Paid Program in Equitable Agriculture and Environmental Management

Position Description 

Together, the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the University of Arizona (UA), both Hispanic-Serving Institutions, are working towards building sustainability and justice concerns into STEM education in agriculture with a specific focus on recruiting, retaining, and supporting underrepresented (UR) students. The two year program emphasizes environmental justice as a starting point and provides career-relevant skills and internships.

This comprehensive program includes summer coursework, career development, learning communities, and internships for undergraduate students and support for graduate students from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing Master's or Ph.D. degrees.

Start with summer coursework on Equitable Agriculture and Environmental Management. Scholarships are available!
Engage over the next academic year with research.
Get valuable career development workshops on resumes, interviewing, and applying to jobs and internships.
Continue into a paid summer internship, paired with a graduate student in a partner organization like the US Department of Agriculture, a non-profit, or an agriculture business.

Skills:
In this program, you will have the opportunity to acquire proficiency in GIS, R Programming, and Statistics and Causal Inference. This will enable you to:

Develop innovative tools and applications for efficient data analysis.
Address contemporary issues in agriculture and environmental science through a geospatial approach.
Advance equitable and sustainable agriculture by making informed decisions grounded in statistical and causal inference analyses.

Prerequisites:

Interest in sustainable and equitable agriculture.
Be a 3rd or 4th standing student or Transfer student.
Have basic knowledge of a programming language. R is preferred.
Completion of two years of college coursework in a related field, including STEM fields, including a quantitative sequence (Calculus and/or statistics)

DETAILS:

Application:
To apply, you must complete the application form at: https://forms.gle/PAotZqa7pRh8ewge6. 

Alternatively, you can write and submit a personal statement on Handshake that addresses the following:

Describe your interest in and aspirations for a career in sustainable and equitable agriculture. How do you imagine the program will help you to achieve your goals? (No more than 500 words).
Describe any aspects of your personal background, accomplishments, or achievements that you feel are important in evaluating your application. This is your chance to describe if you have experienced economic challenges or any unusual or varied life experiences that might contribute to the diversity of agricultural leaders. (No more than 500 words).
List experience, if any, with the following software
-R Studio
-Python
-ArcGIS
-QGIS