Gordon and Betty Moore Visiting Fellowships at the University of Florida for Tropical Forest Conservation Professionals from the Andes-Amazon Region
The Tropical Conservation and Development Program (TCD) and the School of Forest Resources and Conservation (SFRC) at the University of Florida (UF) announce a competition for the Gordon and Betty Moore Visiting Fellowships to support non-degree training related to Amazon forest conservation at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The visiting fellowships are open to conservation professionals, researchers, university professors, and Ph.D. students who are residents of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, or Venezuela. Fellowships are for four to nine months in length and may start at any time between June and January.
Visiting Fellowship awards consist of a stipend of US$2,000 per month (prior to US federal tax withholding), plus the cost of any necessary UF tuition and fees. Additional funds for travel to and from UF, health insurance, and participation in field courses are also included. Limited financial support is available for enrollment in an intensive English language course to improve existing skills.
While at UF, Fellows will develop individualized programs of study under the advisement of a UF faculty member. Fellows will be able to enroll in UF classes related to tropical forest conservation, participate in field courses conducted in the Andes-Amazon region, and utilize the UF Latin American Collection, one of the finest libraries on Latin America in the world. Fellows will be expected to offer seminars and/or workshops for UF students and faculty to share their expertise and experience on Amazon conservation.
Fellowship applicants will be judged according to their previous related work experience, conservation leadership, commitment to tropical forest conservation, and the clarity and specificity of their proposed plan of study. Preference will be given to applicants with at least three to five years of work experience and to those whose plan of study has a strong likelihood for resulting in written products, such as a journal or newspaper article, book, book chapter, working paper, etc. Please note that the fellowship is not intended to fund field research.
Moore Visiting Fellowships are made possible by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Eligibility
To apply for a Moore Visiting Fellowship, you must:
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Be a legal resident of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname or Venezuela.
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Work as a conservation professional, researcher or university professor in the Andes-Amazon region or be enrolled in a Ph.D. program at a universiry in the Andes-Amazon region.
Application Materials
The following application materials are required:
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Two letters of recommendation from your home institution or university, accompanied by the Release Form
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A two to three page statement of purpose written in English, Spanish or Portuguese that describes your background and expertise, explains what you would gain from being a Fellow, and proposes a program of study as a Visiting Fellow. Specify what activities you propose to carry out at UF (such as attending classes, writing a publication, analyzing a data set, or preparing a workshop), and what experience and expertise you could share with UF students and faculty through seminars or workshops. Include details about your professional or research interests in Amazon conservation. If you have already been in contact with a UF professor who might be able to serve as your adviser during the fellowship, include his/her name in your statement.
- Summary curriculum vitae.
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For applicants who wish to formally enroll in courses at UF, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required. For all others, adequate English is needed in order to fully take advantage of the opportunity of being at a US university. TOEFL is the best way to demonstrate your English level, but can be substituted by an equivalent credential (e.g. an assessment from a local language institute of your language proficiency level).
Additional Information
Information on the Internet
UF’s Amazon Conservation Leadership Initiative’s website
is: http://www.tropicalforests.ufl.edu/acli.
Applicants can learn more about TCD and SFRC by reviewing their web
sites at: http://www.latam.ufl.edu/tcd and http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu
UF Academic Calendar
The fall semester at UF begins in mid-August and runs until mid-December, while the spring semester begins the first week of January and runs through April. Most faculty and students are away from the university during the months of May, June, July, and August. Few classes are offered on campus during these months. English language study at the UF English Language Institute (http://www.eli.ufl.edu) is offered throughout the year, with sessions starting in January, March, May, June, August, and October. Applicants are encouraged to start their visiting fellowship program in either August or January. If an intensive English class is necessary, applicants are encouraged to start this class in June or October.
UF Class Offerings
A TOEFL score of 80 (internet test), 213 (computer test) or 550 (paper test) is required to enroll in UF classes. Fellowship recipients who meet this requirement will be allowed to enroll in one or two classes during their time at UF. Others may be allowed to audit a course by special request, without receiving academic credit.
Classes offered during most fall semesters include Tropical Conservation and Development Research Design and Methods, Community Forest Management, Protected Area Management in Africa and the Americas, and Conservation Policy.
Classes offered during most spring semesters include Conflict and Collaboration Management, Conservation Entrepreneurship, Tropical Forestry, and Land Use Land Cover Change. See http://www.latam.ufl.edu/tcd/spring-2008.pdf for a partial listing.
Consult with Robert Buschbacher or Patricia Sampaio if you have particular interests in terms of coursework, as many other classes will be offered each semester.
Visas
Moore Visiting Fellows will be issued J-1 exchange visitor visas to enter the United States. Anyone with J-1 visa status who stays in the United States for longer than six months is unable to return to the United States as a J-1 exchange visitor until he/she has been physically absent from the country for 12 months. This restriction does not normally apply to exchange visitors who stay in the United States for six months or less.
Additional Questions
For further information, contact:
Robert Buschbacher, Program Manager
Amazon Conservation Leadership Initiative
Building 107 Mowry Road
Telephonel: (352) 846-2831
E-mail: rbusch@ufl.edu
Patricia Sampaio
TCD Program
358 Grinter Hall
Telephone: (352) 392-0375 Ext. 806
Fax: (352) 392-7682
E-mail: psampaio@latam.ufl.edu
Submission
Submitt application materials by the second Monday in March at 4:30 p.m. to:
TCD Program
University of Florida
304 Grinter Hall
PO Box 115531
Gainesville, FL 32611-5531 USA
Tel: 001-352-392-0375, Ext. 806
Fax: 001-352-392-7682
Application materials can be sent by mail, e-mail or fax. E-mail submissions should be sent to Patricia Sampaio at psampaio@ufl.edu with “Moore Fellowship Application” as the subject line. Recommendation letters must be sent directly by the recommenders or can be sent in individually sealed envelopes with the other application materials.