USDA National Needs Fellowship

Current Fellows

About the Fellowship

The USDA Fellowship Program is designed to train scientists in forest products marketing and management. The program offers comprehensive training in economic theory and econometrics as well as specialized training in fields chosen by the fellows and their graduate committees.

The U.S. forest products industry is facing a number of critical issues, including an array of environmental and legislative concerns that will require the specialized training offered by the fellowship program. These issues include the long-run sustainability of forest resources, price risk management, environmental concerns and regulations (such as the role of forests in reducing nutrient and other run-off to the nation’s surface waters), land use management, the role of nonconsumptive forest use in managing forests, and domestic and international trade policies that affect forest products marketing and management.

The interaction of the forest products sector with other elements of the U.S. agricultural complex will play a vital role in the sustainability and long-run stability of the U.S. agricultural system. North Carolina State University’s fellows program is poised to provide the specialized training necessary to address these important issues.

The fellowship program at NC State has supported several fellows since 1994. NC State was recently awarded two additional fellowships to support graduate studies beginning in Fall of 2009. Incoming fellows will receive an annual stipend of $22,000 and will be supported for three years. Additional support beyond the three years will be granted to fellows progressing through the PhD program. Recruitment for the two new fellowships is currently underway.

About the U.S. Forestry Service

The Southern Research Station of the U.S. Forestry Service is located in western North Carolina and serves 13 southern states. The mission of the SRS-USFS is to "create the science and technology needed to sustain and enhance Southern forest ecosystems and the benefits they provide."

The unit of the Southern Research Station that is responsible for economic analysis is located at Research Triangle Park in Durham, NC. This unit of the SRS-USFS is staffed with forestry researchers, ecologists, and economists who work to promote the mission of the research station -- to improve the "economic foundation for natural resource policy and management through research."

The current areas of focus of the SRS-USFS economics unit are as follows:

• Economics of forest disturbances: evaluating alternative strategies for managing forests in the presence of forest disturbances including wildfire and invasive species.
• Forest management, markets, and trade: expanding knowledge of how forest products trade, regional timber markets, and forest conditions are linked.
• Values of forest amenities and services: providing knowledge of how forests provide goods and services of value to people.
• Economics of broad scale human-forest interactions: integrating economic concepts into interdisciplinary research on resource uses and values.

Past USDA National Needs Fellows at NC State University have gone on to join the economics research team at the Southern Research Station.

For more information about SRS-USFS: http://srs.fs.usda.gov/econ

Application Information and Procedures

• Applicants should have completed a master’s degree in economics or agricultural economics.
• Exceptional applicants with a bachelor’s degree will also be considered.
• Female and minority applicants are especially encouraged to apply.
• Applicants must be U.S. citizens or native residents of U.S. territories.
• Applicants must be committed to rigorous study in economics with an emphasis on the particular issues facing the U.S. forest products sector.
• Those seeking financial aid must submit their application by the third week of January.

To apply, you must complete the required University application indicating your interest in being considered for a fellowship.