UCAR's Next Generation Fellowship is designed to provide targeted financial and community support for graduate students in Earth System Sciences who are currently enrolled at North American universities (United States, Canada, and Mexico). Three Fellows are selected each year, one in each of three tracks: Earth System Science Research; Applied Science Research (new for 2026); or Science Policy. During their two year fellowship, Fellows collaborate with UCAR experts, including those from NSF NCAR and UCAR Community Programs, while participating in dedicated professional development and leadership training opportunities.
Each Fellow receives a $40,000 fellowship over two years ($10,000 disbursed twice per year); funding for up to 20 weeks of research visits to a relevant UCAR site; funding to attend conferences; curated professional development programming; professional coaching; and the support of a like-minded cohort.
The Next Generation Fellowship is a collaboration between a graduate student (the Fellow) and their track mentors (experts from UCAR, NSF NCAR, and UCAR Community Programs). Fellows are responsible for leading the work pursued during their fellowship, integrating it into their ongoing research, building connections between their track mentors and their graduate advisors with considerable freedom to develop interdisciplinary knowledge and collaborations.
For more information about the program, we recommend attending one of the information sessions below, or emailing nextgenfellows@ucar.edu
Register for Info Sessions
The Next Gen coordinator will host three information sessions during the application period. These sessions will go over the structure of the program, tips on how to prepare your application and find a mentor, and give you the chance to chat with current Fellows and/or potential track mentors. Click the links below to register for one or more sessions.
Thursday March 19th, 2026 at 11am PT/12pm MT/2pm ET
Monday April 27th, 2026 at 2pm PT/3pm MT/5pm ET
Friday May 15th, 2026 at 12pm PT/1pm MT/3pm ET
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Rachel Dammann
UCAR, UCP and NSF NCAR
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