PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

Research ecology and/or interdisciplinary fire science at San José State University. Improve basic understanding of fire ecology, and help managers and regulators understand tradeoffs for treatments. 

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Current SJSU undergraduate students should complete an interest survey and send email to Kate.Wilkin@sjsu.edu.

 

Potential MS ecology students would be in the Biological Sciences Department’s Ecology and Evolution program, and participate in the new Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center, which was recently awarded a NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC). WIRC provides potential internal research funding and interdisciplinary collaborations between ecology and social scientists, climatologists, fire weather, fire behavior modeling, combustion engineer, fire behavior monitoring, and remote sensing. 

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Potential research topics:

• Home Ignition Zone (HIZ)

• Prescribed fire

• Fuel treatments, breaks and evacuation routes

• Plant ember production and combustion

• Pyrodiversity

• Youth fire education 

• Potentially your research interest

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Application Process: 

• Applicants should email Kate Wilkin (kate.wilkin@sjsu.edu) well in advance, and include some off the items needed for a formal application to SJSU:

  • Email subject: Prospective Graduate Student

  • Your interests in fire ecology, research interests and long-term career goals in a cover letter

  • CV with software, lab and field methods and equipment, language (especially Spanish), and other skills, and publications and presentations listed

  • Scores: GPA, GRE (not required, but share if taken)

  • One writing sample (report, published paper, technical report, or class research I

  • If you have one, one code example (R, Python, etc.) and product (analysis, figure, map)

  • Funding needs: Do you have a grant in-and? What are your needs?

  • Contact information for 3+ references

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Interested applicants must apply to the graduate school at San Jose State University using their application. and email additional support to the Graduate Coordinator.  Applications for January 2025 applicants are due by October 1, 2024 and August 2025 applicants must apply by March 1, 2025. You will send your letter of interest, list of references, and name(s) of faculty that you want to work with AND your references send letters directly to the Graduate Coordinator October 15, 2024 for spring applicants and March 15, 2025 for fall applicants. 

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Please note, I am accepting one fully funded student for prescribed fire effects on vegetation diversity research for Spring 2025 and am open to other students beginning in Spring or Fall 2025.