The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, potentially transformative, and scalable models for STEM graduate education training. The Traineeship Track is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary research areas, through the comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.
Through a combination of technical coursework, communication workshops, national and international internships, stakeholder engagement, peer mentoring, and involvement in trans-disciplinary research projects, OSU NRT trainees will learn about the dynamics of coupled natural-human systems, the science of big data, risk and uncertainty quantification and communication. They will learn tools and techniques to assist communities in managing resources through change and to recover quickly in the event of a disaster. In line with the learning objectives, the training and research will link new developments in mathematical and statistical quantification of risk and uncertainty, complex and large datasets on marine systems emerging from novel sensors, and outreach and engagement of stakeholders who affect, and are affected by, ocean systems. In addition, students with diverse expertise, developed through internships, will leverage each other’s strong disciplinary knowledge and skills as they collaborate to address complex stakeholder-identified climate and policy problems. These collaborations will have the ultimate goal of devising management solutions in the face of change and uncertainty.
| Learning Outcome | Training Element | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|
| Quantify and communicate risk and uncertainty | Minor in Risk and Uncertainty (*) | Graduate standing |
| Orientation to transdisciplinarity | GEO 508 NRT Intensive Field Course/Introduction to NRT Workshop (3 credits) Sept.16th-Sept. 20th, 2019 | Graduate standing |
| Stakeholder engagement | +5XX-Internship option (3 credits) or thesis credits | Graduate standing |
| Collaborative group project | Thesis chapter | Minor in R&U (*) |
+ Please check with your home department about their requirements for internship.
(*) Part of the new OSU Minor in Risk and Uncertainty.
Timeline and Training
Timeline of NRT training elements. Trainees start the NRT professional and research training in their second year of graduate education, after completing discipline coursework in their home departments. At the end of the training students will receive a Minor in Risk and Uncertainty (R&U) quantification. GEM includes Geography, Environmental Science, and Marine Resource Management.
