Washington Sea Grant Puget Sound Science Research Fellowship

Eligibility

• Open to currently or recently admitted to a Master’s degree program at a WA state based institution in in natural resources, environmental sciences, environmental policy and management, engineering, social sciences, human dimensions, or coastal, aquatic, or related sciences.
• Applicants who haven’t received an admission decision must inform Washington Sea Grant at the earliest possible date, or their application may not be reviewed. Fellows must stay enrolled at an accredited institution, remain in good standing, and comply with the terms of the WSG award throughout the fellowship.
• Projects must align with the 2025-’29 Puget Sound Partnership’s Science Work Plan Priority Science Actions, advancing science for the recovery of Puget Sound ecosystems.
• Applicants must remain in good academic standing and associated with an accredited institution for the award’s duration.
• WSG fellowship programs do not consider personal identity factors in evaluation or selection. At the same time, we recognize that historic barriers have limited access for many communities. Our programs are committed to creating supportive, and welcoming experiences that help all eligible applicants thrive, and we warmly encourage everyone to apply.

Award

The fellowship award is $60,000 per year for up to two years which may be applied to graduate student salary, research and/or education-related expenses (including tuition, fees, health benefits, or project related travel.)

• The WSG PSS Graduate Fellowship will award one (1) fellowship in 2025.
• The fellowship will provide up to two (2) years of support based on scope/type of projects and contingent upon the availability of funds.
• Washington Sea Grant will issue the award to the fellow’s home university, college, or research institution.
• Continued support after the first year will be contingent on satisfactory performance and on the availability of funds.

Application requirements

All application materials (LOI and Full Application) must be submitted to Washington Sea Grant through the eSeaGrant online submission portal.

letter of intent (LOI)

Letters of Intent (LOI) must be submitted as a Google form accessed via eSeaGrant by 5 p.m. PDT on January 10.

Applicants are required to submit a Letter of Intent (Google form) for this opportunity in order for their final fellowship application to be accepted and reviewed. The LOI is not evaluated but is used to help manage the review process. For the LOI, applicants must provide:

• full name,
• contact information,
• tentative project title and description,
• graduate advisor’s name and affiliation.

Full Application

Full fellowship applications must be submitted via eSeaGrant by 5 p.m. PDT on January 31.

Only applicants who submitted an LOI by the deadline will be eligible to submit a full application.

Applicants must register in eSeaGrant in order to submit all fellowship application materials. For questions regarding use of eSeaGrant, please contact the Washington Sea Grant Fellowships Team at sgfellow@uw.edu.

Application elements

Students are expected to take the lead in developing their application – including writing the project narrative, developing the budget, and working with their faculty mentor to engage with the institution’s sponsored programs/research office before submitting their application to WSG. All applications must be submitted via WSG’s online proposal submission portal, eSeaGrant.  Please use this checklist to aid you in preparing the application. Note: Only applicants who submitted an LOI by the deadline will be eligible to submit a full application.

1. Title Page: List the project title and identify and provide contact information for the prospective fellow and faculty advisor(s). Signature of the institution’s authorized representative for proposal submissions is also required. (digital signatures are acceptable). In addition, include a list of funders (agency, organizations, university programs, etc.) and funding amounts that are supporting the accompanying research. Separate inquiry or research funding is not a requirement or selection criteria for fellowship support, although students will need to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing the proposed work.
2. Personal Goal Statement: (maximum 500 words) Applicants are asked to prepare a statement that includes: a) a brief introduction of themselves, b.) a discussion on why they would be a good candidate for the graduate fellowship program, and c.) information regarding the student’s short-term (1-5yr) and long-term (>5yr) professional goals.
3. Professional Development Prompts: (maximum 300 words per prompt) Applicants are asked to answer any three (3) of the following five (5) prompts: Detail a skill or competency that you would like to improve upon and how improving in that area will help you achieve your goals.
   Describe a time you had to overcome an obstacle, the steps you took to overcome it, and what you learned about yourself in the process.
   Describe a time when you completed a project as a member of a team. What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
   Describe a situation where you had to apply one or more of your strongest skills or competencies. What was that skill and what was the outcome?
   Describe a situation where you were put into or assumed a leadership role. What did you learn from the experience, and how has it affected your leadership methods moving forward?
4. Letters of Recommendation: Two recommendations (academic and professional) must be submitted in support of the student. IMPORTANT: To maintain confidentiality, letters of recommendation should be submitted directly from the referee to eSeaGrant and must be submitted by the application deadline to be considered.
   • Academic Recommendation. The student’s primary faculty advisor (research mentor) must provide one recommendation. If a student has multiple advisors, only one has to provide a letter.
   • Professional Recommendation. WSG encourages applicants to consider someone who knows them from a different perspective than their academic advisor (e.g., former employer, mentor from a previous position or colleague they worked with in the past). Selected recommenders should highlight different strengths and experiences than an academic advisor.
   • References will be asked to rate and describe the applicant on the following:
     • Self-motivation
     • Response to set-backs
     • Skills and interest in teamwork
     • Leadership skills or interest, particularly collaborative leadership
     • How the applicant would most benefit from this fellowship
     • Academic/Professional performance
     • Academic/Professional potential
     • Anything else that WSG should know about the applicant in order to fully consider their candidacy
5. Resumes/CVs (two-page maximum per Resume/CV, minimum font size 11 point, one-inch margins): A CV or resume should be included for both the student and their primary advisor(s).  Any additional pages beyond the two-page maximum will be redacted or removed.
6. Project Narrative (8-page maximum, including figures, tables, other graphics, but not including literature cited, minimum font size 11 point, one-inch margins): The full project title and name of the student must be included in the header. The narrative is intended to be a brief summary of your area of research and should include sufficient detail to evaluate the appropriateness and relevance of your research to Puget Sound, and how the project aligns with the Puget Sound Science Plan. The narrative should include the following sections:
   • Rationale: Clearly indicate the significance of the issue being studied to the Puget Sound region, how it aligns with the PSP Priority Science Actions. Explain which overarching Priority Science Actions elements are most related to the project and how the proposed work will address them. Please be specific, as relevance to the 2025-2029 Puget Sound Science Plan is one of the criteria used to evaluate projects.
   • Objectives: Detail the research and objectives.
   • Methods and Timeline:  What is the anticipated approach to the proposed research? The application should present evidence that there has been thoughtful consideration of the approach to the question(s) under study, with a timeline for meeting objectives during the requested period of support. Sufficient detail of the methodologies should be provided to facilitate an assessment of the adequacy of the approach to achieve the stated objectives.
   • Outcomes: Clearly identify and describe the anticipated outcomes of the activities, including the societal impacts on the Puget Sound region. Highlight any impacts to underrepresented or underserved communities. Discuss how specific end-users or audiences will use the results. You may also indicate what longer-term deliverables may be planned after the fellowship.
   • Literature Cited: does not count toward page limit
7. Copies of graduate and undergraduate transcripts: Transcripts are required and should be uploaded as PDFs into eSeaGrant. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.
8. Budget and Budget Justification: Up to $60,000 per year for up to two years for full-time master’s students at a Washington academic institution can be requested for fellowship-related costs.
   • Applicants will complete detailed budget worksheets provided in eSeaGrant
   • Eligible Costs include: student stipend; fringe benefits; tuition; enrollment, university and graduate program fees; health insurance; research and lab supplies; research and field work travel; sample processing; research-related service fees; laboratory and field equipment (expendable supplies and permanent equipment); and other expenses needed to conduct research activities; WSG or PSP events and conference fees, expenses and travel; and professional development training and travel.
   • Ineligible Costs include: Students who graduate before the end date of their fellowship award will not be permitted to use the remaining funds to support post-graduation expenditures.
   • Budgets should include travel support for the fellow to attend one regional or national conference as well as two to three regional WSG or PSP meetings per year (e.g., fellowship orientation meeting, presenting at a WSG/PSP event, etc.).
   • This fellowship does not require matching funds.
   • All budget sections will require justification. The budget justification should explain all budget items in sufficient detail to enable reviewers to evaluate the appropriateness of the research-related funds being requested.

Finalist selection

A review panel including WSG staff, Puget Sound Partnership staff, and key stakeholders will review all fellowship applications for scientific, technical and topical relevance to Washington Sea Grant and the Puget Sound Science Plan. The review panel will additionally assess the student’s academic/professional performance and potential.

Selected finalists may be invited for interviews to discuss their research, professional goals and objectives, the professional skills and competencies they are most interested in growing, and how they think a WSG Puget Sound Graduate Fellowship would be most beneficial to them.

Fellowship responsibilities

Selected fellows will:

• Engage in Puget Sound Science Plan Relevant Inquiry: Fellows must be conducting rigorous inquiry and evidence-based knowledge generation or other research that is Puget Sound related and which aligns with the priorities outlined in the Puget Sound Science Plan
• Collaborate with WSG’s and PSP’s Communication teams to publicize their fellowship activities, which may include authoring blog posts and sharing story ideas
• Attend and participate in designated WSG and PSP Events: Including fellowship orientation; presentation of study findings and community engagement activities; relevant professional development offerings, meet-ups and gatherings with other WSG fellows
• Share Milestones: Including defense and graduation dates at the conclusion of the graduate program. Fellows are required to notify WSG of their graduation date and submit a digital copy of their final project, thesis, and any publications.
• [Optional] Mentor a Summer CEI program Undergraduate Intern: Fellows may have the opportunity to mentor a paid summer undergraduate intern to support their research activities. Interns will be paid independently of the fellowship with funds provided by PSP and WSG.

Communication expectations

• Conferences: Fellows should budget for travel to at least one conference using their fellowship or other funds. Fellows are also strongly encouraged to present their research at other local, national and international professional meetings.
• Puget Sound Science Panel Meeting: Fellows may be asked to give a limited number of presentations or briefings to the Puget Sound Science Panel, technical groups, or agency managers virtually or in person around the Puget Sound region.
• Annual Reports: All fellows must prepare annual progress reports to be submitted to Washington Sea Grant, who will deliver them to the Puget Sound Science Panel and the National Sea Grant Office. The progress report will detail the fellow’s research, outreach, and communication activities along with any significant impacts or accomplishments.
• Final Report: Each fellow must produce and submit to Washington Sea Grant a final research report, which will be delivered to the Puget Sound Science Panel and the National Sea Grant Office at the end of the respective fellowship agreement period. The final report will summarize results and accomplishments of the research project, including publications since the fellowship’s inception.

How to apply

All application materials (LOI and Full Application) must be submitted to Washington Sea Grant through the eSeaGrant online submission portal. Applicants are required to submit a Letter of Intent (Google form) for this opportunity in order for their final fellowship application to be accepted and reviewed. Applicants must register in eSeaGrant in order to submit all fellowship application materials.

Contact information

For further information please contact the WSG Fellowships Team at sgfellow@uw.edu.