- Agency
- UTRGV
- Location
- Edinburg, TX
- Job Category
- Graduate Assistantships
- Salary
- 18,000
- Start Date
- 08/15/2023
- Last Date to Apply
- 07/31/2023
- Website
- https://www.utrgv.edu/graduate/for-future-students/graduate-programs/program-requirements/agricultural-environmental-and-sustainability-sciences-ms/index.htm
- Description
- Master's Position: Farmworker livelihoods and organizations in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas Position Description: I am seeking a master's student in Environmental Social Science to pursue a Master of Science in Agricultural, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) to start in the Fall of 2023. The research will be supervised by Dr. Anna Erwin, assistant professor and environmental social scientist at UTRGV. Research conducted alongside other students in the newly formed "Collaborative Research Group for Environmentally Just Communities" who are studying social-ecological change, food systems, adaptation to climate change, and technology adoption in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond. I have conducted social science research in diverse settings including the Andes and coastal regions of Peru with smallholder farmers, Indiana with migrant farmworker populations, and the Southeastern US with a migrant farmworker ministry. You can see more about my research here: https://www.utrgv.edu/seems/meet-us/faculty/erwin-anna/index.htm. In this project, you will be working on a USDA-NIFA funded, mixed-methods (survey and interview) research project to investigate how farmworkers in the Rio Grande Valley experience social-ecological changes (climate change, water availability, COVID-19) and how local organizations that work with farmworkers serve workers during times of risk and stress. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley: UTRGV is a regional minority-serving institution located in the southern tip of Texas along the US-Mexico border whose mission is to, "transform the Rio Grande Valley, the Americas, and the world through an innovative and accessible educational environment that promotes student success, research, creative works, health and well-being, community engagement, sustainable development, and commercialization of university discoveries. It is also a binational and bicultural region that is also a hotspot for biodiversity of birds and insects, and in recent years has become a statewide mecca for sustainable and organic agriculture. About the Masters of Science in Agricultural, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences: The AESS program provides students with a unique, integrative education and training that prepares them to meet the challenges and opportunities in the multiple dimensions of sustainability sciences. This multidisciplinary degree program is designed to supplement theoretical understanding with action-oriented, applied research. Requirements and compensation: The potential candidate should be interested in learning how to use social science to investigate climate. change and will be expected to gather and analyze social science data from people during fieldwork in hot and humid subtropical climates. The student must also have a strong command of Spanish and English and a Bachelor's degree in biophysical or social science. Women and people from BIPOC and LGBTQIA communities are encouraged to apply. The position will start in Fall of 2023. Admissions are rolling. Two-year support for tuition and a monthly living stipend is available. Additional support for research supplies, professional development, and travel to a relevant conference, as well as opportunities to participate in research projects outside of your own project, will be available. Contact and Application: If you are interested in this opportunity, please send a short introduction, a brief statement detailing your interest in this opportunity, and a CV/resume with coursework, GPA, and 3 references to anna.erwin@utrgv.edu. Applications will be reviewed and filled on a rolling basis. For more information about the application to the AESS program, click here.
- Qualifications
- Skills: Interest in applying social science skills to understand environmental problems; interest in sustainable agriculture; Degree: Bachor's degree in a related discipline (political science, sociology, anthropology, environmental science, natural resource management)
- Contact Person
- Anna Erwin
- Contact Phone
- 9106206206
- Contact eMail
- anna.erwin@utrgv.edu
