EVST News January 12, 2021

January 13, 2021

Dozens of individual Yale fellowship programs are available for the support of undergraduate research projects. To be eligible for most undergraduate fellowships, you must be enrolled (that is, not withdrawn) both at the time of submitting the fellowship application and at the time of receiving an award. Yale College students who are on a leave of absence are generally eligible to apply, but check with the specific fellowship to confirm. 

Due to the Covid epidemic, we do not yet know whether Yale-funded travel will be permitted for the summer of 2021. You are advised to make summer plans with caution, taking into account that your proposed project may be subject to restrictions or may need to be carried out remotely. 

For more information on Yale-administered Fellowship Programs, explore Yale Student Grants and Fellowships databasepathwaystoscience.organd read about funding and research opportunities below. 

The Summer Experiences Award (formerly the DSA) | Provides a stipend for a range of domestic and international opportunities to Yale College first-years, sophomores, and juniors on Yale financial aid. Application Deadline: May 1, 2021. Students may receive up to $1500 in funding (from a stipend/fellowship/wages, for example) beyond the $4000 (U.S-based experiences) or $6000 (international experiences) offered by the SEA. The SEA can be used for either:

  • A US-Based Experience: A stipend of $4,000 for a secured, approved unpaid or underfunded ($1500 or less) summer opportunity with one of the following: 501(c)(3) nonprofit including non-profit Universities; government entity including public Universities; non-governmental organization (NGO); Arts Apprenticeship; or Science, Laboratory, or Other Research Opportunity.
  • An International Experience: A stipend of $6,000 for a secured, approved unpaid or underfunded ($1500 or less) summer opportunity with one of the following: nonprofit organization including non-profit Universities; for-profit company; government entity including public Universities; non-governmental organization (NGO); Arts Apprenticeship; or Science, Laboratory, or Other Research Opportunity.

Summer Environmental Fellowship | The SEF welcomes applications from rising sophomores through rising seniors interested in learning about environmental issues. The summer experience should provide the student with a substantive environmental research or training opportunity. You can find a full list of past awards here and a map with locations of internships for the past five years here. Preference will be given to rising seniors in the Environmental Studies major proposing research related to their senior essay, followed by rising juniors in the Environmental Studies major proposing research related to their senior essay or their concentration. Note that the Environmental Studies senior essay should be a substantial piece of original research that builds upon your concentration.  Students who are on a leave of absence but returning to campus in the fall are eligible to apply. Students are STRONGLY encouraged to seek support for their project from more than one source.  Awards up to $4000. Apply by Friday, March 26, 2021, 5:00pm ET.

Yale College Public Service Research Grant - Research for a Better World| Supports sophomores and juniors in all disciplines undertaking an independent, directed research project related to public service. Proposals should comprise directed research studying solutions to important societal injustices or environmental problems.  Examples of research include preventing deforestation in rain forests to fight climate change, economic development programs for refugees, woman-owned businesses providing solar power in developing economies. Projects in global health are not eligible.  Applications accepted 1/06/2021 - 3/10/2021. 

Environmental Public Humanities Grant |Public humanities activities that address topics related to energy and climate, food and agriculture, human/environmental health, plant and animal species, urban and rural geographies and planning, and mining and other forms of extraction are welcome. By encouraging interdisciplinary and public-oriented approaches, the program hopes to expand knowledge of the humanities and engage with our community at Yale, in New Haven, and beyond. Funding will range from $200-$2000 dollars, depending on the scope and requirements of the project. View this document for more details about the grant program, and for application instructions. The application review will begin on February 1, 2021 and will continue until all funding is allocated. For full consideration, submit your proposal by January 31, 2021 at midnight.  Decisions will be made and announced by mid-February. Send any questions to environmentalhumanities@yale.edu.

Office of Science and Quantitative Reasoning Fellowships: Yale College students who are on a leave of absence are eligible to apply:

Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative at the Yale School of the Environment Western Resources Fellowship, Summer 2021|Provides fellows with a financial award, logistical assistance, and mentorship to aid with research, an internship, or applied project that will have a high impact on conservation, stewardship, or management of natural resources in the Rocky Mountain or High Plains regions. This program supports undergraduates and graduate students completing a summer experience that will provide them with practical experience, leadership skills, and/or research experience that will prepare fellows for their future careers. A financial award of up to $5,000 will be granted to each fellow. Fellows will actively participate in peer mentoring with other fellows and will receive guidance from UHPSI staff during the summer. Apply by March 17, 2021 by 11:59 PMTo learn more about this program, Ucross will present their summer 2020 western experiences in two upcoming events. See the flyer below. Topics include regenerative agriculture, water rights, sagebrush restoration, perspectives on recreation, and more. To attend Part 1 on January 21 during 2-3:15 PM ET (Thursday), click here.

Yale Program on Climate Change Communiction (YPCCC)/Pulitzer Center Fellowship for Climate Reporting | The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, is accepting applications for its summer program for journalism on climate change.  The partnership offers Yale students support and training to undertake their own reporting projects focused on global warming, and brings journalists reporting on the subject to campus to present their work and meet with students. It will offer one climate reporting fellowship per summer to a Yale student or recent graduate to pursue reporting projects. Pulitzer Center staff and journalists advise the student throughout the process. Final projects are featured on the Pulitzer Center website. Students are often successful in placing their work in other news-media outlets as well (among them, NPR’s Goats and Soda, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, Global Health Now, Huff Post, News Deeply, Nautilus, Mongabay, and The Atlantic). Reporting fellows produce a long form article and/or a multimedia piece, a photo essay, and a field note. Specific requirements to be arranged with Pulitzer Center staff. The amount of the fellowship offered is $3,000. In order to cover all costs associated with travel and reporting, the fellowship is often combined with other support. Apply here by January 22, 2021. Email eric.fine@yale.edu with questions.

Yale Summer Research Opportunities 

Apply for Yale fellowship funding for the research opportunities below:

Yale Center on Climate Change and Health (YCCCH) Summer Internship Program | Matches Yale students with meaningful internships related to climate change and health research and practice. Initial applications are due Friday, January 15, 2021The internship is open to returning (non-graduating) Yale School of Public Health MPH students, current YCCCH Student Associates, and EVST majors. Details at this Google Drive link and the EVST website.  Contact Mr. Mauro Diaz-Hernandez, YCCCH Program Administrator (mauro.diaz-hernandez@yale.edu) with questions. This is a two-stage application process:

  • Stage 1: Eligible students apply to be matched with a specific internship from the list of opportunities (see link). To apply, send a cover letter that identifies your preferred project and describes the skills, experience, and perspective you would bring to the project. If there are required skills or eligibility criteria listed for that project, be sure to respond to those explicitly. With the cover letter, include an up-to-date resume/CV and a transcript (unofficial is ok). You may apply to more than one internship; to do so, you must write one cover letter per internship project. Stage 1 applications are due Friday, January 15, 2021 (11:59pm) by email to Mr. Mauro Diaz-Hernandez, YCCCH Program Administrator (mauro.diaz-hernandez@yale.edu). 
  • Stage 2: Those students matched with a YCCCH internship apply for funding through YCCCH and other Yale summer funding opportunities. For YCCCH funding, specific application information will be provided when notified about the internship matching outcome. Students are also expected to apply for internship funding from other sources, since not all matched internships can be funded through YCCCH. 

Biking for Science and Health | This Yale Collaborative research initiative will deploy smart environmental sensors for monitoring and mapping heat stress and air quality in urban environments.  These sensors will be Installed on public and private bicycles, to measure health-related environmental variables (temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, ozone and particulate matter) and tag the measurements with spatial coordinate information. Use of bicycles as an environmental monitoring platform contributes to efforts of building a culture of health in urban communities. Participating cyclists will collect data as they travel city streets. The project is supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a Leitner Award for Uncommon Collaboration. Contact Professor Xuhui Lee if you’re interested.

Other Funded Summer Opportunities

 

Photo:  Hannah Gershone, Winter 2019 and Summer 2020 SIP Participant, Acoustics and Soundscapes, Grand Canyon National Park. Photo credit: Geological Society of America.

Scientists in the Parks (SIP) Intern Opportunities | Offered via the Geological Society of America and provides immersive, paid work experiences in natural resource fields so the next generation of park stewards—especially those underrepresented in science—have a unique opportunity to work on important real-world projects while building professional experience and a life-long connection to America’s national parks. Learn more here. Dozens of paid projects in the West with the National Park Service and USGS can be found here.  Applications due January 24th. Note: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to change and evolve, project timelines and structure remain flexible and it may be necessary to postpone start dates, begin work remotely, or reformulate the project’s description. 

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies REU program | Cary REU students design and carry out independent research projects in ecology, with the support of mentors, fellow students and the rich Institute community of scientists and educators. Science and translational ecology skills are built in workshops, seminars, panel discussions and working on short, authentic communication and teaching activities. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cary REU program in 2021 will be either hybrid or 100% virtual. Our goal is to decide which model we will follow by the end of March 2021, at the same time the 2021 cohort of participants is being finalized.  To be eligible for NSF/REU grant support you must still be enrolled as an undergraduate during the summer of 2021.  However, second semester seniors who will be completing their undergraduate degree in December 2021 or January 2022 are eligible. Applications accepted until midnight EST Friday January 29, 2021. Program Dates: June 7 - August 13, 202. More details are available on their FAQ page

Events

18th annual All Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair is going virtual as All Ivy Career Week! See the full schedule of events here. For the virtual All Ivy Career Fair, representatives from organizations in the private, non-profit and public sectors across a multitude of industries will be available through 1-on-1 and groups chats to connect with top graduate and undergraduate students. 

February 1-3  Graduate Program Information Sessions: Virtual graduate program information sessions for students wishing to explore graduate school opportunities.

  • University of Pennsylvania: February 1: 10–11am ET
  • Brown’s Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs: February 1: 12–1pm ET
  • Columbia: Febuary 1: 2–3pm ET
  • Dartmouth: February 2: 11–12pm ET
  • Yale School of the Environment: February 3P: 12–1pm ET

February 2-3 Panels: Breakout sessions on professional topics of interest. Each session will feature a panel of professionals working on these topics who will discuss their background, career path and insights on how to break into the field.

  • Environmental Consulting: February 2: 5 – 6pm ET
  • Circular Economy: February 3: 5 – 6pm ET

February 5  All Ivy Career Fair: Representatives from public agencies, consulting firms, nonprofit organizations, and corporations participate in the Fair to discuss careers, internships, full-time positions and graduate opportunities in a variety of fields. The Fair will take place from 10am -1pm ET.

 

Blueprint for Clean Energy: Steph Speirs, Co-founder and CEO of Solstice |  Join CBEY for a conversation with Yale graduate Steph Speirs ‘13 to discuss community solar and clean energy equity for all. Solstice offers a turnkey solution for the community solar industry. Steph and her team educate and connect communities to solar gardens, create financial innovations that expand access to all Americans, and provide a seamless digital platform for community solar. January 13, 2021 12:00 PM ET. Register here.

Climate Stories Contest | The Climate Stories Contest is a multi-media art competition across four categories: visual arts, film/photography, written word, and performing arts. Participants must submit original artwork that illustrates the impact of the climate crisis on themselves, society or a subset of society (i.e. a specific demographic), and the work must communicate a message calling people to action. These two requirements, along with the quality of the work itself, will form the basis of submission judging. The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students ages 18-25. First, second and third-place winners will be selected from each category, for a total of 12 award recognitions. Monetary prizes will be given to each of the 12 winning submissions. Group or collaborative submissions are permitted but awards must be divided among group members. All Climate Stories Projects must be submitted by February 1, 2021. First Place: $1,500, Second Place: $1,000, Third Place: $750. Details here.

 
 
 

Stay Connected with EVST! 

Internship and fellowship opportunities will be shared on social media and on the EVST website throughout the break. Follow EVST on Facebook and Instagram and request to join the Yale College Environmental Studies Group and the Yale Blue Green on LinkedIn. 

Interested in being part of the EVST community? Applications to the EVST major will be accepted throughout winter break. Details can be found on the EVST website. If you have questions, please email studies.environment@yale.edu.

 

Check out this video of EVST senior, Epongue Ekille ‘21, on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown last week! Epongue is concentrating in Environmental Justice and is an EVST Peer Mentor. She is a  Global Sustainability Scholar and interned with the Creating Interfaces Project in Karlsruhe, Germany, studying ways in which the Urban Living Lab research method can be more inclusive. For her senior essay, she is exploring the effects of colonialism on agricultural practices in West Africa. She is a Creative Member for Students for Carbon Dividends, former President of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and a serious violinist!