Apply for Life on a Sustainable Planet Fellowships

The Smithsonian aims to advance solutions that fill people with optimism for the planet and all species that call the planet home through the Life on a Sustainable Planet initiative. The Smithsonian is offering three in-residence fellowship programs under this initiative: the Smithsonian Climate Change Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Smithsonian Environmental Justice Fellowship, and the Resilience and Sustainability Science Postdoctoral Fellowship. Each program will support a cohort of fellows for a period of two years. Fellows will receive a stipend to conduct independent research that utilizes Smithsonian resources (e.g., data, facilities, expertise). Fellows are especially encouraged to apply if they have research projects that have the potential to produce rapid results and impact.

Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Resilience and Sustainability Fellows will form a cohort that will participate in hybrid training related to leadership skill development, science communication, policy engagement, effective transdisciplinary research techniques, and inclusive approaches to research and equitable outcomes. This cohort-based training will support fellows in connecting their research to action. The Smithsonian will support travel for participation in the cohort-based training.

Categories

• Smithsonian Climate Change Fellowships-Advancing Life on a Sustainable Planet: Through the Smithsonian Climate Change Fellowship, the Smithsonian seeks to support up to five fellows as they conduct independent research in the spirit of the Smithsonian’s wide-ranging research effort and in support of the Smithsonian’s goals to understand and inform solutions to climate change. These fellows will be able to leverage the Smithsonian’s resources, including its researchers, collections, exhibits, and data sets, to advance scientific understanding of climate change and the impacts it is having on nature and human well-being. Fellows will be hosted by a Smithsonian museum or research center and fellows must identify an advisor from one of these units. They also encourage applicants to identify a second advisor from another Smithsonian museum or research center to foster cross-institutional collaboration.
• Smithsonian Environmental Justice Fellowship-Envisioning a Shared and Sustainable Future: The Smithsonian will award up to five 2-year Environmental Justice Fellowships starting in Spring 2025. Fellows will be able to leverage the Institution’s vast resources and expertise to study environmental injustice and inform potential solutions. All proposals are welcome, but the following research theme have been suggested by Smithsonian Scholars who are poised to serve as advisors. Potential research themes include, but are not limited to:
  • Environmental racism
  • Community-driven outcomes in environmental research
  • Pollution disparities and sustainable development
• Resilience and Sustainability Science Postdoctoral Fellowship: Through the Resilience and Sustainability Fellowship, the Smithsonian seeks to support up to five post-doctoral fellows as they conduct independent research in support of the Smithsonian’s goals to understand and expand resilience. These fellows will be able to leverage the Smithsonian’s resources, including its scientists, collections, exhibits, and data sets, to advance scientific understanding resilience and sustainability in either marine or terrestrial systems. All proposals are welcome, but proposals should focus on the resilience and sustainability connecting complex marine or terrestrial systems (e.g., forests, freshwater systems, soils, etc.) with the people who depend on these systems and the services these systems provide. By resilience, they mean the ability of people and nature to respond and/or adapt to external stressors. As such, proposals must address at least two of the following:
  • Socio-environmental external stressors as drivers of change
  • Socio-environmental factors that influence the ability to adapt or that convey resilience
  • Adaptive strategies
  • Adaptive responses/outcomes

Funding Information

• Recipients will receive a stipend of $62,000 per year for Postdoctoral Fellows. Stipends are prorated for periods of less than 24 months. A maximum research allowance up to $10,000 is available for the fellowship period.

Eligibility Criteria

• Smithsonian Climate Change Fellowships-Advancing Life on a Sustainable Planet:
  • Applicants for Postdoctoral Fellowships must have or will have received the Ph.D. by the time the fellowship begins. Applicants must propose to conduct research in residence.
• Smithsonian Environmental Justice Fellowship-Envisioning a Shared and Sustainable Future:
  • Minimum: Enrolled in Master’s degree program, and relevant research and community-based engagement preferred.
• Resilience and Sustainability Science Postdoctoral Fellowship:
  • Applicants for Postdoctoral Fellowships must have or will have received the Ph.D. by the time the fellowship begins. Applicants must propose to conduct research in residence.

For more information, visit Smithsonian.