Graduate Research Opportunities
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I welcome inquiries from motivated and passionate students interested in human–environment dynamics, just and sustainable transformations, grassroots innovations, urban–rural relations, social–ecological change, ecosystem services, and the role of crises (e.g., climate change, COVID-19, environmental degradation, and economic crises) in driving these changes. I have opening openings for specific projects (see below), but I am also open to discussing other project ideas that align with my broader research interests. In the Fall 2027, I have funding to support master’s students on several funded projects:
I particularly encourage applications from students with:
If you are interested in these topics but do not have experience in all these areas, I still encourage you to get in touch. Postdoctoral opportunity: We are also seeking a postdoctoral researcher to coordinate and contribute to PATH. The position will be based at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and co-supervised by Dr. Christopher Luederitz and Dr. Karina Benessaiah. More information about the position. Prospective applicants should contact me via email – kbenessa@uoguelph.ca - and forward: 1) brief statement outlining their interests and qualifications in relation to the project they are interested in, 2) their resume or CV as well as an unofficial transcript, 3) a writing/research sample of past work of relevance to the proposed project. If admitted, students will receive funding following our department’s graduate financial support policy. Our department and I strive to foster collaborative and genuinely supportive spaces that value diversity and wellbeing in research and in our personal lives. |
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I’m always happy to chat about research opportunities for students with interests in terrestrial hydrology and/or remote sensing. Positions are available for students at the PhD or MSc level. Several funded positions are typically available to students interested in the applied use of GIS and remote sensing for observation of soil moisture (both passive and active sensors), soil freeze thaw processes, and agricultural land management. All projects provide excellent opportunities for combining field work, laboratory and computer analysis. We have field sites in the arctic, within boreal forests, and in agricultural regions. Students with backgrounds in Physical Geography or Geomatics, Physical Sciences, Engineering or Computer Sciences are encouraged to contact me to discuss available projects and funding opportunities. |
Environmental GovernanceI am always looking for outstanding graduate students with interests and expertise in environmental governance most generally. More narrowly, I can support MA and PhD students focused on any of: novel governance in Canada's mining sector; Indigenous communities, energy transitions, and carbon management; and agri-environmental stewardship, including carbon management, in highly productive landscapes. |
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At present there are no graduate opportunities with my group, but I am always happy to speak with enthusiastic scholars looking to pursue potential graduate (typically MSc) or senior undergraduate research opportunities. Perhaps a conversation can help you find a research group that does have graduate opportunities that fit your schedule. |
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The Guelph Earth Observation Laboratory (GEOLab) is looking to recruit two (2) Phd students to start in the summer or fall of 2027 on the following projects:
Remote Sensing of Agricultural Flooding & Precision Conservation Periodic flooding on low-lying agricultural fields reduces crop yields, but these same areas can also provide valuable ecosystem services such as hydrologic regulation and nutrient retention. In this project, the successful candidate will develop new satellite-based methods to map flooding patterns across agricultural lands in Ontario using moderate-resolution optical and SAR image time series. Resulting maps will be used in conjunction with modelling tools like the Agricultural Conservation and Planning Framework (ACPF) to identify areas well-suited to wetland restoration and other beneficial management practices (BMPs). Click here for a full description and application instructions.
Remote Sensing of Species Assembly Dynamics in Dry Tropical Forests The LEMR Lab (led by Dr. Travis Steffens) and the GEOLab are seeking a highly motivated PhD student to lead an innovative research project that integrates satellite and drone remote sensing with tropical community ecology. The successful candidate will pair high-resolution remote sensing data with intensive ground-based monitoring to investigate how changes to forest structure, composition, and dynamics drive the patterns and processes of species assembly and disassembly. This position is focussed on advanced computational and data-driven modeling and may include rugged, hands-on field ecology. Click here for a full description and application instructions. |
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I am looking to recruit 1-2 Masters students and possibly a PhD student (funding dependent) for Fall 2027. I welcome inquiries from prospective graduate students who share my interests in examining innovative solutions to building more sustainable, equitable and resilient food systems. I am particularly interested in exploring the role of community food infrastructure (e.g. food hubs, food centres, etc.) as critical multi-use infrastructure for strengthening food system resilience, equitable food access, polycrisis preparedness, and national security (and related stakeholder politics).
I also remain focused on examining how to strengthen the inclusion of immigrant and racialized populations in community food security initiatives; food entrepreneurism and innovation across agri-food systems.
Finally I am interested in exploring the social and physical infrastructure and resources that are needed to enable sustainable community food social enterprises and alternative food retail.
I am looking for students that are skilled and/or interested in deepening their skills in mixed, qualitative methods (e.g. focus groups, interviews, policy and discourse analysis); community-engaged, participatory research and knowledge mobilization approaches.
Please email your inquiries to me directly and include a CV/resume and brief statement of your interests.
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Forest Ecology, Climate Change, WildfirePlease contact me regarding potential graduate student opportunities (zgedalof@uoguelph.ca |
Political Ecology, Marine Conservation, Ocean Governance, and Island FuturesI welcome inquiries from prospective graduate students (MA or PhD) who share my research interests in marine conservation governance, “blue economy” policies and impacts, and/or the science-policy interface in the context of conservation and environmental governance, particularly in islands. Please contact me directly to discuss opportunities; inquiries should include a CV/resume and brief statement of your interests. |
Feminist Methods/Feminist GeographiesI am seeking one Masters student for next fall. Seeking applicants with an interest in feminist theory, feminist methodologies and geographies that fit with my own areas of research expertise. This could include research on digital technologies, social media, environmental politics, or academic institutions. Students will receive financial support following the policy in the Department of Geography. Please contact rhawkins@uoguelph.ca for more information. |
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I am looking for undergraduate/graduate research assistants and post-doctoral fellows to join my team. We are launching a research program to develop an Indigenous value-based environmental health risk assessment approach and I am interested in students who want to or have worked with Indigenous communities. I am happy to chat with you about your research interests if you have strong skills in Indigenous methods, statistics, ArcGIS StoryMaps, or qualitative methods, and strong software skills. The communities I am working with right now are in southern Ontario and northern Alberta. Please feel free to contact me to discuss available projects and funding opportunities. I am a member of the Indigenous Mentorship Network of Ontario (https://imnp.uwo.ca/) and the Wabanaki-Labrador Indigenous Health Research Network (http://wabanaki-labradornetwork.ca/). |
GIS, Geomorphometry, LiDAR Remote Sensing, Spatial Analysis, HydrologyProf. John Lindsay is looking for 1-2 new Masters students to join the Geomorphometry and Hydrogeomatics Research Group (GHRG) in Fall 2020. These fully-funded students will take on a research project related to the broad range of geomorphometry (digital terrain analysis), spatial hydrology, and LiDAR remote sensing topics actively studied within the GHRG. Specifically, Prof. Lindsay is looking for students to work on projects related to improving information extracted from the newly acquired Ontario LiDAR topographic data sets. Application areas include predictive soils mapping, soil organic carbon, and the study of accessibility in urban areas. Like all graduate members of the GHRG, the incoming students will be involved in the application and development of novel techniques for handling these data in spatial hydrological applications. GHRG students are provided advanced training in GIS and geomatics more broadly and have opportunity to gain experience with terrain mapping equipment, LiDAR data, and spatial analysis software (GIS and remote sensing). Interested applicants are encouraged to email Prof. Lindsay (jlindsay@uoguelph.ca) with a statement of interest and experience and an unofficial transcript. |
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Faisal welcomes students who are interested in pursuing graduate opportunities in his People, Plants and Policy lab to contact him by email (fmoola@uoguelph.ca). The 3P lab presents interdisciplinary opportunities for students to pursue Masters and PhD degrees focused on conservation policy and practice, forest management, plant ecology (at the species and community level) and ethnobotany in partnership with Indigenous Peoples. Faisal is particularly interested in students with strong academic backgrounds, who are comfortable with field work and are interested in scholarly collaboration and writing. |
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I welcome inquiries from prospective MA students interested in understanding the role of data technologies like AI in environmental governance. Students should be interested in conducting interviews, document analysis, surveys, and/or statistical and spatial analysis for their research. I can offer training in communication skills - including mapping, data visualization, and public writing - and in the scholarly fields of political ecology and science and technology studies. Students would have the opportunity to collaborate with the Environmental and Data Governance Initiative and other partners. Former graduate students have gone on to work in academia and in the conservation and environmental NGO sectors.
Interested candidates should email me with a brief statement of interest, an unofficial transcript, and a writing/research sample.
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Are you interested in exploring the social dimensions of waste in Canada? I welcome inquiries from prospective MA students who are passionate about the social science of waste systems and are eager to contribute to community-based research. My research examines the social life of waste, and I’m interested in supervising projects on topics such as: food waste and food insecurity, the gendered dynamics of waste systems, circular economy discourses, waste-related labour practices, the governance of waste flows in Canada, and other related topics. I prioritize applicants with employment or volunteer experience in waste-related sectors, community organizations, food systems, or environmental initiatives. Please note that I am currently considering MA applications only, and am not considering PhD applicants at this time. |
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My research program examines the colonial logics of mainstream conservation and seeks to foster decolonial alternatives. I am particularly interested in the risks and opportunities for transformative change in the sector and working collaboratively to build a conservation science that upholds multiple knowledge systems. I welcome inquiries from prospective MA and PhD students with strong community ties looking to advance the conceptualization and practice of decolonized conservation. |
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I lead, collaborate and advise research in two main areas: i) the politics and governance of oceans and fisheries; ii) the promises, pitfalls and discourses of digital technology as a ‘solution’ to environmental change. Political ecology is a lens and theoretical home base for both areas of research. I welcome inquiries from individuals interested in a MA or PhD; background in social science and/or environmental governance will be considered an asset and opportunities available will vary from year to year. Offers to successful applicants will detail a funding package that follows the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics graduate financial support policy. Funds for fieldwork and conference attendance will also be made available and allocated at a level appropriate for the graduate student research project and other professional development objectives. If we have some shared interests and you would like to learn more, please reach out over email. Please indicate as clearly as possible how your background, training and research interests overlap with my own and which research area(s) listed above you would like to know more about. |
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Are you passionate about bridging the gap between core ecological theories and cutting-edge remote sensing technology? The LEMR and GEO labs in the Department of Geography, Environment & Geomatics at the University of Guelph is seeking a highly motivated PhD student to lead an innovative research project that integrates satellite and drone remote sensing with tropical community ecology.
This project aims to uncover how macro-scale environmental variation shapes local lemur species richness, occurrence and interactions within the hyper-diverse, endemic, and threatened dry forests of western Madagascar. The successful candidate will pair high-resolution remote sensing data with intensive ground-based monitoring to investigate how changes to forest structure, composition, and dynamics drive the patterns and processes of species assembly and disassembly.
Here is the link to the position application instructions: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5259ee0ce4b0daa056d08a5f/t/6ab56e3fc276e34943ffabe6/1790275135446/PhD+Position_Recruitment.pdf
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GIS and Watershed ManagementI am recruiting one Ph.D. and/or one MSc student to join my research program on examining cost effectiveness of agricultural conservation programs (https://weg.uoguelph.ca). My research team members, comprising postdoctoral fellows, graduate, and undergraduate research assistants, have versatile expertise in watershed hydrologic modeling, integrated GIS, hydrologic and economic modeling, watershed evaluation of beneficial management practices (BMPs), and desktop GIS and WebGIS based interface tool development. I welcome students from all related disciplines such as geography, hydrology, soil science, ecology, economics, and forestry. Students will have flexibility in choosing a range of research topics related to GIS-based watershed hydrologic and integrated economic-hydrologic modelling and GIS interface development. Sample projects may include watershed modelling to identify critical source areas on agricultural landscapes for water quality protection, and to examine economic and environmental trade-offs of conservation practices in agricultural watersheds. Students will receive well rounded training in GIS, watershed modelling, economic analysis, and policy evaluation related to various aspects of agricultural conservation programs. Previous graduate students have gained employment in government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and consulting firms. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Dr. Wanhong Yang (wayang@uoguelph.ca) to discuss further. |
). I encourage applications from not only biogeographers, but also individuals with backgrounds in ecology, botany, climatology, forestry, statistics, or other related disciplines.