Environmental governance grad student; PhD and Master's

Dr. Holly Nesbitt is hiring two graduate students (PhD and MS) in the Forest Sciences Graduate Program at Colorado State University in Fort Collins to study the collaborative governance of wildfire to start in the fall 2027 semester. Students will have the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary research with other scholars in the Forest and Rangeland Stewardship department, the Warner College of Natural Resources, and the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, and work in partnership with practitioners to inform policy and programming.

Students should have prior experience or interest in topic areas like collaboration, environmental governance, natural resource policy and planning, conservation social science, social-ecological systems, and research methods in social sciences. Students should also be comfortable with numbers (either proficient in statistical methods or have a keen interest in developing proficiency).

Students will have the flexibility to define their research project, but should be interested in the following types of questions:

• Does collaborative planning improve outcomes after a wildfire? For whom?
• What inspires individual landowners to address the collective action problem of wildfire? To what extent are policy interventions that encourage collective action among landowners effective at mitigating wildfire?
• How can research support and inform policy interventions in partnership with land managers?

Prospective students will need the following traits to succeed in my lab:

• A keen interest in developing quantitative skills in the statistical program R
• Strong work ethic
• Ability to work well with others

Students will receive a stipend each semester ($2300-$2500/month) as well as a summer stipend. Tuition, student fees, and health insurance fees will be covered.

Colorado State University is a Land Grant institution and among the nation’s leading research universities. The University enrolls approximately 32,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Located an hour north of the Denver metro area, Fort Collins is a vibrant community of approximately 170,000 residents that offers the convenience of a small town with all the amenities of a large city. Fort Collins is situated on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains with views of 14,000-foot peaks, and offers access to numerous cultural, recreational, and outdoor opportunities.