PhD Students

Degree Logistics

Step-by-step overview of doctoral process: https://nutrition.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/documents-forms/PhDOverviewChart.pdf

Forms and where to send them:

Forms page: https://nutrition.tufts.edu/students/registrar/forms

Please send the following forms to PhDforms@tufts.edu

  • Annual Progress Report Form
  • Request for Qualifying Examination Date and Committee Form
  • PhD Qualifying Examination Report Form
  • Thesis Letter of Intent Form
  • Doctoral Compact Form
  • Thesis Committee Report Form
  • Thesis Proposal Defense Report Form

Please send forms related to Graduation to Michelle.Frankfort@tufts.edu

  • Approval for Thesis Binding
  • Approval of Thesis for Public Defense
  • Thesis Defense Report and Part B with any Itemized Changes, If Needed Form

A Guide to Fellowships

The following table of fellowship opportunities has been compiled by the Friedman School's Training Grant, Fellowship, and Finance Coordinator.

Fellowship NIFA/AFRI F31 GRFP
Mechanism USDA NIH NSF
Application Dates July 19, 2018 April 6, August 8, December 8, 2018 October 22-26
(based on field of study)
What does it pay for?

Predoctoral Fellowship: up to 2 years

$35,000 stipend per year

$22,00 tuition, fees, benefits, travel, workshops, supplies, and publications per year.

$3,000 Institutional allowance (in lieu of indirect costs) 

Predoctoral Fellowship: up to 5 years (typically 2-3 years)

$24,324 stipend per year

60% of tuition up to $16,000 per year

$9,850 institutional allowance (including health insurance costs)

Predoctoral Fellowship: up to 3 years of support

$34,000 stipend per year

$12,000 cost-of-education allowance per year
Topic Areas

AFRI Farm Bill Priority Areas:

1. Agriculture economics and rural communities.

2. Agriculture systems and technology

3. Animal health, production, and products

4. Bioenergy, natural resources, and environment.

5. Food safety, nutrition, and health

6. Plant health, production, and products.

 NIH Participating Organizations
There are over 20 NIH participating organizations, please visit the link above to view the complete list.

NSF Fields of Study:

1. Life Science, Geosciences

2. Computer and Information Science and Engineering; Engineering, Materials Research

3.Psychology, Social Sciences, STEM Education and Learning

4. Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences, Physics and Anatomy
Stage of Research The intent of the Predoctoral Fellowship Program is to support current doctoral students who are at the stage of conducting dissertation research, ultimately leading to completion of the dissertation and respective terminal degree. Predoctoral students, inclusive of those with baccalaureate and/or master’s degrees, who meet the criteria, may apply. *The predoctoral project director (PD) must be a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States. The purpose of the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (Parent F31) is to enable promising predoctoral students to obtain individualized, mentored research training from outstanding faculty sponsors while conducting dissertation research. Applicants for the F31 must be candidates for the PhD degree and have identified a dissertation research project and sponsor(s). * By the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. Effective as of the 2017, graduate students are limited to only one application to the GRFP, submitted either in the first year or in the second year of graduate school.

*The applicant must be a US citizen or permanent resident by the application deadline.

Other Funding Opportunities

Job Opportunities

How to find them:

  • Chronicle of higher education (www.chronicle.com)
  • HigherEdJobs.com
  • AcademicKeys.com
  • Sciencecareers.org
  • Higher education research consortium (www.hercjobs.org)
  • Insidehighered.com
  • www.academic360.com

Friedman Career Services, including a section on developing a CV and applying for academic positions: https://nutrition.tufts.edu/students/career-services

Local, on-going opportunities to do a postdoc:

TEACRS Program - TEACRS fellows are provided with up to four years of support and a wealth of resources to better prepare them as future faculty. They spend 75% of their time in research, with the remaining time devoted to teaching and career development activities.

Tufts CTSI TL1 Fellowship Program – For those with an interest in clinical and translational research, you are encouraged to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship. These are prestigious, NIH-funded programs that provide a stipend and full tuition for the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) Graduate Program.

Current Postdoc Opportunities:

 

  • The Department of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University (MSU) is searching for a full-time Research Associate (post doc) to be a part of a four-year grant funded through the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research that is modeling ways to transform the food system in Flint, Michigan for better health, economic and social outcomes.  The position will start as soon as an appropriate candidate is found, preferably Fall 2018.  Candidates will be based in Flint, Michigan, with frequent travel to the MSU campus in East Lansing, Michigan.

 

  • The Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is seeking a post-doctoral researcher to join a research team examining groundwater use and aquifer conditions in the High Plains Aquifer using economic and hydrologic modeling and econometric analysis. A primary part of the work will involve evaluating the relationship between USDA policies (e.g. CRP, CREP), other water and energy management policies, and aquifer conditions using a variety of fine-scale geospatial data. A further topic of interest is to determine the potential to combine USGS high-resolution regional datasets on groundwater characteristics with USDA program administrative data. Other areas of work could include using hydroeconomic modeling to evaluate long-term impacts of programs, policies, and land management decisions on aquifer conditions. Candidates with experience with interdisciplinary modeling, optimization methods, and management of large geospatial datasets are preferred. The selected individual will work in collaboration with Drs. Taro Mieno, Karina Schoengold, and Nicholas Brozovic from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as with collaborators at USDA-ERS and the US Geological Survey. In addition, the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute and the Nebraska Water Center provide further opportunities for disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaborative research on water resource management in the High Plains and elsewhere.  The post-doctoral researcher position is funded through a contract from USDA-ERS. Questions about the position can be sent to Dr. Taro Mieno at tmieno2@unl.edu.  Interested applicants should submit the following to Lacey Bodnar at lbodnar@nebraska.edu:
  1. CV
  2. Transcripts (unofficial is fine)
  3. Writing sample
  4. Names and contact information for two references. 

Professional Development

Current workshops and opportunities

On-going programs

IMPACT Program – hosted at MIT, the program is for advanced doctoral students and postdocs from the Boston area and from all areas of health research, with the goal of advancing trainees’ abilities to shape and create career opportunities, and to become the stewards of (take ownership of) their careers.

Resources for Scientific Manuscript Writing

Self-learning online resources:

Non-Degree Coursework offered by Tufts Clinical Translational Science Graduate Program:

  • Popular among students, Fall course taught by Jessica Paulus, Scientific Manuscript Writing, focuses on principles of scientific manuscript writing in greater detail for early stage researchers.  Students may also consider taking two courses in a year-long series, Fall with Jessica  and Spring with Rob Goldberg, PhD. Meeting all criteria and approval from the faculty instructor, non-matriculated students can enroll. Each course costs $1667 (Tufts or Northeastern students may be eligible for free or reduced tuition). Applications are due two weeks prior to the start of each semester. Follows the link here if you are interested:  https://sackler.tufts.edu/admissions/nonDegreePrograms/coursework

Reading

Surviving the Doctorate and Beyond: Recommended Reading

University-Wide Resources

Dining

Local Restaurants (recommended by other Friedman doctoral students)

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