Center for Native Peoples and the Environment
Scholarships & Fellowships

Joining the ESF Community

Our academic programs are designed to nurture the next generation of environmental professionals who are equipped with the perspectives of both environmental science and indigenous knowledge. We encourage you to explore the diverse array of academic programs that SUNY ESF has to offer.

• ESF Academics
• ESF Financial Aid
• Undergraduate Admissions
• Graduate Admissions
• Current Opportunities for Indigenous Students
• ESF Grant and Scholarship Programs

Current Scholarship and Fellowship Opportunities

Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership

Are you interested in the integration of indigenous and scientific knowledges in environmental research? Do you want a STEM career in service to land and culture? The Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science & Forestry is recruiting students for graduate study in diverse environmental sciences from ecology, sustainability, conservation biology to restoration and environmental engineering. As a member of the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership, the program provides funding for full tuition and stipends for Native American students pursuing MS and PhD degrees. Applications are open so please join us in this exciting initiative.

Sloan Program Information

Haudenosaunee Scholar Award

Our prestigious Haudenosaunee Scholar Award is a four-year scholarship providing $5,000 per year for two undergraduate Haudenosaunee students showing strong potential as environmental leaders.

ESF Office of Financial Aid

ESF Undergraduate Diversity Scholarships

Native American undergraduate students from all nations may be eligible for ESF Diversity Scholarships worth up to $2,000 per year based on financial need. Interested students should complete the FAFSA and contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships to identify themselves as potential recipients.

ESF Office of Financial Aid

ESF Graduate Diversity Fellowship Program

ESF's Graduate Diversity Fellowship Program provides financial support, which may include full in-state tuition and a stipend, to graduate students who contribute to the diversity of the student body in their graduate programs and have overcome a disadvantage or other impediment to success in higher education. Funding is available for a maximum duration of two years for a master’s degree and three years for a doctoral degree.

Funding Sources for ESF Graduate Students

Government grants and scholarships are also available through the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the New York State Department of Education. More information about these and other financial assistance programs for Native American students can be obtained through ESF's Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Native students at ESF also benefit from the support services of the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity and the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.

Past Programs

Sowing Synergy: A Graduate Program to Integrate Indigenous & Scientific Knowledge for Sustainability and Biocultural Restoration

With support from a Higher Education Challenge award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the ESF Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, we developed a new graduate program integrating indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge in service to sustainability. The award supports an initial cohort of three new Native American graduate students with full tuition, stipend and research expenses, as well as undergraduate research apprenticeships. Biocultural restoration serves as the unifying theme for coursework and research. Biocultural restoration is the science and practice of restoring not only ecosystems, but human and cultural relationships to place, so that cultures are strengthened and revitalized along with the lands to which they are inextricably linked. Students are encouraged to build their research around the needs of indigenous communities, to serve the goals of biocultural restoration. The program includes new course development, publications, student enrichment and faculty workshops designed to link Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Scientific Ecological Knowledge in research, education and service to native lands and communities.

Sowing Synergy program details

Graduate Fellowship in Forest Ecology and Climate Change in Tribal and Research Forests

In 2013, The Center for Native Peoples and the Environment supported two fully funded Masters of Science graduate fellowships which integrated traditional ecological knowledge and environmental science to better understand the impacts of climate change on forested ecosystems in the Great Lakes, including biophysical as well as biocultural dimensions. Working in collaboration with our partner, the College of the Menominee Nation, graduate students conducted their research in two "sister forests" of the well known Menominee Forest and ESF's Huntington Forest. Graduate students also helped mentor a team of undergraduates from both SUNY ESF and College of the Menominee Nation in conducting undergraduate research. Students had an opportunity to contribute to the development of a cross-cultural forest ecology course which drew upon both indigenous and scientific knowledge. This program was funded by an award to SUNY ESF and College of the Menominee Nation from the USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant program.

Students had an opportunity to contribute to the development of a cross-cultural forest ecology course which drew upon both indigenous and scientific knowledge. This program was funded by an award to SUNY ESF and College of the Menominee Nation from the USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant program.