the Wildland Resources and Environment and Society departments in the College of Natural Resources - Dr. Karen Mock, Dr. Jim Long, Dr. Mike Kuhns, and Dr. Zhao Ma; and Dr. Barbara Bentz with the USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, and Dr. Paul Rogers with the USU-affiliated Western Aspen Alliance.

Research topics for the HDESM MS student will be developed through discussions among current student fellows, their supervisory committees, and faculty Advisory Board members, and may include:

* Assessing "tipping points" in human systems that are linked to forest ecosystem thresholds,

* Assessing forest landowner perceptions of and responses to increasing drought, insect outbreak and fire under changing climatic conditions,

* Determining the ecological and non-ecological factors affecting the decision-making process of forestry institutions,

* Assessing how forestry institutions prioritize aspen regeneration, bark beetle control, and other aspects of forest management and conservation,

* Identifying opportunities for promoting the adaptive capacity of forest landowners, managers, and institutions to cope with a changing climate.

The fellowship support includes a stipend of $17,000 per year for 2 years (Fall 2012 through Spring 2014), an out-of-state tuition waiver, and subsidy for student health insurance. Utah State University is an equal opportunity employer and we strongly encourage applications from groups who are underrepresented in natural resources professions. Fellowship candidates are required to be a citizen or national of the United States of America.

Additional Information: For general information about the HDESM graduate program, please visit http://www.cnr.usu.edu/envs/files/uploads/ENVS%20Stuff/Human_Dimensions_grad_info.pdf

Logan is a valley community of about 125,000 people, 90 miles north of Salt Lake City, and a great place to live with respect to low cost of living and excellent outdoor recreation opportunities (more information at http://www.tourcachevalley.com/).

Qualifications and Application:
* A bachelor's degree
* Good GPA and GRE scores
* Good communication and writing skills
* A strong interest in collaborative, multi-disciplinary approaches to problem solving
* Ability to work both independently and in a team

To apply, please submit the following materials to Dr. Karen Mock via email (karen.mock@usu.edu):
* A resume describing your education, employment, and publication/presentation history
* A list of three references (and their contact information)
* A copy of your academic transcripts (unofficial) and GRE scores
* A cover letter describing your research interests, why you would be a good candidate for this fellowship, and how you found the fellowship advertisement

We will begin screening candidates on March 5, 2012, and will continue until suitable candidates are found. Formal application to the USU graduate school will ultimately be required for selected candidates.

Zhao Ma, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Environment and Society
College of Natural Resources
Utah State University
5215 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-5215

Phone: 435-797-9180
Fax: 435-797-4048
Email: zhao.ma@usu.edu<mailto:zhao.ma@usu.edu>

MSc in Environmental Governance at UNU-IAS

The United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) is now accepting online applications to its Master of Science in Environmental Governance with Specialization in Biodiversity programme for the 2012 academic year.

The programme draws on UNU-IAS's long-standing reputation for excellence in policy-oriented research for sustainable development. UNU-IAS provides students with the intellectual foundation and practical field experience necessary for understanding environmental governance regimes. Graduates of the programme will receive a Master of Science degree from the United Nations University and the skills necessary to forge new frontiers as researchers and practitioners with an interdisciplinary and systemic understanding of biodiversity, ecosystems and sustainable development.

For more information on course offerings, fees, duration and application procedure, please visit www.ias.unu.edu/masters. Deadline for applicants seeking financial support is 28 February 2012. General deadline for all applications is 30 May 2012. Classes are scheduled to commence in September 2012.

Best regards,

Makiko Arima

Rotary International and UNESCO-IHE team up to offer Masters scholarships

The global humanitarian organization Rotary and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education are teaming up to tackle the world's water and sanitation crisis by increasing the ranks of trained professionals critically needed to devise, plan, and implement solutions in developing countries that bear the brunt of the problem.

Through this new strategic partnership, The Rotary Foundation will provide grants to Rotary clubs and districts to select and sponsor eight students each year for scholarships to any of three Master of Science degree programs at UNESCO-IHE, a United Nations institute in Delft, The Netherlands, that is the world's largest postgraduate water education facility. The school's scholarship-eligible programs are Municipal Water and Infrastructure; Water Management; and Water Science and Engineering.

The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, under its new Future Vision plan, seeks to forge strategic partnerships with established organizations with expertise in Rotary's six areas of focus, one of which is water and sanitation. The other focus areas are peace and conflict prevention/resolution; disease prevention and treatment; maternal and child health; basic education and literacy; and economic and community development. UNESCO-IHE scholarship grants are available only to clubs in the 100 Rotary districts piloting Future Vision until the plan is fully implemented July 1, 2013.

UNESCO-IHE is owned by the member states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Its mandate is to help meet the water-related capacity-building needs of developing countries and countries in transition.

Go to the website for more information: www.rotary.org or www.unesco-ihe.org.

Masters work: Brown University

Brown U: environmental health and environmental justice

Kindly forward to potentially interested people. We are recruiting Master's students to work with Phil Brown, Kathryn DeMaster, and Timmons Roberts starting in Fall, 2010. Applications need to be in by January 2 to be considered for financial aid.

Professor Phil Brown will recruit one or two students to work on environmental health and environmental justice projects: developing and testing ethical, effective, and practical methods for reporting individual exposure results to participants in biomonitoring and household exposure studies; studying how four existing research projects provide individual results to study participants; science and policy interfaces for the proliferation of flame retardants; regulatory, policy, industry, scientific, and legal implications of chemical biomonitoring research, as carried out by national-level population surveillance, state-based biomonitoring programs, advocacy biomonitoring, and community-based studies; ethical issues in xenotransplantation of human fetal tissues into rodents, to study how environmental stressors alter pathways and dose-response relationships, and produce novel biomarkers of effect. Applicants should have experience in environmental health and justice and in community-based participatory research and/or community-engaged research.

Professor Kathryn DeMaster - In the next few years my research work will emphasize three primary areas: local and regional sustainable agricultural movements and food justice and food security in Providence, RI specifically and New England generally; investigations into the environmental and social impacts of containment animal feeding operations (CAFOS) run by multinational conglomerate Smithfield Farms in Poland, North Carolina, and Mexico; and exploring the application of European agri-environmental policies into the New England regional context. I would be keen to work with any students who have interests in the intersection of agriculture and the environment and would especially welcome collaborations with students who are interested in conducting qualitative research on food justice in the Providence, RI area.

Professor Timmons Roberts is looking to work with 1-2 new Master's students in 2010 to work on projects that link to issues of climate change and international development, especially the role of foreign assistance in helping poor nations adapt, and the linking of ecological debt and global justice. He has new projects on education about adaptation to climate change in Latin America, West Africa, and Rhode Island, and a project on what social factors explain which nations are most able to adapt to climate change, and reduce their emissions.

The Masters of Arts in Environmental Studies at Brown is a practical degree, designed to help students understand emerging environmental problems and to strengthen their competence in managing them.
Environmental problems are complex and interconnected; our institutions and governments as they are currently organized are largely unable to manage them. Students learn to speak the languages of science and policy, to understand the different vantage points of each, and to integrate them. Rather than beginning with traditional disciplines and searching for their application to environmental problems, we instead focus on the problems of decision and action, learning how to draw information from the disciplines that bear on these decisions.
Coursework: The program consists of four core courses, four carefully- chosen electives, experience as a teaching assistant, and a Master's thesis. Requirements for the Master of Arts degree are described on our website at: http://envstudies.brown.edu

The Master's Thesis:The Master of Arts program in Environmental Studies requires successful completion of a Master's thesis, the presentation of thesis results at a departmental seminar and an oral defense of the thesis. The master's thesis is the keystone and the integrative culmination of our program.

Program Information: the full list of faculty and their research interests are at http://envstudies.brown.edu and there are details about Master's program requirements and admissions at http://envstudies.brown.edu/academics/masters.html

--
J. Timmons Roberts
timmons@brown.edu

Director, Center for Environmental Studies Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies Brown University
135 Angell Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3449
http://envstudies.brown.edu/
skype: timmonsroberts
Project-Level Aid (PLAID) project website:
http://www.wm.edu/irtheoryandpractice/plaid