Alaska Sea Grant creates new fellowship program
January 7, 2015
907-274-9698
01/08/2015
Alaska Sea Grant has created two new Alaska-based fellowships offering post-graduate positions that support healthy coastal communities and the marine environment.
Through a partnership between federal and state agencies agencies and Alaska Sea Grant, soon-to-graduate or recently finished graduate students have the opportunity to gain experience in planning and implementing marine and coastal policies and programs in Alaska.
The program aims to match graduate students with hosts in state or federal agencies in Alaska for a 12-month paid fellowship.
“This new Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowship Program will help to build the workforce in Alaska dedicated to our healthy fisheries and coastal environment,” said Paula Cullenberg, director of Alaska Sea Grant, which is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “It will encourage some of our brightest students to launch their careers in Alaska, and we hope they will stay for many years.”
Five marine resource agencies have expressed interest in supporting an Alaska Sea Grant Fellow in 2015: the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, National Marine Fisheries Service and North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
“I'm excited about this opportunity for our Alaskan students,” said Jennifer Lincoln, director of the Alaska Pacific office of NIOSH. “Fellowships such as this provide solid foundations and experiences to develop true professionals.”
The state program is modeled after the highly successful National Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship based in Washington, D.C. This year, Alaska Ph.D. fisheries student Thomas Farrugia is headed to Washington as a Knauss Fellow, where he will work as a staffer in the House Natural Resources Committee for one year.
The full request for state fellowship applications with guidelines and host position descriptions are available on Alaska Sea Grant’s State Fellowship program website.
Applications will be accepted through Feb. 13 for either the Alaska State Sea Grant Fellowship or the National Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship. Both include a stipend and health insurance. For more information on these and other fellowships, visit the Fellowships for Graduate Students in Marine Sciences web page.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Ginny Eckert, 907-796-5450 or Michele Frandsen, 907-474-7088.
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