California State Polytechnic University Scholarship - Graduate Student (MSc) Position in Avian Ecology and Remote Sensing

The Scordato Lab at Cal Poly Pomona invites applications for a Master’s student to study avian ecology in a Southern California agroecosystem.

The Scordato Lab is part of the SPACES Institute, a NASA-funded initiative aimed at integrating remote sensing data into on-the-ground assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The student will have access to >4 years of longitudinal data on bird community structure, data on arthropod communities, newly collected high-resolution lidar and hyperspectral data, as well as existing NASA remote sensing products.

The Master’s student will be expected to work on all aspects of the research project, collaborate closely with other members of our interdisciplinary research team, and lead the preparation of at least one peer-reviewed manuscript.

The student will have opportunities to identify their own professional development priorities to advance their chosen career path. This position is funded for two years with the possibility of a third year. The expected start date is Fall 2027.

Required qualifications:

1. a Bachelor’s degree in biology, ecology, environmental science, wildlife biology, or a similar field;

2. strong writing and quantitative skills; 3) a valid US driver’s license.

Competitive applicants will be flexible, positive, and communicative during challenging fieldwork; enjoy data analysis and writing; and be passionate about communicating science to broad audiences.

 Preferred qualifications (but do not hesitate to apply if you do not have these):

1. experience with avian point counts and/or strong identification skills for Southern California birds;

2. experience conducting field research, particularly in challenging conditions;

3. familiarity with R and/or Python; and/or

4. experience working with geospatial data.

The California State Polytechnic University Scholarship is supported by a fully funded assistantship that includes;

• tuition fees

• living stipend starting at $28,000 per year

Please reach out Liz Scordato at escordato@cpp.edu with any questions. To apply, please send the following to escordato@cpp.edu by November 13th. 

• 1

  Cover Letter (max 1 page)

• 2

  CV with academic and professional experience 

• 3

  The names and contact information for 2-3 references 

Review of applications will begin November 13th, and interviews will be scheduled for mid to late November.  

Read more about the project here: https://www.scordatolab.com/ and the SPACES Institute here: https://www.spacesinstitute.org/