Climate Fellows

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Climate Fellows is a postdoctoral program for researchers focused on climate change, its impacts on people and environments, and solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation. The program will recruit postdoctoral scholars to grow UVA’s expertise in climate research across multiple disciplines. The Institute seeks to diversify voices in this domain by recruiting researchers who are underrepresented in the field and those who promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Climate Fellows will work as a cohort and will receive professional training, technical support, and computational infrastructure tailored to the program. Fellows are classified as research associates and each work directly with two faculty members in different disciplines to build cross-disciplinary fluency in support of their own research. They will join a network of faculty members focused on environmental resilience and sustainability from 30 departments in 12 schools across UVA.

There are two categories of fellows with unique requirements. 

General Climate Fellows 

  • Scholars from any discipline who are interested in pursuing interdisciplinary work in any field that will link research with action related to climate change. For example, the primary focus may be on a policy or economics question, or be driven by an environmental need. 

  • Research foci are determined by the postdoctoral fellows. Candidates are encouraged, but not required, to identify, contact and receive the express written permission of at least two faculty mentors listed online in this expert directory prior to applying. 

  • The Institute encourages projects that include 50% cost-sharing by faculty advisors or other sources of funding. 

Global to Community Climate Fellows 

  • Only researchers within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields are eligible. 

  • Research should attempt to bridge global-scale climate dynamics with community-scale processes. For example, projects could focus on cross-scale modeling, geospatial analysis, or decision science. 

  • Projects currently proposed by UVA faculty are listed under Research Areas

  • Candidates are encouraged to identify and contact a G2C Faculty Mentor prior to applying.

To learn more about the Global to Community Fellows Program, visit this page.

Eligibility and Selection Process

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Applicants must have received or will receive their doctoral degrees (Ph.D., M.D., or J.D.) by the beginning of the fellowship; preference for candidates who have received their degree within five years prior to the start of the appointment. There is no citizenship requirement.

Each fellow will be appointed for two years contingent on a successful annual review. Candidates are evaluated on three main criteria: 1) the strength of their research; 2) their ability to collaborate across disciplines; and 3) a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

To Apply

Applications for next year will open at the end of 2024. For any questions, contact Henry Boachi, Program Manager.

All applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a personal statement, and contact information for three professional references.  The cover letter should describe the candidate’s research interest and describe how it aligns with either an existing project or faculty expertise. The category of application (as a general Climate Fellow or under the subset of Bridging Global to Community Scales) should also be included. 

Please contact Henry Boachi (acj2ak@virginia.edu), Program Manager, with questions.