Thanks for your interest in the PAW Lab. This page provides information about what I am looking for in prospective graduate students, undergrads, and postdocs as well as expectations and opportunities for prospective lab members.

Graduate students:

This article by Estien et al. on the “hidden curriculum” of graduate school applications is an incredibly helpful resource for prospective students.

The PAW Lab works on a wide range of projects, and I am open to developing existing projects further or identifying new projects. Projects that take an interdisciplinary approach to examining human-wildlife interactions with an applied focus in Washington are of special interest.

If you are interested in working with me, please send me an email that includes the following information:

  1. a description of your research interests, experience, skills and abilities, and career goals;
  2. a copy of your CV or resume that includes the names of 3 references

I will respond to you as soon as possible, but please be patient, as I receive many inquiries each year. I may also ask to meet potential students in person, but unfortunately I am unable to meet with every prospective student.

Graduate Student Funding

If you and I decide that the PAW Lab would be a good fit, I must have adequate funding in place to cover your tuition, benefits, and stipend, before I can make you an offer. This support may come from competitive research grants that I’ve secured, which vary in size and availability year by year. Students funded as a research assistant (RA) under these grants are typically expected to contribute directly to the larger project while conducting their own research. Our department can sometimes help support students through teaching assistant (TA) positions.

Fellowships are another way to fund your graduate education, allowing you to focus on a project of your choosing and to reduce other research and teaching commitments. Each year SEFS offers a few highly competitive fellowship awards. You don’t need to take any additional action to be eligible for these, and decisions are made around February. I also strongly encourage all students to apply for external fellowships, such as the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and Ford Foundation fellowships.

Here are some lists of fellowships specific to M.S. or Ph.D. students. The UW Graduate Funding Information Service is another great resource for current and admitted UW graduate students to help identify and locate funding opportunities.

Postdoctoral researchers and research scientists:

When I have funding available to support postdocs and research scientists, I will post it here. I am always open to new opportunities to collaborate and develop funding. Writing a proposal and funding your postdoctoral research is a fantastic way to increase your competitiveness on the job market. Please get in touch if you are interested in developing a proposal for a research grant or fellowship. Here are a few opportunities:

Undergraduate students:

The PAW Lab sometimes has both paid and unpaid opportunities for undergraduates to get involved in research. If you would like to learn about ways to join our lab group for undergraduate research experience, please fill out this form.

If you are an undergrad in ESRM/SEFS, also check out the Senior Capstone.

Credit: Thanks to Briana Abrahms, Sarah Converse, Kaitlyn Gaynor, Brian Harvey, and Mark Scheuerrell for their excellent websites and resources, which I’ve drawn from here.