Half-time fellowships (stipend and tuition) are provided for 24 months, to permit Ph.D. students in science and engineering to address the environmental policy implications of their thesis research through supplementary course-work and policy-oriented research. Fellows will also be awarded an additional $3,500 for research support. Students in the humanities and social sciences who wish to enhance their research with studies in environmental science and engineering will also be considered. The goal of PEI-STEP is to make students more effective and more versatile in their careers as scientists, teachers, and leaders in the public and private sectors and to increase awareness among science and engineering students and faculty of how their discipline-based skills can be brought to bear on environmental problems.

PEI-STEP Fellows must have an additional advisor from another department who, in cooperation with the primary advisor, will supervise the environmental policy research. Students will write an independent paper on the policy research, which is the equivalent of a chapter of the student's thesis. In addition, PEI-STEP students are awarded the Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. To meet the requirements of this Certificate, the student normally takes three courses, approved by the PEI-STEP director, on aspects of environmental science and technology policy. Funding must be used and coursework completed within five years of the award.
Click here to view our past and present PEI-STEP Fellows.

APPLICATIONS:  Currently-enrolled graduate students in their first, second, or third year in science and engineering departments are eligible to apply. The application should include a c.v. and a detailed research plan, worked out in cooperation with the student's thesis advisor and the proposed PEI-STEP advisor. Letters of support from both advisors are required. Humanities and social sciences students who are interested in this program should consult with the PEI-STEP director prior to completing an application. Criteria for selection include a strong academic record, a well-thought-out research plan and engagement of the thesis advisor in the research plan.

Applications are available at the PEI office, Guyot 127 or online. The application deadline is May 16, 2008.

Contacts: Professor Michael Oppenheimer, Woodrow Wilson School and the Department of Geosciences, 448 Robertson Hall, Princeton University, omichael@princeton.edu or Professor David Wilcove, Woodrow Wilson School and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 403 Robertson Hall, Princeton University, dwilcove@princeton.edu

Academic Program Manager: Lynne Johnson, 127 Guyot Hall, ljohnson@princeton.edu