Coastal Research Fellowship

The Spring 2025 application is open.

The North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve (Coastal Reserve) and North Carolina Sea Grant are accepting applications for the 2025 North Carolina Coastal Research Fellowship. This $10,000 fellowship provides North Carolina-based graduate students
with an opportunity to conduct research within one or more of the 10 sites that constitute the Coastal Reserve. Using the reserve sites as a research platform, fellows must conduct question-based research that addresses coastal management issues in one or more of the following broad focus areas of this RFP (in no order of importance):

  • Sediment dynamics and influences on shoreline position, habitat type, and quality
  • Sources and impacts of emerging contaminants, plastics, and marine debris
  • Impacts of invasive species on coastal ecosystems
  • Impacts of coastal hazards to habitat restoration and conservation practices, including
    shoreline stabilization approaches
  • Understanding relationships of water quality on Reserve ecosystems and the role
    Reserve sites play in the estuarine filter
  • Wetland carbon stocks and soil and flora properties driving spatial variability
  • Influences on maritime forest habitat distribution, changes, and health
  • Application of innovative technologies to enhance research and monitoring in coastal
    systems
  • Quantifying economic contributions of Reserve ecosystems (ecosystem service
    valuations)
  • Modeling compound flooding to understand vulnerabilities within and around Reserve
    sites and the potential protective services provided

For reference, view the 2025 request for proposals and the Data Management Plan (Attachment A). North Carolina Sea Grant and the N.C. Coastal Reserve anticipate awarding one fellowship for $10,000 for thirteen months. All work should be completed within twelve months, with the last month reserve for the preparation of the required final report (see RFP for further details). 

Eligibility
Only graduate students in good academic standing, attending an accredited North Carolina university or college, are eligible to apply. First year graduate students that have not yet started coursework are not eligible to apply. Undergraduate students are ineligible to apply for funding, but we encourage research projects that include undergraduate participation. International graduate students are eligible to apply, but funding for an international fellow would require an alternate process that will take longer to implement. As such project’s led by international applicants will have a delayed start date. Research must be conducted within the boundaries of at least one of the 10 sites that make up the Coastal Reserve (https://deq.nc.gov/reserve-sites). The Coastal Reserve is especially interested in projects that include work at one or more of the state sites (Kitty Hawk Woods, Buxton Woods, Buckridge, Permuda Island, Bald Head Woods, and Bird Island Reserves).

All applications are due by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on April 7, 2025.

Contact John Fear or the Justin Ridge, the Reserve's research coordinator for more information.

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