Who should apply to the Sustainable Systems Research Group?
The Sustainable Systems Research Group is a group in the University of Southern California’s Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. We recruit high-performing students that are passionate about energy, water, climate change, and environmental issues. Since these issues are multidimensional, students across a wide-range of disciplines such as Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Computer Science are encouraged to apply. In addition to rigorous engineering research, our group is driven to engage with the community about our results by publishing in peer-reviewed journals, presenting at conferences, addressing policymakers, and participating in community outreach projects. Thus, prospective students should be excited to communicate with the global community through written and spoken communication platforms.
Admission to the group each year is limited by available grant funding availability. Accordingly students that have their own research funding secured are much more likely to be granted admission to the group. Below are resources on internal and external funding sources. All interested students should investigate these potential fellowships and consider applying.
Internal Research Funding Opportunties for Current USC students:
- USE WiSE Undergraduate Research Fellow Program
- Center for Undergraduate Research in Viterbi Engineering (CURVE) Fellowship
- USC Provost’s Undergraduate Research Fellowships
Internal Fellowships and External Fellowships for PhD applicants:
The Viterbi School of Engineering offers a number of fellowships to high-performing students. Click here for information regarding USC Viterbi School of Engineering Fellowships.
In addition to internal fellowships, there are external fellowships that students can apply for. Prospective students and current students are urged to submit applications to applicable external fellowships before or during the first semester of their graduate studies. These fellowships are prestigious additions to any resume or CV and offer successful awardees a great deal of flexibility in scoping their graduate studies. Many of these fellowships offer up to three years of tuition support and living expenses.
A few pertinent fellowships include:
- National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program
- Environmental Protection Agency Fellowships
- Fulbright US Student Program
- Hertz Foundation Fellowships
- Department of Energy Fellowships
- Department of Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowships
- National Academies Fellowships
- Link Foundation Energy Fellowships
- The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Science and Technology Policy
- Switzer Foundation Grant Program
- National Water Research Institute
- Switzer Foundation Fellowships
- Society of Women Engineers
- Resources for the Future Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships
Fellowships for non-US citizens include:
- Link Foundation Energy Fellowships
- Fulbright Foreign Student Program
- Aga Khan Foundation
- AAUW International Fellowships
- Ford Foundation International Fellowships
- International Federation of University Women
- Schlumberger Foundation: Faculty for the Future Fellowships
This list is not exhaustive so students should seek out other funding opportunities. Also check out phds.me.