Available Graduate Assistantships in the Frey Lab

M.S. ASSISTANSHIP: Natural History Museum Curatorial Management

The Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology at New Mexico State University seeks a highly motivated Master’s student to assist the department with developing policy and managing the NMSU Fish and Wildlife Museum. Like many small natural history museum collections around the world, the NMSU Fish and Wildlife Museum contains a large number of legacy specimens that predate contemporary federal laws and policies that regulate the collection, ownership and use of these materials. The student will conduct research on the legalities and appropriate policies and management actions for dealing with such legacy collections and this analysis will form part of the student’s thesis research. The student will facilitate implementing these management actions in the museum. In addition, the student will conduct a specimen-based research problem in vertebrate biology (e.g., morphological identification of species of pocket gophers in New Mexico; predicting biogeographic patterns of mammal diversity, using species distribution models to predict contact zone between swift and kit fox, etc). Specific questions and methodologies will be developed with the student and are not limited to mammals. The student will be advised by Dr. Jennifer K. Frey and will be a member of the Frey Lab for Mammalian Ecology and Conservation.

The student may be expected to supervise undergraduate assistants or volunteers. The student is expected to present their research at professional conferences, publish research results in peer-reviewed journals, and assist with preparation of reports and grant proposals. The study will form the basis of the student’s Master’s thesis in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology at New Mexico State University.  Annual salary is $27,828 plus tuition and health insurance stipend. The starting date is 19 August 2025 and is anticipated for 2 years.

Qualifications:

·       Bachelor’s degree in wildlife science, biology, evolution, or conservation ecology OR a Bachelor’s degree in museum science along with significant coursework in ecology and evolution

·       > 3.4 GPA

·       Ability to work with a team

·       Ability to communicate effectively in a professional setting, both orally and in writing

·       Ability to supervise undergraduate assistants

·       US Driver’s license

Preferred Qualifications:

·       Knowledge of vertebrate taxonomy

·       Experience with natural history collections

·       Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail

·       Excellent writing ability

·       Experience conducting research

·       Experience using ArcGIS and/or R

·       Highly competitive GRE scores (e.g., > 70th percentile on verbal and quantitative portion)

For consideration, please prepare a single PDF that includes: letter of interest, resume, unofficial transcripts, and GRE scores (not required but helpful). The letter of interest must explain your experience relevant to the minimum and preferred qualifications and how the position would fit with your academic and professional goals. Letters that do not address these points will not be considered. Submit application materials at this link https://airtable.com/apppXPmuyXykkQFgn/pagRrUb6cKOnuZnka/form

Materials will be reviewed as received and the position filled upon finding a suitable applicant.  Information about the department can be found at http://aces.nmsu.edu/academics/fws/. 

Dr. Jennifer K. Frey, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology, PO Box 3003, Campus Box 4901, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88003-0003;

https://sites.google.com/view/frey-lab/home

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jennifer_Frey3;

jfrey@nmsu.edu.