University of California, Santa Barbara
ER-18: Sustainability Research Incentives

UC Santa Barbara offers a wide array of fellowship programs, including several targeted towards sustainability. Here are two examples: The Institute for Energy Efficiency supports graduate students across its six research groups through competitive fellowships. These awards are granted to students who demonstrate academic excellence and a commitment to effecting vital change in the field of energy efficiency. Please find more information on our fellowships programming: http://iee.ucsb.edu/programs/fellowship-program The Latin American Fishery Fellows Program (LAFF) provides full fellowship support (fees, tuition, health insurance, books, stipend, travel) for a two-year Bren School Master of Environmental Science and Management degree (MESM), with a concentration in Coastal Marine Resources Management, for highly qualified students who are dedicated to a career in Latin America. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Walton Foundation. The Latin American Fishery Fellows (LAFF) program offers a rich education in science, economics, policy, and law, augmented by specialized training in innovative approaches to sustainable fisheries management and marine conservation. Fellows will receive career-oriented training, including preparation in collaborative problem solving and development of leadership and project management skills. http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/admissions/fisheries_fellows.html

UC Santa Barbara committed to prioritizing the Environment as an interdisciplinary theme for our research and teaching between 2007-2025 (UCSB Strategic Academic Plan http://evc.ucsb.edu/strategic.academic.plan/). This strategic plan is used in determining UC contributions to faculty research and in decisions regarding cost sharing on UC research projects. During the 2010 calendar year, UCSB contributed at least $21,946,814 through cost sharing and other contributions (including some in-kind contributions of administrative costs and staffing) to environmental research. Cost sharing is a type of project contribution in which the University bears the costs associated with the conduct of a sponsored project that the University may otherwise charge to the extramural funds. Typically, these costs are not separately budgeted but are part of the department's operating expenses. Cost sharing can be either requested by the sponsor as a requirement of the funding agreement or can be a voluntary contribution from UCSB. In addition to this significant support, UC Santa Barbara's Academic Senate Sustainability Work Group offers a Sustainability Champion Program which is funded in part from core campus funds and in part from an off-campus foundation. The primary goal of the “Campus Sustainability Champion” is to recognize faculty innovation and encourage ongoing research and teaching in sustainability. Faculty submit competitive proposals that promise to engage undergraduate and graduate students in sustainability issues and provide campus-wide leadership and visibility in sustainability in education and research. Awardees are selected by a committee, based on the merit of their proposals; recipients receive funding to support activities including, but not limited to, graduate and undergraduate research assistants; and all awardees will be required to lead an annual Freshman Seminar in Sustainability. http://www.sustainability.ucsb.edu/campus-sustainability-champion/