RFRC Graduate Student Fellowship Awards

The Rasmuson Fisheries Research Center (RFRC) was founded in 1994 by Elmer E. Rasmuson with an endowment to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). A second major endowment in support of the center was created through a bequest from Mr. Rasmuson’s estate in 2001. The endowments are managed by the University of Alaska Foundation, and interest on the principal is used to support CFOS graduate student research that contributes to the scientific or applied knowledge base of Alaska’s marine waters and resources. Visit the RFRC Award Recipients page to read more about current and past students and their research.

About The Award

Rasmuson Fellowships are annual awards (July through June of next year) that provide a student stipend and tuition to recipients. The fellowship amount is based on the degree sought.

• For MS: $35,000 plus 18 credits of resident tuition, insurance, and infrastructure and consolidation fees
• For PhD: $41,000 plus 18 credits of resident tuition, insurance, and infrastructure and consolidation fees

Occasionally, a fellowship will be awarded for only one semester (prorated to reflect the time the fellowship is awarded). Students who do not qualify for resident tuition must show how they will pay for the additional expense. Students cannot “self-fund” the nonresident portion of the tuition.

The fellowship award credits tuition, fees, and insurance first, and the remaining balance is awarded as a monthly fellowship payment. Income taxes are not deducted from the fellowships; students receiving the fellowship must plan accordingly (we recommend saving 10–15% for taxes).

The RFRC board has the discretion to change the amount of awards depending on endowment earnings.

Research Subject Areas for Proposals

Proposals should address at least one of these target areas in Alaska waters (it should be noted that these target areas are not ranked in order of priority):

• Ecology, biology, distribution and systematics of species of fish, shellfish, and seaweeds affected by fisheries, both target and nontarget species;
• Responses of fish, shellfish, and seaweeds to environmental variability;
• Genetic structure of Alaskan fish and shellfish populations and seaweeds;
• Fluctuations of fish and shellfish stocks and seaweeds, interactions of forage species with consumers including mammals and birds, and the ecosystems in which they occur;
• Development of the shellfish aquaculture and mariculture industry in Alaska;
• Impacts of emerging and legacy contaminants and diseases on the health of water-based ecosystems and human populations;
• Human dimensions of fishery systems, e.g., community and socio-cultural relationships;
• Impacts of climate change on marine and riverine fisheries and their communities.

Award Criteria and Guidelines

1. Awards will be made to support excellence in graduate student research. The award is not a research assistantship, but a fellowship in recognition of scholastic excellence. Awards are open to any full-time or prospective CFOS graduate student.
2. Research should produce findings with a potential for continued development as a scientific or applied initiative.
3. Projects should be distinctive and make an original contribution to existing knowledge.
4. Projects should have potential economic value to the fishing industry and contribute to long-term benefits for Alaska.
5. Awards may be contingent on receipt of research funding from other sources. The award cannot be used for research expenses. See below under "Format of Proposals" for more details.
6. Proposals must be submitted by the graduate student with faculty advisor endorsement as described below.
7. Students must reapply and recompete each year for funding; there are no automatic renewals. Total funding is capped at 2 years for M.S. and 3 years for Ph.D. students.
8. Proposals will be evaluated following the criteria identified in the proposal rubric.

Format of Proposals

Proposals should be submitted in electronic format (Adobe PDF preferred), should contain the following sections, and are limited to four pages (with an additional reference page, if needed). Supporting documentation should be provided electronically or in hard copy if necessary.

1. Goal and objectives.
2. Background and need.
3. Prior achievements. In cases where the project is ongoing and has had other support, please list achievements of the project, or if appropriate, achievements of related projects of the graduate student and his/her professor.
4. Milestones. Anticipated goals for this research for the coming year should be given. Provide an estimate of the approximate number of months required for each goal. Estimate when the project will be completed.
5. Budget. Please provide the following information on funding needs for the student: proposed start and end dates, degree sought, number of years completed, whether the student has advanced to candidacy, and how many credits of tuition are needed. A maximum of six credits of tuition are funded per semester at the resident tuition rate. Nonresident students must have their advisors state in the proposal how they are going to come up with the difference in tuition. If the student is requesting a full fellowship, they must be registered for a minimum of six credits per semester.
6. Current and pending funding. Since research costs cannot be funded within this award, please state how research costs will be met. The proposal should indicate how funding for the research (other than the Rasmuson Fellowship) will be obtained for the student to complete the work described. If student funding has been requested and is pending for a research assistantship from another funding source (e.g., North Pacific Research Board, National Science Foundation, etc.), this should be stated in this section, including the organization to which the proposal has been made and the expected decision date. If no other potential source of assistantship funding is pending, please state “No other student funding has been applied for from other sources” in this section of the proposal. If the student has current funding, that also needs to be listed with the stipulation that “double funding” is not allowed. That is, the student cannot hold this award and another award for salary at the same time.
7. Transcripts. Students must submit a copy of their undergraduate and graduate transcripts. Transcripts can be unofficial copies.
8. Faculty advisor endorsement. Each student proposal should be supported by an endorsement from the student’s faculty advisor. The faculty advisor should send an endorsement by email to Christina Sutton at clsutton3@alaska.edu.

Deadline and Submission Process

Proposals must be received by 5 p.m. on January 17, 2025, for review by the board. Awards will be announced in March 2025 and funding will be available on July 7, 2025.

New proposals should be submitted by graduate students directly by email to Christina Sutton at clsutton3@alaska.edu