Russell J. and Dorothy S. Bilinski Fellowships at Bodega Marine Laboratory

About the Bilinski Fellowship at BML

UC Davis has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Bilinski Educational Foundation to award ten Russell J. and Dorothy S. Bilinski Fellowships at Bodega Marine Laboratory for 2024-2025.

Ph.D. students interested in pursuing work at Bodega Marine Laboratory should submit a proposal for an interdisciplinary, innovative, and highly collaborative project that would become a key component of their dissertation. These transformational fellowships aim to elevate the work of doctoral students and provide opportunities to work across disciplines. Research should involve time spent at Bodega Marine Laboratory as part of the proposed work, and explicitly bridge the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Collaborations within UC Davis and/or collaborations with experts outside of our university are encouraged. For instance, we see a great opportunity for projects such as (not limited to):

• Marine scientists working with environmental historians to understand the context of ocean change or fisheries practices that have impacted populations;
• Scientists (natural, social) interested in collaborating with a communications expert, museum staff member, or writer to learn new techniques for presenting and communicating scientific ideas;
• Social scientists and natural scientists working together at the science-policy interface, or to understand human decision-making on environmental issues.

Visit the links to past projects on this page to read more about the stimulating, wide-ranging, and public-facing projects that have resulted from our first three cohorts of the Bilinski-BML Fellowship. Recipients of this Fellowship will be expected to participate in meetings and discussions with their cohort; this will ensure timely progress on proposed projects, and will facilitate mentorship, feedback, and collaboration. Students will be asked to provide regular project updates.

Fellowships are open to any full-time UC Davis doctoral student (US Citizens or Permanent Residents only). Students must be enrolled full-time at UC Davis for the duration of the fellowship. Recipients must be PhD candidates or on track to advance to candidacy within one year of application submission. Students who have previously been awarded this Fellowship are eligible to apply again; however, the proposed work cannot be a continuation of that work, and preference will be given to new applicants.

Students must include a description of why residency or a significant amount of time spent at Bodega Marine Laboratory is needed for their proposed work. Students should plan to complete the proposed research by June 30, 2025.

Required Elements:

• Proposal (see specifications below)
• Budget, using the budget template provided
• Budget justification for how the $25,000 fellowship will be spent
• Letter from the student's advisor

Proposal:

Prepare and upload a proposal that includes a description of your proposed project and how it is linked to your dissertation. The proposal must explicitly bridge the natural sciences, social sciences, and/or humanities, and must involve time spent at Bodega Marine Laboratory as part of the proposed work. Proposals should avoid jargon, and should be written for a general audience. Proposals should clearly state goals and deliverables, and should focus on broader impacts. While funding from this Fellowship can support your ongoing dissertation research (which should be described in your proposal), your proposal should focus on the unique, interdisciplinary work that is the focus of this Fellowship.

Successful proposals will:

• Be clearly written, and include a coherent description of your project, motivations, goals, and deliverables. The proposal should include how your proposed, interdisciplinary project is linked to your dissertation.
• Emphasize the cross-disciplinary deliverables and broader impacts that are the focus of this Fellowship. Students might accomplish their broader impacts through strong collaborations with experts who are substantially involved in the design and execution of the project. However, collaborators are not required; students might accomplish their goals without dedicated collaborators. If collaborations are critical to the proposal, collaborator contributions should be well thought out and confirmed. Projects that include robust and clearly described deliverables that explicitly bridge the natural sciences, social sciences, and/or humanities will be highly rated.

The proposal should not exceed three pages (single space, minimum 10pt size font). Allowed file types: pdf, docx

Budget and Budget Justification:

Students must provide a budget, using the budget template, as well as a separate budget justification for the $25,000 fellowship. The budget justification should include a description of how this funding will allow the student to complete a project that otherwise would not be possible without this financial assistance, and should clearly justify all expenses. You may receive Bilinski funding concurrent with other fellowship/grant support, but be explicit about how the Bilinski funding is addressing a financial need not covered by your other fellowship(s)/grant(s). The Bilinski Fellowship allows for maximum flexibility in the use of the funds. For the budget, you may consider including:

• Stipend: Paid to the awardee and taxable as income. You may use your graduate group GSR Step rates to calculate your stipend, but that is NOT required and you may justify a salary above or below those rates. You must be devoted to your dissertation full-time for quarters in which you receive Bilinski funding for your stipend.
• Tuition & Fees: Paid directly to UC Davis and not taxable. You must be devoted to your dissertation full-time for quarters in which you receive Bilinski funding for your tuition and fees.
• Research Expenses: Paid through a UC Davis account and not taxable. Can include supplies, funding for collaborators, etc.
• Travel expenses: Reimbursed through a UC Davis account and not taxable. Can include mileage to and from Bodega Bay, travel to research sites, etc.
• Professional Development: Can include conference and workshop fees, etc.

For research and/or travel, please provide details of the specific expenses to be covered.

Students must also submit one letter of support from their PhD advisor. Letters should be emailed directly to Ellie Fairbairn.  

See the application for more details. Please address questions to Ellie Fairbairn.

Application deadline: April 24, 2024

Apply Now!