Eligibility
The NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowships are available to U.S. citizens who are graduate students enrolled in Ph.D. degree programs in academic institutions in the United States and its territories. Only U.S. citizens are eligible to apply. Foreign Nationals are not eligible.
Length of Fellowship
The fellowship can provide support for up to three years for highly qualified graduate students working towards a Ph.D. in quantitative ecology, ecosystem ecology, population dynamics or related fields of study such as wildlife biology, fishery biology, natural resource management, marine biology, quantitative ecology, applied mathematics, applied statistics, simulation modeling, marine resource economics, natural resource economics, or environmental economics.
How to Apply
Students should submit applications to a Sea Grant Program and not submit information directly into grants.gov. Student applications are due to Sea Grant Programs by 5:00 pm local time on January 26, 2021. Sea Grant Programs must transmit the application via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm, Eastern Time February 17, 2021. Both portions of this competition are now under one funding number.
Population and Ecosystem Dynamics Federal Funding Opportunity - NOAA-OAR-SG-2021-2006728
The NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship Program in Population and Ecosystem Dynamics expects to award at least four new Ph.D. Fellowships in 2021 to students who are interested in careers related to marine ecosystem and population dynamics, with a focus on modeling and managing systems of living marine resources. The emphasis will be on the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing marine ecosystems, for assessing the status of fish, invertebrate, and other targeted species stocks and for assessing the status of marine mammals, seabirds, and other protected species.
Marine Resource Economics Federal Funding Opportunity - NOAA-OAR-SG-2021-2006728
The NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship Program in Marine Resource Economics expects to award at least one new Ph.D. Fellowship in 2021 to students who are interested in careers related to the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing the economics of the conservation and management of living marine resources.
For a list of required application materials and evaluation criteria, see pages 8 and 13 in the 2021 Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Award and Expenses
The award for each Fellowship, contingent upon the availability of Federal funds, will be in the form of a grant or cooperative agreement of up to $63,600 per year ($53,000 in federal dollars and $10,600 in matching dollars). This fellowship can provide support for up to three years. The award provided to each Fellow is for salary (stipend), living expenses, tuition, and travel necessary to carry out the proposed research and to attend the annual Fellows meeting (at rotating locations).
Connecting with Sea Grant programs and NOAA Fisheries Science Centers
Applicants are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Sea Grant program in their state/territory at least one month prior to the state application deadline to receive application support and provide notification of intent to apply.
Applicants enrolled towards a degree in a graduate program in a state or territory served by a Sea Grant Program must submit to that program. Applicants in states or territories without a Sea Grant program must submit their applications to the Sea Grant program to which they were referred to by the NMFS Fellowship Program Manager, who can be reached at OAR.SG.Fellows@noaa.gov or (240) 507-3712.
To help achieve the goals of the fellowship, each Fellow will be required to work closely with an expert (mentor) from NOAA Fisheries who will serve on the Fellow’s committee. The mentor may also provide access to research data sources and to working/laboratory space in a NOAA Fisheries research facility and/or research vessel, if appropriate. Staff lists and recent publications for each of the NOAA Fisheries Science Centers are listed on each Center's website, linked below. Applicants in the Great Lakes region or in an area without a NOAA Fisheries Science Center may contact a potential mentor whose research aligns with their own.
Alaska Fisheries Science Center (staff, publications); Northwest Fisheries Science Center (staff, publications); Southwest Fisheries Science Center (staff, publications); Northeast Fisheries Science Center (staff, publications), Southeast Fisheries Science Center (staff, publications); Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (publications)
For more information, please contact your local Sea Grant Program or OAR.SG.Fellows@noaa.gov / (240) 507-3712.