Earliest Start Date: June 1st, 2021

Background and Objectives: The world’s most challenging problems are usually complex. Fully addressing the issues associated with climate change, for example, requires understanding weather patterns, the relationship of health and disease to environment/diet, coastal architecture, energy policy, city planning, human behavior, truth in media, social justice, international relations, big data, and many other fields. A key goal of the University of Miami (UM) is to serve as a center of inquiry in which scholars from multiple disciplines can work together to pursue innovation, in areas where the world needs them most. UM’s diversity, found in our 11 schools and colleges, provides unique advantages for the next generation of scholars to explore and successfully address problems that span multiple disciplines. 

The University of Miami Laboratory for INtegrative Knowledge (U-LINK) seeks applications from doctoral students who desire to work on such problem-based interdisciplinary scholarship with Phase II U-LINK teams. 

This year, three Phase II teams are seeking applications for doctoral students to provide support on their Phase II work (see project descriptions at the bottom of this announcement): 

1. Development of an early warning system for hazardous noise exposure and its health consequences 

2. On the move: Climate migration and retreat in South Florida, the Caribbean, and beyond 

3. AI-driven Virtual and Augmented Reality for Applied Behavior Analysis – Evaluations, Creations, and Applications 

The U-LINK Doctoral Student Program is an excellent opportunity for innovative doctoral students interested in working in a dynamic, interdisciplinary environment. The fellowship is comprised of a stipend (consistent with the student’s corresponding school/college) for a 12-month period (beginning June 1 each year) plus 80% health insurance subsidy while a student is supported on a Phase II team1. The awardee will remain the team’s doctoral fellow for as long as the team is funded (up to two years). That is, if the team is not supported for year two funding, the mentor is responsible for financially supporting the student. Phase II teams are funded for 12 months (starting January 1) and are eligible for a second year of funding after the completion of the first year. Note that to remain a fellow, the student must be enrolled full-time during their period of support through this fellowship, and must remain in good standing with the program.  

Note that the UM student health insurance policy runs from 8/15/20-8/14/21. Awardees who begin this fellowship in June would be covered under the health insurance policy they began on 8/15/20. Awardees can sign up for the 2021-2022 student health insurance plan in August of 2021 and have the 80% subsidy applied for Fall 2021.  

In light of the violence and injustice that have come to the forefront of our national consciousness in recent weeks, we are issuing a special, rapid U-LINK challenge to catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration that can advance understanding of individual, institutional, and/or structural oppression, and its associated impact on multiple outcomes of interest, such as: health, educational achievement, income inequality, reimagined practices in the criminal legal system, and public policy. Our collective expertise and experience, when harnessed for collaborative team scholarship, has the potential to generate new knowledge—and new solutions—for complex and long over-due questions about oppression and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, class, and/ or ability.

This call is intentionally broad. We encourage and look forward to creative applications, giving priority to those related to the experience of Blacks in the US.

We will fund 10 projects for a year covering up to $100,000 in eligible expenses.

For interested faculty, we will be hosting an online “mixer” to facilitate possible connections with potential collaborators.

To learn more about funding opportunities, or to apply, click here.

Important Dates:

• August 1, 2020 – Social Equity Challenge applications due

U-LINK seeks applications from interdisciplinary teams that may combine researchers from across UM’s three campuses. We encourage proposals that tackle problems aligning with the university’s Roadmap to Our New Century, such as addressing environmental challenges, engineering smart/connected cities, promoting health and wellness, cultivating a culture of belonging, and applying the potential of big data to global issues.

Teams consisting of individuals from a minimum of two disciplines are eligible to compete for funding, which will be awarded in two phases. Phase I (Developmental) funding is designed to help teams further develop and refine ideas and to become established as a coherent team.

To learn more about funding opportunities, or to apply, click here.

Phase I Important Dates:

• September 3, 2019 – Letter of Intent (LOI) due
• October 2, 2019 – LOI notification/feedback provided
• October 21, 2019 – Phase I full application due
• December 2, 2019 – Decisions made
• January 1, 2020 – Start date

U-LINK seeks applications from doctoral students who desire to pursue problem-based interdisciplinary research. The U-LINK Predoctoral Fellowship requires the student to identify at least two UM faculty advisors, representing at least two distinct disciplines, with whom to complete his or her dissertation work. We especially encourage project proposals that tackle problems aligning with UM’s Roadmap To Our New Century initiative; e.g., addressing environmental challenges, engineering smart/connected cities, promoting health and wellness, cultivating a culture of belonging, and applying the potential of big data to global issues.

The U-LINK Predoctoral Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for innovative doctoral students, who have not yet completed all of their coursework (unless they have already taken coursework in a second discipline that is relevant to the proposed project), interested in completing their dissertation in a dynamic, interdisciplinary environment. The fellowship is comprised of a stipend of $40,000 for a 12-month period (beginning August 1 each year) plus 100% health insurance subsidy while a student is supported by the U-LINK fellowship.

Please click here to apply for the U-LINK Predoctoral Fellowship.

Predoctoral Fellowship Important Dates:

• February 14, 2020 – Applications due by 5:00 pm
• August 1, 2020 – Earliest start date