Position Description:

Dr. Matthew Sanderson (Sociology) and Dr. Landon Marston (Civil Engineering) are recruiting up to two graduate students (M.S. or Ph.D.) for a new interdisciplinary graduate program at Kansas State. The program is funded by a National Research Traineeship (NRT) Award from the National Science Foundation. The program is designed to prepare future leaders in industry, academia, government, and/or policy settings to help shape more sustainable communities. Students will work on cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research relating to food-energy-water systems, coupled socio-ecological systems, socio-hydrologic systems, and rural resource resiliency.

We can offer a generous stipend ($34,000 per year; 1-year at the Master’s level, 2-years at the PhD level), and full tuition (up to 18 credit hours per year). Following this funding, students in the program will be very competitive for GTA and GRA opportunities to complete their studies. NSF requires U.S. Citizenship, green card, or permanent residency to participate with NRT funding. Applicants will be reviewed fall 2019 and positions will be available starting fall 2020.

Required Qualifications:

  • B.S. and/or M.S. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Natural Resource Management, Geography, Sociology, Social Science, or related fields
  • Strong communication skills in oral and written English
  • Ability to work with an interdisciplinary team

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Programming experience, preferably in Python, R, or MATLAB
  • Demonstrated coursework in social science theories, and/or research and writing experience using quantitative (e.g., survey/experimental design, multivariate statistics) and/or qualitative (e.g., interviews, focus groups, and analysis) methodologies

How to Apply:

To learn more about the positions, please contact Dr. Landon Marston (ltmarston@ksu.edu) or Dr. Matthew Sanderson (mattrs@ksu.edu). In the email subject line, write “NRT Graduate Student Positions” and be sure to include the following information: i) your motivation for going to graduate school, ii) what you hope to accomplish while enrolled, iii) your research interests, iv) why you are interested in the NRT program and working with Dr. Sanderson and Dr. Marston, and v) a little about who you are as a person. Please attach your CV, including your academic credentials. If you meet the basic qualifications for the positions, you will be encouraged to apply to the Kansas State University Graduate Program at https://www.ce.ksu.edu/grad/.