Environmental Studies Program Scholarship

The purpose of the scholarship is to encourage students to think critically about how to foster a civil discourse that is conducive to addressing the impact of climate change and encourage policy or management directed toward the balance between the natural and human environment, including implications for human well-being.

Five - Seven $1000 scholarships will be awarded.

1. Eligibility: Students majoring in Environmental Studies or Environmental Sciences attending UConn in Spring 2024 with a minimum GPA of 3.0
2. Submission Deadline: March 18, 2024. The winners will be notified in early April.
3. Submission Materials: Please send unofficial transcript, cv, and essay to sara.tremblay@uconn.edu.
4. Essay Content and Format: The essay will begin with an Introduction section, followed by your thoughts on how best to overcome the barriers that impede our ability to safeguard and reduce the environmental and human consequences of climate change. Applicants should address questions 1, 2 and 7 and address at least two questions chosen from 3-6 below. The essay (minimum 850 and maximum 1,000 words) should be double-spaced and use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. It should have in-text citation and references on a separate page at the end.

1. Introduction: Describe the body of knowledge and skills that you have developed through your interdisciplinary training from social sciences, humanities, natural and physical sciences.
2. How could your skills in social sciences, humanities, natural and physical sciences be brought to bear on helping the American public critically evaluate science and critics of science, in order to gain a better societal understanding of the impacts of and needs to address climate change?
3. Many environmental advocates attempt to promote an agenda by rhetorical arguments based on ethics and the “high road” of environmental conservation.  How would your ability to integrate across social sciences, humanities, natural and physical sciences help society to understand the ethical costs of environmental programs on the economically disadvantaged segments of society?
4. How does the failure to integrate knowledge and skills across social sciences, humanities, natural and physical sciences lead to socio-economic loss or damage to communities and human well-being stemming from climate change?
5. What approach would you propose that could potentially help diverse segments of society – including political parties with opposing ideologies – better understand both the advantages and disadvantages of various proposals to address environmental challenges, drawing from across social sciences, humanities, natural and physical sciences?
6. What is your vision for how your future career could / would affect society’s well-being by drawing on social sciences, humanities, natural and physical sciences?
7. How would gaining this scholarship / fellowship enable you to be better prepared to help society mitigate these failures?