Climate Action Training Program for Graduate Students

UCI graduate students are invited to apply for the Climate Action Training Program, supported through a Climate Action Champion Grant from the UC President’s Office to UCI faculty member Steven Allison.
Applications are due November 30, 2015.
About the Program
This one-year program will run from January 2016 through December 2016 and support an interdisciplinary cohort of 5-10 graduate students who plan to pursue careers that address climate issues. The cohort will reflect a diversity of perspectives, and students from outside of traditional climate science fields are encouraged to apply. Participants will be trained in transferrable quantitative, communication, and professional skills required for a broad range of career paths.
Trainees will participate in a two-unit, problem-based graduate seminar each quarter for one year, and a data science short course. Communication and professional skills will be developed through targeted workshops. A key element of the program will be a 3-month paid internship with a non-academic partner. Internships will be available in the public and private sectors on topics ranging from land management to energy distribution (see list of examples below). Trainees will convey lessons from the internship experience through presentations during a mini-conference in Fall 2016.
How to Apply
Interested applicants should send a brief, non-binding notice of intent to apply to Steven Allison (allisons@uci.edu) at their earliest convenience. The notice is not mandatory and will be used solely for program planning purposes. The full application is due on November 30, 2015. Send a single pdf to allisons@uci.edu with the following components: applicant’s two-page CV, one-page support letter from the applicant’s faculty mentor, and a two-page statement of interest describing 1) the applicant’s academic background and future research plans, 2) rationale for participating in the program, 3) expected career benefits of participation, and 4) type of internship opportunity desired (indicate the field and/or a specific organization). Thesis-based Master’s and PhD students from all UCI graduate programs are eligible to apply. Applications will be evaluated by a committee of faculty, and notification of selected Trainees will be in mid-December.
Example internship providers:
Irvine Ranch Conservancy
California State Parks
Nature Reserve of Orange County
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project
Regatta Solutions
Microsoft
Google