Fellowship Funding
The New York Botanical Garden offers fellowships every year to support Graduate Students working through our partner programs. Applications must be submitted to NYBG and at least one affiliated program. NYBG application here.
Graduate Fellowship in Botany (1)
The New York Botanical Garden seeks prospective Ph.D. students to join the Graduate Studies Program. Qualified candidates should apply through NYBG and one or more of NYBG’s partner university programs: The City University of New York, Yale School of the Environment, New York University, Fordham University, Columbia University, and Cornell University.
Fields of study include systematics, genomics, biodiversity informatics, ecology, ethnobotany, food security, conservation biology, environmental science, and plant morphology, anatomy, and development. NYBG graduate students combine field- and laboratory-based research and actively use the collections and laboratory facilities at NYBG. Preference is given to candidates who will integrate diverse methodologies and leverage NYBG’s collections and professional networks to develop interdisciplinary research projects.
Interested candidates must submit applications to NYBG and an affiliated program. Deadlines for affiliated programs vary; NYBG applications must be received by January 15 each year.
Annette Kade Charitable Trust
Fellowship in Tropical Plant Systematics (1)
(French or German students)
A graduate fellowship is available in tropical plant systematics at The New York Botanical Garden. In the 2025-26 academic year, one graduate fellowship will be granted by the Garden in association with the Annette Kade Charitable Trust. Funding is designated to support a German or French student who is doing doctoral research in tropical plant systematics in the broadest sense. Preference is given to candidates who will integrate diverse methodologies such as molecular systematics, genomics, bioinformatics, biogeography, or plant morphology and development.
Funding is available for students who are enrolled in French or German Ph.D. programs who would like to conduct dissertation research at NYBG. Preference will be given to students whose interests combine field- and laboratory-based research and who will actively use the collections and laboratory facilities at NYBG. Limited funds are also available to cover fieldwork and laboratory expenses related to the dissertation project. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis beginning January 2025.
Research Assistantship: Sporangia (1)
Dr. Barbara Ambrose, NSF funded research project
The New York Botanical Garden seeks prospective Ph.D. students to join the Graduate Studies Program. Qualified candidates should apply through NYBG and one or more of NYBG’s partner university programs. Most likely partners for this research project are The City University of New York, New York University, or Columbia University.
The project investigates the molecular genetics of sporangium development in the model fern Ceratopteris. This research will help build an understanding of the evolution of sporangia across plants and fill a gap in our knowledge about plant reproduction.
Please direct enquiries to Barbara Ambrose, Ph.D., Curator of Genomics and Director of Laboratory Research (bambrose@nybg.org). Interested candidates must submit applications to NYBG and an affiliated program. Deadlines for affiliated programs vary; NYBG applications must be received by January 15 each year.
Research Assistantship: Floristic exchange and the Isthmus of Panama (1)
Dr. Ana Maria Bedoya, NSF funded research project
The New York Botanical Garden seeks prospective Ph.D. students to join the Graduate Studies Program. Qualified candidates should apply through NYBG and one or more of NYBG’s partner university programs. The most likely partner for this research project is The City University of New York.
This position is under an NSF-funded grant for research in Panama, Costa Rica, and Colombia, aiming to investigate the timing and pattern of floristic exchange through rivers across the Americas with the closure of the Isthmus of Panama. Researchers will develop a deep-time model of river connections across the Isthmus. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop their own research ideas within the framework of the project, train in the use of genomic and paleontological data, and be part of an interdisciplinary team including researchers at the New York Botanical Garden, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the University of Washington, Seattle.
Interested candidates should email Ana Maria Bedoya, Ph.D., Assistant Curator, Center for Biodiversity & Evolution (abedoya@nybg.org). In your email, please address the following questions:
1. What interests you in Botany and Evolution?
2. Why do you want to do a PhD? How do you think this could help your future goals? What skill set do you hope to develop in graduate school?
3. What is your prior experience in Botany (or Neotropical botany or aquatic botany)? What is your professional background and education?
4. Attach your CV and list professional references.
Interested candidates must submit applications to NYBG and an affiliated program after communicating with Dr. Bedoya. Deadlines for affiliated programs vary; NYBG applications must be received by January 15 each year.