Application Process

• Eligibility

  The Environmental Protection and Stewardship track's goal: Advance scientific knowledge in the design, implementation and evaluation of effective nature-based solutions (NbS) that enhance ecosystem health and community resilience to extreme weather in the Gulf region, while also addressing a multiplicity of other co-benefits (such as water and air quality, biodiversity, and climate adaptation.)

  Applicants must, at the time of application:

  • Hold a permanent, fully independent position as an investigator, faculty member, clinician scientist, or scientific team lead in industry, academia, or a research organization. A postdoc is not considered a fully independent position.
    
  • Be an early-career scientist who has received their eligible degree within the past 10 years (on or after January 1, 2015).
    
  • Hold a doctoral degree (e.g., PhD, ScD, EngD, MD, DrPH, EdD, DSW or DVM) in the social and behavioral sciences, health sciences and medicine, engineering and physical sciences, earth and life sciences, or interdisciplinary scientific fields relevant to the charge of the Gulf Research Program.
    
  • Not be currently employed by the U.S. federal government.

• How to apply

  Applications can be submitted through our online application system.

  Required application materials:

  • Your resume or CV (up to 5 pages).
    
  • A series of personal essays that respond to the following prompts:
    
  • Relevance (1000 words total): Using language for a lay audience, explain how your research has contributed to and will continue contributing to the Environmental Protection and Stewardship Track Goal: “Advance scientific knowledge in the design, implementation and evaluation of effective nature-based solutions (NbS) that enhance ecosystem health and community resilience to extreme weather in the Gulf region, while also addressing a multiplicity of other co-benefits (such as water and air quality, biodiversity, and climate adaptation).” In your response, include the following:
    
    • Describe or specify the types of NbS approaches that will be studied, any type of modeling that might be conducted, and how the long-term efficacy of the studied NbS will be evaluated and monitored. Describe how this knowledge will be used to enhance effective implementation of future nature-based solutions.
      
    • Describe how your research will contribute to improved local and regional understanding of the benefits of nature-based solutions for a specific Gulf community or more broadly for the region.
      
  • Research Portfolio (2,000-word limit): The Gulf Research Program Early-Career Research Fellowship funds people, not projects. Therefore, your research portfolio statement should include information about your research portfolio as a whole, not a specific project. We encourage you to write your research portfolio statement in a way that is understandable to a scientifically literate lay reader and to make the best use of the space provided by utilizing the entire word count, rather than uploading images, diagrams, or figures. The use of references should be minimal and only when absolutely needed. If references are included, they will be counted toward the total word count, and we do not have a preference as to citation style. Your research portfolio statement should include:
    
    • A description of your relevant research and projects to date.
      
    • A description of future work and the research goals you hope to accomplish in the next two years.
      

  Please note, a budget is NOT required and should not be included in the research statement. You may upload a budget as a separate task if your university requires that one be submitted.

  • Special Skill Essay (2 part, 600-word limit): Research that enhances environmental protection and stewardship requires multidisciplinary approaches, broad range of perspectives and strong science communication skill to engage with managers, decision makers and various communities within the region.
    
    • Describe your experiences and approaches to collaboration across scientific disciplines and engagement of end-users of scientific information. How did you utilize your science communication skills to complement your research to other disciplines/audiences?
      
    • How have you incorporated principles of impartiality, fairness, and equal opportunity, while nurturing a wide spectrum of viewpoints, in your research, academic work, and career?
      
  • Personal Growth and Mentoring:
    
    • Part 1: How will the mentoring provided by the fellowship help you to address your career goals and challenges? What is your strategy to be a productive mentee? (400-word limit)
      
    • Part 2: How will you know when you have achieved professional success in your career? What skills or characteristics do you need to work on in order to achieve this success? (350-word limit)
      
    • Part 3: Select one of the following questions to respond to as you reflect on your educational and research journey
      
      • How have your lived experiences, educational journey, and/or understanding of the world shaped your identity as a scientist and an early-career researcher? (500-word limit)
        

  OR

  • • If applicable, we invite you to share your lived experiences of overcoming barriers related to your identity in your academic journey, along with the strategies you employed to overcome these challenges. These experiences could pertain to various aspects such as culture, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion. (500-word limit)
      
  • A statement (up to 1,000 words) from your selected mentor
    
    • Your selected mentor must be in a senior-level position at your affiliated college, university, research institution, or organization.
      
    • Do not choose a mentor for a research collaboration. Choose a mentor who is willing and able to meet at least twice a month to provide guidance and advice on professional development and career topics beyond merely promotion and tenure, such as work/life balance, time and project management, teaching and mentorship, committee and other professional service, community engagement and outreach, lab and research management.
      
    • In their statement, your mentor should address how you, the applicant, will benefit from mentoring. Your mentor should consider your professional development holistically, beyond research productivity alone, and identify areas for improvement or potential growth.
      
    • If you are unable to find a mentor at your affiliated organization, the mentor honorarium will be waived and you will be asked to answer an additional question justifying your selection of an external mentor.
      
    • Once you have created an account and started an application, you can enter the contact information for your mentor. The system will generate an email to the mentor with instructions for logging in and uploading the mentor statement. We encourage applicants to complete this task as soon as possible because final applications cannot be submitted until the mentor statement have been completed. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
      

  All application materials, including the mentor statement, must be submitted through our online application system by June 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM CT/ 2:00 PM PT. If you have difficulties submitting materials through our online application system, contact us at, GulfFellowships@nas.edu.

  Requesting mentor statement

  Once you have created an account and started an application, you can enter the contact information for your mentor. The system will generate an email to the mentor with instructions for logging in and uploading the mentor statement. We encourage applicants to complete this task as soon as possible because final applications cannot be submitted until the mentor statement has been completed. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.