Recruitment for these fellowships is complete. Please visit our Students tab to learn more about the students who have been funded as a part of this project and what they are working on.

Graduate Fellowships in Natural Resources, Engineering and Energy Poverty

Graduate Energy Poverty Fellows (GEPFs) are a part of an interdisciplinary cohort that benefits from disciplinary training and scholarship at NCSU (in Natural Resources or Engineering) and at UNC-CH (Anthropology, Environment and Ecology, Geography, Public Policy, or Sociology) and mentoring in diverse research and teaching methods. In addition there is a wider partnership with other institutions in North Carolina, and University partners in Southern Africa.

Expectations for Fellows

  • Completion of all required coursework in home department; in this case Forestry and Environmental Resources, or Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. Additional opportunities are offered for a minor in Forest Biomaterials.
  • Participation in bi-weekly Energy Poverty Graduate Seminar (1 credit) for 3 years (2 years for MS)
  • Completion of Graduate Certificate in Impact Evaluation
  • Participation in international fieldwork preparation short courses
  • Intensive language training (Chichewa, Bemba, or Shona)
  • Conduct research in Southern Africa
  • Completion of Annual Progress Reports
  • Serve as a Teaching Assistant in your ‘home’ department for 2-4 semesters

Participating Departments/Faculty

The following are the faculty and Departments that are recruiting Fellows. Students will have one of these faculty as their primary faculty advisor.

Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (Dr. Andrew Grieshop)

Forestry and Environmental Resources (Dr. Erin Sills )

Forest Biomaterials (Dr. Steve Kelley)

Financial and Other Support

Financial support will come from the National Science Foundation and NCSU. Fellows will receive the following benefits:

  • Graduate stipend of $27,500/year (12 months) for up to 3 years for PhD, and 2 years with a stipend of $22,500/year for MS (contingent upon satisfactory progress)
  • Tuition, Fees, Health Insurance
  • Travel funds in 2 of 3 years for PhD and 1 of 2 years for MS to participate in EPPSA research in Southern Africa (airfare, per diem, visa fees, incidental expenses)
  • Access to competitive conference travel fund

If you have questions, please email eppsa@unc.edu.