Call for IGCB Graduate Fellow Applications to Open Early 2027

See the information below for application details:

Each PhD student can request up to $7,500 in each funding cycle from the IGCB. These funds can be used for research, and/or travel fellowships. Proposals should be relevant to the mission of the IGCB and fit into (or add to) the IGCB’s research themes.

Small Research Grants 

PhD students can apply for funds associated with their research. Examples of allowable costs include fieldwork expenses (travel, per diem, lodging), or analytical costs (e.g., UM sequencing core, (bio)geochemical analyses, etc.). Upon completion of the project, students will submit a short report (2 pages) and present their results during a brown bag IGCB seminar.

Travel Grants  

Funds can be spent for a research visit to a collaborator’s lab or to a professional development opportunity.

Please note that we will no longer be providing funding for PhD stipends.

Application Process

Proposals should be submitted via IGCB's web form. Each proposal should include a <500 word summary of the proposed activities, and a budget (which does not count toward the word limit) that includes the total amount requested from the IGCB and explains (using a coarse breakdown) of how IGCB funds will be used and includes any co-funding available. We also request a short recommendation from the primary UM faculty advisor (<150 words).

Deadline

The deadline for applications will fall in March 2027. Proposals will be assessed according to the (a) relevance to the mission of the IGCB, (b) scientific merit, (c) faculty support, and (d) timeline and budget suitability. Awardees will be named IGCB Graduate Fellows, listed as such on IGCB materials and website, and will be expected to use this co-affiliation on any products (e.g., lectures, reports, proposals, conference presentations, publications, and other activities) associated with their IGCB Fellowship experiences. Graduate Fellows will give a brown bag IGCB seminar where they discuss their project, its methods, goals and results (if any). Upon completion of the Fellowship, students will submit a short report (1-2 pages and with illustrations of some kind) that will be posted on the IGCB web site. Graduate students can also become IGCB Graduate Fellows through participating in other IGCB activities (such as training opportunities).

Contact [email protected] with any questions. 

Training Opportunities

These training opportunities are open to IGCB postdoc and graduate students, as well as other global change researchers who would like to make use of them. Email [email protected] to learn more about getting involved with these training opportunities. 

Seminars, Brown Bag Talks, and Training Workshops 

To provide opportunities for knowledge exchange and cohort building, there will be brown bag lunch seminars for graduate students and postdocs with informal research presentations as well as panel discussions (e.g., professional development or careers), as well as training workshops (e.g. such as on conducting interdisciplinary science, or on statistics, or other).

Departmental Seminars 

Departmental seminars with an IGCB focus will be posted to the IGCB graduate student list-serve.

Core Seminar Courses 

Graduate students are encouraged to participate in the existing Global Change Biology Seminar offered by EEB; additional 1 credit seminar courses in other units may be available in the future.

Lunch-and-learn

The IGCB hosts regular lunch-and-learn sessions where we invite a speaker to discuss various topics with us over lunch. 

Stats and coding help

The IGCB's Thiago Gonçalves-Souza organises a range of stats and programming related courses/sessions that all are welcome to join. 

Thiago is also available by appointment for one-on-one assistance with particular tasks. Email [email protected] to learn more.