N.C. PSI Fellowships and Awards

Think, Do, Pursue!

The N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative (N.C. PSI) promotes awareness of various internal and external funding opportunities for students. Our goal is to provide current students with the support they need to gain practical experience in their field and strengthen their interdisciplinary skill set. These awards provide funding and life-changing opportunities across a range of disciplines and interests.

drone photo of the Plant Sciences Building

N.C. PSI Fellowships

Support for N.C. PSI students can come through a variety of funding opportunities.

Explore current fellowship opportunities

Graduate School Fellowships

NC State’s Graduate School provides a comprehensive list of fellowship and grant programs for students.

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N.C. PSI plant sciences initiative graduate students research learn from farmers and NC State Extension

Professional Development Opportunities

Explore the unique resources and professional development opportunities offered to N.C. PSI students and postdocs.

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In addition to N.C. PSI’s first Graduate Student Fellowship in translational sciences, we are working to provide further support for our N.C. PSI students. For example, the N.C. PSI is partnering with NC A&T University on a 5-year, $18.1 million award from the USDA – System Approach to Promote Learning and Innovation for the Next GenerationS (SAPLINGS), which will provide cross-training awards for undergraduate and graduate students in ag-driven data sciences.

GRAD-AID for Ag

GRAD-AID for Ag is a new NSF and NC State funded graduate training program that will recruit and train two cohorts of highly motivated doctoral students at the intersection of basic and applied plant science. The program’s goal: develop a skilled, diverse workforce capable of solving societal grand challenges in global ag sustainability and food security. Students in fundamental and applied plant sciences will be equipped with the ability to integrate lab-derived multi-omics datasets with field data, leveraging the statistical analyses, machine learning (ML), artificial neural networks, and other artificial intelligence (AI) methodologies to accelerate translation of basic plant science research to the field. Selected students will receive a $37,000 annual stipend to support their studies.

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Faculty and student in lab — Terri Long displays her ongoing research in her Gardner Hall lab.

Trolinder N.C. PSI Graduate Student Endowment Award

Norma and Linda Trolinder are a mother-daughter duo of preeminent researchers and have established the N.C. PSI’s first graduate student endowment to propel the future of the field they love.

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A Passion for Plant Research

Imani Madison won the 2022 Kenneth R. Keller Research Award for her research on how stress and other external factors affect the development of plant cell tissues.

Ph.D. candidate Camilo H. Parada Rojas, right, works in the lab with mentor Lina Quesada-Ocampo, Ph.D.

The Power of Mentorship

Through intentional mentorship, industry training and job preparedness, FFAR Fellow Camilo H. Parada Rojas understands what it takes to get science to the field.

Meet Christopher Oates: First 2023 STEPS Center Director’s Fellow

Christopher Oates is the first recipient of the new STEPS Center Director’s Fellowship. In the fall, he starts a Master of Science degree program in Biological and Agricultural Systems Analysis.

Jabeen, an AgBioFEWS, in the N.C. PSI greenhouse

Re-thinking How We Teach Graduate Students

To address societal challenges, scientific research must be convergent: driven by compelling problems and deeply integrating scientific disciplines. AgBioFEWS students gain this capacity by working collaboratively to research how agricultural biotechnology changes agricultural landscapes and rural communities, integrating tools and cultures from the natural and social sciences.

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N.C. PSI Fellowships and Awards