UMD Global STEWARDS Graduate Program

Interdisciplinary experiential learning with a study abroad immersion

Project Leads: Dr. Suhana Chattopadhyay, Dr. Rianna Murray

The UMD Global STEWARDS Graduate Program is a graduate training fellowship that was originally funded from 2018-2023 by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NSF-NRT) program. This year, a modified version of the fellowship program will continue beyond the end of the NSF grant through integration into the new Global FEWture Alliance Institutional Grand Challenges Program. This new iteration of the fellowship program will prepare future leaders focused on innovations at the nexus of food, energy and water (FEW) systems.

UMD doctoral students from the life and public health sciences, earth system sciences, engineering and computational sciences, social behavioral sciences, natural resource management, energy and environmental policy, and other FEW-related doctoral programs are encouraged to apply. The UMD Global STEWARDS program trains doctoral students to work and communicate across FEW disciplines, from molecular to societal levels and from local to global scales, enabling transformative discoveries that can only be realized through interdisciplinary approaches.

UMD Global STEWARDS Fellows will participate in five experiential, interdisciplinary research elements:

Introductory and advanced experiential coursework (total of 4 credit hours intended to be accommodated within the student’s existing credit requirements)
A monthly international webinar series that focuses on food-energy-water-climate-health topics
An intensive professional development course focused on professional development activities (1 credit hour, intended to be accommodated within the student’s existing credit requirements).
A “Global Summer Amp” optional study-abroad course in Tanzania or Nepal (a two-week, faculty-led, broadening experience; 3 credit hours)
Student led activities focused on mentorship, outreach, seminar planning, social activities, and social media.

The Graduate STEWARDS project's objectives are to:

Offer two graduate-level FEW courses MIEH 690 (2 credits) and MIEH 691 (2 credits)
Offer an intensive professional development course (1 credit) and a optional research-based study abroad course (3 credits)
Mentor 2-3 interdisciplinary project teams working on an existing GFA project
Train graduate students on FEW nexus concepts and foster innovation on FEW nexus challenges.