PhD Students in Avian / Landscape Ecology
PhD students are sought to study the influences of habitat connectivity, landscape phenology, or land-cover transitions on North American bird populations and communities. Possible directions of research include but are not limited to effects of broad-scale ecological conditions (e.g., land- cover/land-use, road networks, and climate), effects of human dimensions (e.g., social, economic, cultural, or demographic factors), interactions or cumulative effects of such influences, and the conservation implications of these effects. Students will have considerable latitude and assistance with developing the directions of their work. National and regional databases with large sample sizes will be available for analysis and enable unique perspectives and new syntheses about the broad-scale drivers of avian population and community dynamics. Opportunities also will be available for incorporating field work into research projects. The overarching goals of this work are to improve understanding of the broad- scale ecological and human factors that drive short and long-term dynamics of bird populations and communities, and to use this knowledge to inform avian conservation policy, planning, and implementation. Applications are invited for at least two positions that will start in the fall of 2014 at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Depending on qualifications, teaching-assistantship funding at $19-25K/12 months will be available through the Baylor Department of Biology for 4-5 years, or fellowship funding at $20-25K/12 months will be available through the Baylor Institute for Ecological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences (TIE3S) for 4-5 years. For fellowship funding, there are no teaching responsibilities, but students are encouraged to gain some teaching experience during their doctoral program. For both types of funding, tuition for 20 semester hours/12 months will be waived, and health insurance at a discounted price will be available. Students must have a MS degree in a relevant field. Training and experience with GIS and statistical methods, through prior coursework or research activities, are essential. Students should have an interest in developing additional expertise in GIS and quantitative methods. Preference will be given to those who have published quantitative ecological research, who have presented research at scientific meetings, and who have some experience working with large databases. Applicants will be more competitive if they have undergraduate and graduate GPAs > 3.4, verbal and quantitative GRE scores that average around the 70th percentile or higher, and a GRE analytical writing score > 4.0. Students with some but not all of these credentials will be considered and are encouraged to apply. To enable travel for field work, applicants must have or acquire a valid U.S. driver’s license after they begin their graduate program. To apply, create a single pdf that includes: a letter of interest that describes career goals and addresses position requirements and preferences; a resume; unofficial undergraduate and graduate transcripts; unofficial general GRE scores (no more than 5 years old by mid-February 2014); and a list of three references and their institution, email address, and phone number. Before submitting an application, carefully consider all of the requirements for a PhD degree by examining the student handbook and other on-line information for each program (Department of Biology http://www.baylor.edu/biology; TIE3S http://www.baylor.edu/tieees). Any preference for one of the programs should be expressed in the letter of interest. With PhD Student in the subject line, email the pdf to Professor Kevin Gutzwiller ([email protected]; http://bearspace.baylor.edu/Kevin_Gutzwiller/www/). Applicants are welcome to contact Professor Gutzwiller with any questions about the positions. The deadline for applications is 6 December 2013. After a review of applications, Professor Gutzwiller will invite the most qualified applicants to apply formally to the PhD Program in Biology and/or to the PhD Program in TIE3S. Final decisions about admission and an offer of an assistantship/fellowship will be made by the Baylor Graduate School, the Biology Graduate Committee, and the TIE3S Graduate Committee.
