Deadline: 22-Feb-23
In partnership with North Carolina State University, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) has launched the FFAR Fellows Program to provide career guidance to the next generation of food and agriculture scientists.
Unique to this program, they prepare a career ready STEM workforce by breaking down the disciplinary silos and focusing on professional development and soft-skills. Fellows receive grants to pursue research that aligns with their Challenge Areas. Additionally, students are paired with industry mentors who provide career guidance. This mentorship equips students with the skills needed to facilitate their transition to the workforce and prepare future food and agriculture leaders.
Challenge Areas
- Soil Health
- Soil Health Challenge Area develops sustainable on-farm practices from the ground-up by creating innovative solutions to improve soil health from measurement to adoption.
- Sustainable Water Management
- The Sustainable Water Management Challenge Area supports research that enhances and protects natural waters to sustain agricultural production and environmental health.
- Next Generation Crops
- The Next Generation Crop Challenge Area funds research on new and conventional crops to increase crop diversity and farm profitability.
- Advanced Animal Systems
- The Advanced Animal Systems Challenge Area supports research that improves animal health and welfare and pioneers practices that sustain the food system.
- Urban Food Systems
- The Urban Food Systems Challenge Area helps scientists, farmers and policymakers design equitable urban food systems that promote wellness and urban resilience.
- Health-Agriculture Nexus
- The Health-Agriculture Nexus Challenge Area supports research to reduce food and nutrition insecurity, decrease food waste and loss and improve human health.
Categories
Students from any university in the U.S. or Canada are eligible to apply for both categories of the Fellowship:
- Stipend + Professional Development Fellows
- Students accepted into the Stipend + Professional Development category will receive $49,500 each year to cover tuition, fees, stipend, and related costs. Students applying to this category should already have a defined research project and an industry or analogous sponsor (e.g., grower organization, foundation).
- The sponsor(s) will commit $32,500 per year to the Fellowship, matched equally by FFAR. The total of $65,000 is distributed as follows: $49,500 for student stipend tuition, fees, etc.; $5,500 for university overhead; and $10,000 is retained by the FFAR Fellowship Program lead institution, North Carolina State University, for program management and costs of the professional development training including five face-to-face meetings over the 3-year period. While preference is given to candidates with industry or analogous sponsors, university departments may also sponsor students as long as the source of funds is non-federal.
- Applicants can also be sponsored by a mix of entities, for example, 50% by their institution, 25% by industry, 25% by a commodity organization. Student applicants must be enrolled or accepted by a PhD program at a U.S. or Canadian university.
- Professional Development Fellows
- Students accepted into the Professional Development category are full members of the cohort and receive support for professional development activities (valued at $10,000K/year). These funds are retained by the FFAR Fellows Program lead institution, North Carolina State University, for program management and costs of the professional development training including the 5 face-to face sessions held over the 3-year program period. Half of this value is provided by the fellowship, and half by a match sponsor. The sponsor will be invoiced for $5,000 per year for each of the three years of the program.
- Sponsors can include companies, foundations, and any other source of funding that are non-federal (examples of federal funds not accepted: USDA, NIH, or NSF grant funds). Applicants can be sponsored by a mix of entities, for example, 50% by their institution, 25% by industry, 25% by a commodity organization.
- Students applying to this category should have a research or teaching assistantship, or other fellowship, to cover their tuition, stipend, and related costs and be enrolled or accepted by a PhD program at a U.S. or Canadian university.
Eligibility Criteria
- A student who is selected as a FFAR Fellow in the Professional Development category in one year may apply in a subsequent year for the Stipend + Professional Development category. Regardless of the outcome of that application, the student would continue with his/her original cohort of Fellows.
- Completion of a MS degree or one year of a PhD program by June 2023
- Acceptance in a PHD program by May 1, 2023
- Three years remaining in the degree program (Fall 2023 to Spring 2026)
- A confirmed PhD faculty advisor
- TOEFL Score indicating a minimum of 23/30 for listening, speaking, writing (exclusions for those with an undergraduate or master’s degree from programs with English as a language of instruction; or students from any country where English is an official language)
- Residency or study visa
- Availability to attend the orientation week at NC State in Raleigh August 6 – 12, 2023
- Eagerness to participate in the FFAR Fellows and ability to spend the equivalent of a 1-hour course each semester on fellows training and activities
Deadlines
- Stipend & Professional Development Category are due February 22, 2023.
- Professional Development Category are due April 15, 2023.
For more information, visit FFAR Fellow.