NSF-IGERT PhD Fellowship
NOTE: The NSF-IGERT Fellowship is currently filled. However, new applications will be accepted beginning July 2012. You can email any question to the address shown below.
We are searching for students who have background in both the natural and social sciences who want to continue interdisciplinary work for their graduate studies. Our program includes diverse disciplines but maintains a sharp focus by having each yearly cohort of 6 students focus on the study of the same pest system from different perspectives. This graduate program will be academically demanding, so we are fortunate to have good funding for fellowships. For details on the program and application process see: http://GeneticEngSoc.ncsu.edu/
Email questions to: GES_GPM@ncsu.edu
January 15, 2013
The Problem. Genetic Pest Management (GPM) offers the potential to alter and control mosquitoes, mice, fish, and other species that pose risks to human health, biodiversity, and sustainable development. What engineering techniques are under development and being contemplated? What are their social, ethical, and ecological consequences? How can all stakeholders be involved in decisions about use of GPM products? Addressing these issues requires effective collaboration among molecular biologists, ecologists, social scientists, humanists, policy analysts, and communities that may be affected by these technologies.
The Program. Our program builds collaborative student cohorts trained in the technical aspects of GPM and in methods for evaluating the technology’s social, cultural, and environmental dimensions. By focusing on GPM, students will learn to apply interdisciplinary perspectives to an array of emerging technologies. They will work together in addressing diverse aspects of a particular pest system. Students will receive a PhD in a home doctoral program and a graduate minor in Genetic Engineering and Society (GES). The minor will include four courses, one of which will be taught in Latin America. In addition to full fellowships, funds are available for international internships.
Who Should Apply. We are seeking excellent students who will bring diverse academic strengths to our program and are eager to work in teams across and beyond disciplinary boundaries. If you have majored in humanities, mathematics, or a social/natural science and want broad and rigorous graduate training across these areas, we want you. If you have double-majored across two of these areas and want to deepen your training, we want you. If you have a masters degree specializing in one of these areas and want strong interdisciplinary training, we want you. Applicants must have basic knowledge of social and natural sciences.