About Our National Research Traineeship Program
Our shared vision: Ecosystem science as convergent, collaborative, inclusive, and empowering science
M.S. and PhD students from multiple fields will be equipped with the theoretical foundation, knowledge, and professional skills needed to effectively access, analyze, synthesize, and communicate diverse types of information from local ecological knowledge to big data. We refer to this convergent science as 3-D ecosystem science (3DES). The three axes that contribute to 3DES are: (1) time, the temporal progression in science and policy towards holistic approaches to research and management; (2) complexity, the increasing complexity of modeling efforts to account for the social and environmental components of systems; and (3) diversity, the knowledge gained from adding ontological and epistemological depth to the study of ecosystems and their dynamics. Our training program emphasizes an emancipatory approach to convergence research. The research generated through the program will empower marine resource users, resource managers, and other stakeholders. This approach is critical for meaningful engagement and two-way communication with community partners, particularly in rural coastal communities, where geographic distance and other factors have contributed to real and perceived marginalization in previous research and management processes.
MS and PhD students that are part of our NRT will participate in a core curriculum of classes and seminars, supplemental professional development workshops, and an annual retreat that will increase trainees’ capacity to conduct convergence research. In addition, they will be required to fulfill requirements associated with the home department. Our core curriculum includes three modules. These modules focus on: (1) building trainees’ theoretical and technical foundations; (2) mastery of skills, techniques, and disciplinary knowledge; and (3) individual and collaborative research. MS students will complete the modules in 2-3 years, and PhD students will require 5 years.
Module 1: Theoretical foundations
1a. Orientation to Convergence: During their first semester, trainees will participate in, Convergent Approaches to Ecosystem Science, which aims to orient students to the 3DES framework, build cohesion within the cohort, and strengthen leadership skills.
1b. Epistemological Diversity: In their first semester, trainees will also enroll in a graduate seminar, Engaging Cross-Cultural Science, which will introduce students to traditional and indigenous knowledge and facilitate interactions across NRT programs.
1c. Interdisciplinary Complexity: Trainees’ understanding of the central concepts in social-environmental-systems thinking will be reinforced through enrollment in Interdisciplinary Methods in Socio-Environmental Systems Science.
1d. Ecosystem Science Seminars: Finally, to strengthen trainees’ foundation in contemporary ecosystem science and its application to management and policy, graduate students will participate in a one-credit reading-intensive seminar each year.
Module 2: Mastery of skills, methods and disciplinary knowledge
Data Integration Skill Building: Trainees will be introduced to new and emerging data-driven methods for ecosystem science in a newly developed course, Data Mining to Support Ecosystem Sciences.
NRT trainees will practice and strengthen their data science skills through enrollment in Data Electives that focus on big data, geospatial analysis, data integration, artificial intelligence, and/or machine learning.
Disciplinary Knowledge and Skills Building: In concert with the cohort-building classes, trainees
will pursue disciplinary training based on their home department’s requirements and electives.
Module 3: Convergence research to advance 3-D ecosystem science
Ideas Lab. In the second year of the NRT program, graduate students will participate in an innovative, year-long course modeled after NSF-style facilitated group workshops designed to bring people together to address a complex issue or theme. A core objective is to transcend disciplinary boundaries and spur innovative thinking, learning and ultimately convergence (after Collins et al. 2013, NRC 2014). The 3-D Ecosystem Science Ideas Lab will be a cornerstone of the NRT training. The Ideas Lab will commence with an ecosystem and climate roundtable where municipal, state, federal, and tribal government representatives are invited to share their perspectives on the most pressing climate-related issues. The roundtable will serve as the take-off point for graduate students to organize and lead interdisciplinary teams of three to five students to develop and ultimately interrogate emergent ecosystem science questions by bringing together multiple forms of data, including genomic, oceanographic, biological, geographic, LEK and TEK/IK. To achieve the desired convergent approach to ecosystem science, each student team will be composed of trainees from diverse disciplines, with skills and expertise using different data types; when possible, teams will include members from both the natural and social sciences, and with both “big data” and TEK/IK expertise. Each student team will have two NRT faculty members (from different disciplines) and a community partner as advisors. Students and advisors will work together to define the research scope and establish a common language and reference points to guide their work. In the Ideas Lab course, student teams will have frequent opportunities to workshop ideas with other teams to foster cross-team learning. By the end of the first semester, students will present their progress to roundtable participants and solicit input and collaboration. The following semester, students will execute their projects in collaboration with partners, then present their results. This process will be guided by a series of writing and peer-review sessions, with the goal of producing research that is publishable and relevant to our partners. We anticipate that these Ideas Lab projects will both seed and be seeded by individual students’ projects.
Independent Research: In addition to the Ideas Lab, each graduate student will pursue independent research that enables them to hone their skills and demonstrate their ability to conduct 3DES.