Student Support Program

About the Student Support Program

Originally known as the Rutgers Climate Institute Student Support Fund, this initiative was created in 2015 with a generous seed grant to the Rutgers Climate Institute from the family of William H. Greenberg (Rutgers University Class of 1944) to support Rutgers student travel and related expenses for the purposes of climate change education and research. With the Fall 2023 creation of Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI), the Rutgers Student Support Program transitioned to RCEI.

The RCEI Student Support Program is intended to further students' education and scholarship, enable them to develop, conduct and collaborate with other academics, and improve their ability to translate their research to a range of constituencies (e.g., general public, other students, educators, policymakers, governmental and non-governmental organizations) all key to their training as the next generation of climate and energy scientists, educators, and professionals. In addition, the Student Support Program facilitates students' ability to showcase their research, network and establish connections that will contribute to their success once they have completed their education at Rutgers University.

Eligibility is limited to Rutgers Ph.D. and M.F.A. students whose major area of research involves one or more of the following dimensions of climate change and renewable energy or energy conservation scholarship:

Earth system science relating to climate change, including Earth’s physical, geochemical, and biological systems.
Human dimensions of climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. This includes understanding the causes of climate change, the societal, economic, and behavioral impacts of climate change and the ways in which people and institutions (i.e., policy) respond to these changes.
Renewable energy, technology, and energy conservation. This includes the use of technology to harness energy from sustainable sources like solar or wind power, and the implementation of methods to reduce energy consumption and waste.
Climate change communication and environmental humanities, including raising awareness and inspiring action through the arts and humanities

The fund provides support to enable Rutgers Ph.D. students to participate in conferences, workshops, symposia, professional meetings, field activities, and visits to federal or state agencies or universities for educational or research purposes.  Eligible expenses include attendance fees, lodging, meals, and transportation.  The maximum award for any one student will be $1,500 unless special circumstances can be identified by the student's faculty mentor.

Application Deadlines

For travel and related expenses that will occur between November 15 and May 15, applications are due by 11:59 pm, October 15.
For travel and related expenses that will occur between May 16 and November 14, applications are due by 11:59 pm, April 1.

To Apply

To be considered for funding through the RCEI Student Support Program, an applicant must (1) complete the online application and (2) ensure their faculty mentor submits a brief statement of support for their travel by the appropriate application deadline. More details on both items are below.

The applicant must complete the online application (to be made available 1 month before deadline). To view a pdf of the questions on the application, see here. Below, is a summary of the information requested in the application.
- Applicants' name, email and telephone, major area of study, program year, anticipated date of graduation, advisor, GPA and date(s) of travel.
- Funding amount requested and total estimated travel expense.
- Up to three paragraphs describing specifically what the student is requesting support for and an explicit link to how such an award is in keeping with the purpose of the RCEI Student Support Program (i.e., specify how the student’s research explicitly relates to one or more of the above dimensions of climate change).
- Identification of any prior  Rutgers Climate Institute (RCI) or RCEI travel funding support.
- Acknowledgement that if awarded, upon completion of the student's travel, the student will submit a brief report to RCEI on activities during the trip and the benefits of the trip to the student's scholarship. Photographs or images of activities documenting the student's experiences with appropriate captions should be included. The acknowledgement should also specify that any presentation, poster, talk or publication that results from this support will recognize in writing the support of the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute. Examples of these reports can be found on this web page below.
- Acknowledgement that if awarded, the student will complete a follow-up survey about the outcomes of their travels. We will ask the student to take this survey six months after they return from their travels.
- A curriculum vitae is optional but encouraged.
The applicant's faculty mentor must submit a brief statement of support for the student's travel via email directly to Oliver Stringham (rcei_contact@rutgers.edu), Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ask their advisor to write this statement and ensure their advisor has submitted the statement by the application deadline.

Note: students who have received funding through this program in the past are eligible to apply. Awards will be made based on available funds and number of applicants. Priority will be given to students who have not received funds in the past.