Three Ph.D. Assistantships in Translational and Integrated Deer Research at Purdue University
The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources seeks energetic and motivated applicants to join an interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff, and state agency personnel conducting translational science to inform management of white-tailed deer and public engagement in Indiana. We anticipate funding for 3 Ph.D. positions, with individual dissertation foci addressing (A) estimation and modeling of deer populations, (B) ecological condition of plant communities, and (C) stakeholder perceptions of deer populations, habitats and management. Successful applicants will begin in August 2018 and work closely with each other, agency personnel, and stakeholders to integrate research foci in ways that explicitly inform management by linking deer abundance to habitat integrity and stakeholder perceptions.
Each position is budgeted for 4 years, with a beginning annual stipend of $23,310, a tuition waiver, and health insurance.
Required qualifications include GPA of 3.2, GRE Verbal and Quantitative scores above 50th percentile, and GRE Analytical at least 4.0. Strongly preferred qualifications include: (1) M.S. degree in wildlife, ecology, natural resources, or related social sciences field. In addition, applicants for position (A) will benefit from experience with aerial, remote camera, and pellet-based sampling, strong quantitative skills, and experience with population and statistical modeling, preferably with R and BUGS. Applicants for position (B) will benefit from experience with experimental design, vegetation sampling, and analysis of multispecies data. Applicants for position (C) will benefit from experience with experimental design, survey research, and econometric modeling.
To apply: Prospective applicants should send via email a brief letter of interest and CV (including GPA, GRE scores, and contact information for references) with “Deer Assistantship” in the subject line. Those interested in position (A) should address their email to Rob Swihart at rswihart@purdue.edu; inquiries for position (B) should be sent to Mike Jenkins at jenkinma@purdue.edu; and inquiries for position (C) should be sent to Zhao Ma at zhaoma@purdue.edu. Review of materials will begin on 1 February.
Women and underrepresented minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. Purdue University is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer. For more information, contact the appropriate investigator or visit his/her web site (Dr. Swihart: https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/sites/swihart/; Dr. Jenkins: https://ag.purdue.edu/fnr/Pages/Profile.aspx?strAlias=jenkinma&intDirDeptID=15; Dr. Ma: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~zhaoma/Ma/wordpress/).
Purdue is a land-grant university of over 40,000 students and ranked the 5th best public university in the U.S. Located in West Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue is an easy drive from Indianapolis and Chicago. The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources is housed administratively in the College of Agriculture (#8 world ranking) and offers vibrant, nationally ranked graduate programs in wildlife and ecology. The West Lafayette-Lafayette area is home to a diverse community of 174,000, with good schools, safe neighborhoods, over 40 parks and extensive trail systems, active Farmers Markets, and year-long community festivals and art events.