Time-sensitive opportunities

• EMERGE Alaska is recruiting 12 PhD students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences to start in May or August 2026! EMERGE Alaska is an NSF funded program for students who received an Honorable Mention on the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) during the last 3 years (since Spring 2022). Details are at the EMERGE website. Apply now until 1/15/2026. For more information, visit https://www.uaf.edu/cfos/academics/emerge-alaska/index.php
• Come join the Little Ecology Group (www.littleecologygroup.ca) at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada! We are hiring a PhD student to conduct aquatic biodiversity research as part of the Alpine Horizons research project, a joint effort of multiple B.C. universities, the Squamish Nation, and British Columbia Parks. To address the needs of our project partners (Squamish Nation and B.C. Parks), this project aims to fill the knowledge gap on freshwter macroinvertebrate diversity in the Coast Mountains, as well as investigating stream ecosystem functioning.  This project will entail fieldwork in rugged areas, as well as conceptual work linking species traits to climate risk and environmental conditions. The Little Ecology group focuses on community and landscape ecology, but across a wide array of ecosystem types, scales, and taxonomic groups. Candidates must have completed a masters degree in a relevant field. Competitive candidates will have experience working in field settings; strong statistical and modelling skills, including comfort in the R computing environment; and excellent interpersonal and writing abilities. Expertise in freshwater macroinvertebrate identification is an asset. Experience working outdoors in mountain environments is beneficial, but the only requirement is willingness to conduct multi-day research trips in a remote environment, hiking with considerable elevation gain and occasionally in adverse weather conditions. The student will be enrolled in the PhD program in either the Biological Sciences department or the School of Environmental Science at Simon Fraser University, depending on student interest. Information about the program, including admission criteria, can be found here for Biological Sciences and here for Environmental Science. Both Canadian and international students are eligible for these positions. Note that a Canadian student could start as early as May 2026, but due to study permit processing times, an international student could realistically not start until September 2026. How to Apply: Please email your CV, academic transcript(s), and a cover letter that includes a short description of your research interests and background and a note about your career goals to Chelsea_little AT sfu.ca. Review of applications will begin on October 25, 2025, and continue until the position is filled.
• The Villaseñor-Derbez lab at the University of Miami is recruiting two fully funded PhD students in socio-ecological marine science to start in Fall 2026. Prospective students should contact Dr. Villaseñor-Derbez well in advance of the application deadline (December 1, 2025). Please include your CV and a 1-pager (max) description of your past experience in academic research, your research interests, and your motivations for pursuing a PhD. Students will enroll in the PhD program in Environmental Science and Policy, jointly administered by the Abess Center and the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Miami. Students will also be part of the Earth System Science initiative at the Institute for Data Science and Computing. Note that students don’t join the lab to work on specific projects. You will have the opportunity to develop your own research projects, so long as they align with our three pillars. Additionally, PhD students are required to enroll in the PhD Econometrics sequence at the Department of Economics to gain proficiency in causal inference techniques, as well as an Intro to Environmental Data Science class. Students may also opt to gain these skills via independent study or to substitute them for other quantitative skills (e.g. machine learning). All students are expected to be/become proficient in at least one scripting language (R / Python), as well as version control via git and GitHub.
• The Ives Lab in the Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, is recruiting a PhD student interested in working on a long-term ecological project at Lake Mývatn, Iceland. The research focuses on interactions between the population dynamics of midges in Mývatn and the aquatic ecosystem. The project encompasses population ecology, community ecology and ecosystem ecology, and the PhD student will have freedom to design their own research program to fit in with the overall objectives of understanding the ecology of Mývatn. The graduate student will not only be responsible for their own PhD research, but will also participate with the rest of the research team and mentor undergraduate students. To be competitive, prospective students should have substantial experience in collaborative research and fieldwork. Although not required, quantitative skills in, for example, statistical analyses are a plus. If you are interested, please prepare a cover letter and CV as a single pdf. Your cover letter should briefly outline your background and why you are interested in this position. In your CV, please include relevant information about your education and work experiences. Also provide names and contact information for at least three references whom we can contact to ask specific questions about your qualifications for the position. Our lab and the University of Wisconsin are committed to supporting scientists from underrepresented groups such as first-generation college students and students with underprivileged economic backgrounds. Please send this information by 1 November, 2025, to Tony Ives (professor) – arives@wisc.edu
• The Gerson Lab in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University (https://www.gersonlab.weebly.com) is recruiting a PhD student in biogeochemistry and aquatic ecology to start in fall 2026. If interested, please review our lab website for more information and then contact Dr. Jacqueline Gerson at jacqueline.gerson@cornell.edu. In your email, please include your CV, unofficial transcript, contact information for 3 references, and briefly address the following: 1) your previous research experience and/or relevant skills, 2) your research interests, and 3) why you are interested in joining this lab. The application deadline for PhD students is early December. Initial contact is requested prior to formally applying to the department.
• Recruiting two graduate students at The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute (UTMSI). Application deadline: November 1
• Doctoral researcher (m/f/d) in Marine Data Science in the project “AI-derived thermodynamic parameters for aqueous modelling (AI-queous)” at  GEOMAR. Deadline October 19
• PhD opportunity at University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Multiple fully-funded PhD position in the University of Cape Town Marine Biogeochemistry Laboratory focused on marine organic aerosols and ocean-atmosphere nitrogen cycling. The student will work collaboratively within a larger group associated with the Schmidt Sciences OBVI project entitled "Oxygen and biogeochemical dynamics along the west African margin: Processes and consequences (WAM)" and a National Research Foundation project entitled "Physical and biogeochemical drivers of marine organic aerosols in a complex coastal system". The exact project for each PhD student will be decided collaboratively based on experience and interests. Please circulate the advertisement widely. International students are welcome to apply. Please note, a MSc or equivalent is required to register for a PhD. Interested students can email katye.altieri@uct.ac.za with questions or send a CV and one page statement of interest. The application will remain open until filled.
• Dr. Wei-Jun Cai, from the School of Marine Science and Policy at the University of Delaware, is seeking two doctoral students to join his research group. Research topics include ocean uptake of anthropogenic carbon, ocean acidification (OA), and marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR). Interested students are encouraged to contact him at wcai@udel.edu
• Multiple PhD and PDF positions available at Dalhousie University- Ocean Carbon Climate Processes in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Open until filled