Apply now for 2025 Native American Research Assistantship

The Wildlife Society, through its continued partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, is excited to announce the availability of research assistantships for Native undergraduate or graduate students in the summer of 2025 as part of the Native American Research Assistantship (NARA) Program. Applications are being accepted now through Jan. 20, 2025. Visit this link for additional information and instructions on how to apply.

Established in 2014, NARA provides training for careers in natural resource and conservation-related fields, promotes Native student advancement in the wildlife profession and elevates Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) within federal research projects.

Hunter Grove, a 2024 program participant studying at Oregon State University, is enrolled in the Karuk Tribe and focused a NARA project on examining methods for detecting pregnancy in free-living mesocarnivores like wolverines (Gulo gulo) and Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis).

“I was able to enhance my professional path in many different ways thanks to the various opportunities I took advantage of while in the program,” Grove said of the program. “This includes meeting with Native grad students, helping with different projects and discussions with others.”

Applicants selected for NARA will engage with representatives from TWS while learning from and working with an interdisciplinary team of USFS Research and Development on a three-month research project. This year, we are seeking Native students for four projects during the summer of 2025. Each assistantship will include a paid stipend of at least $6,500.

Another 2024 participant, Nadira Mitchell, enrolled in the Navajo Nation and studying at the University of Arizona, worked alongside Serra Hoagland from the USFS to develop sections of a comprehensive Tribal Wildlife Management Plan that the Mescalero Apache Tribe requested.

“During my research assistantship, I was able to gain a real life experience in what it means to have a career in natural resources and wildlife management,” Mitchell said. “I was able to do fieldwork, remote sensing research, and also attend meetings with tribal leadership and leadership within the USDA Forest Service.”

For detailed information on the available opportunities in 2025 and instructions on how to apply, please visit the Native American Research Assistantship Program website.