Prospective graduate students
- Prospective phd students: we are NOT accepting PhD students in 2026
I know this will be disappointing, but the assumption is that there will be limited funding until the trump administration is over. NSF cut the NSF by 50% this year. All of our grants have funded students already hired, and we fund students over the summer with grants, so without more grants, we cannot take students.
NSF program officers say that most funding will go to epscor states:
https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/epscor/state-websites
It may be most likely that you will find labs taking students in those states, and most likely to get a grfp if you apply as though you are going to join a lab in one of those states. Check to see if the policies of those states match with your needs:
https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps
Consider also looking for opportunities outside of the US.
Hopefully, once the trump administration is over, we will admit PhD students to the University of Oregon who wish to start their graduate programs through the Institute of Ecology and Evolution. - Prospective masters students: we are NOT accepting masters students from the ENVS masters program in 2026.
- We do not require prospectives to have a strongly quantitative background, only enthusiasm and willingness to learn.
- If you are considering graduate school, the Ecological Society of America Bulletin has published some great general tips. Check out Sarah Cooley's excellent page on tips for applying to graduate school for additional advice.
- If you are interested in joining the lab as a graduate student (and we are taking students the year you will be applying, see above) please email Lauren:
- 1) Your cv, including you past research projects (REU, field technician, honors thesis, etc. ) and your role in them, any awards, grants, publication and presentations.
2) A summary of your research interests and how they fit with the Ponisio lab.
- We evaluate applicants based on research interest fit, academic preparation, scholarly potential, and contributions to diversity/equity/inclusion.
- Very competitive candidates for the institute and lab will rant "high" in the below rubric from Hollistic Graduate Recruitment below (except with "alignment with program" fitting our lab mission/training specifically).
