Prospective Grad Students

Our work in the Conservation Innovation Lab consists of theoretically and practically driven conservation work in a variety of systems. We are a diverse group, and our lab has supported students pursuing degrees across a range of disciplinary programs. These include:

• Ecology, Economics and Ethics of the Environment (4E) 

• Environmental Life Sciences

• Sustainability

• Applied Mathematics in the Life and Social Sciences

Our lab has supported students who are interested in quantitative and qualitative projects, with governments, stakeholders, and/or NGOs, posing social, biological, and ecological questions both here in Arizona and around the world! Students in our lab are thus able to pursue paths and lines of inquiry with a great degree of independence and choice. Generally, students need to seek sources of their own funding to support their projects. Students from traditionally underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply. 

We have a particular interest in engaging students in the following projects:

• Assessing how knowledge plays a role in conservation decision-making

• Evaluating risks and opportunities for accounting for biodiversity in the business sector

• Prioritizing conservation investment in curbing biodiversity loss

• Applying evidence synthesis to conservation and decision-making

• Developing market-based approaches to wildlife conservation and poaching

• Evaluating the role of marine wildlife tourism in coupled human-natural systems

• Assessing cumulative human impacts of stressors on marine mammals

• Developing a standard for using range maps in cetacean IUCN Red List assessments

• Fostering innovation in curbing marine plastic pollution

• Integrating metrics of natural capital into fisheries supply chains

• Understanding the role of institutions in marine conservation outcomes

If you are interested in becoming a graduate student member of our lab, you should:

1. Review Current Graduate Student interests and projects, linked on this website.

2. Read some of the lab’s recent papers under Publications or Current Research Projects.

3. Send an email to Dr. Gerber if you think you might be a good fit for the lab. You should include the following:

1. 1. • a statement of why you want to attend graduate school and why you think our lab is a good fit for you,

      • past research, projects, or experiences you have done that may prepare you for graduate school, 

      • the names and institutions of the people you will ask for letters of recommendation,

      • your GPA and GRE scores (including your percentile scores, not just the raw scores),

      • a list of the courses that have mattered the most to you in undergraduate school,

      • special skills you have (e.g., GIS, interview skills, economic analyses, fieldwork)

      • Try to keep this email to around one page. Be succinct where possible. We want to know all about you but getting in the habit of writing succinctly is a great skill to hone!

4. If you are a good potential fit, we can discuss the most appropriate program.

5. If you apply, plan to contact current graduate students. 

6. Start thinking about interesting and innovative conservation projects!