Join WAVES at UC Santa Barbara
Bring your questions about water, vegetation, and society. Explore funding that could support your PhD or postdoctoral research with our lab.
Start by getting in touch about research fit, potential openings, and your timeline. You do not need to have a fellowship in hand to start that conversation. Fellowships, research appointments, and teaching appointments can all be part of a funding plan; admissions and funding offers are arranged through Bren or Geography at UC Santa Barbara.
The WAVES Lab admits PhD students through both the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and the Department of Geography at UC Santa Barbara. We can help you consider which program best fits the research you want to pursue with us and your training goals. Our graduate recruitment focuses on PhD students; standalone master’s supervision in WAVES is uncommon.
Join WAVES through the PhD in Environmental Science and Management to pursue interdisciplinary research on environmental problems. Contact the WAVES Lab about your research idea, potential sponsorship, and a funding plan for your PhD.
Bren PhD admissionsJoin WAVES through Geography to study hydrology, remote sensing, and human–environment systems with the WAVES Lab. Applicants without a master’s degree enter through the MA/PhD route; this is a path to the doctorate.
Geography PhD admissionsA lab inquiry is an opportunity to discuss research fit. Admission requires a separate application to your chosen graduate program.
These fellowships could support your PhD research in WAVES. If one looks like a fit, tell us about it when you inquire about joining the lab. We can discuss the research you would like to propose and how the fellowship fits with admission through Bren or Geography.
External · Prospective & first-year graduate students
A potential source of PhD support for research with WAVES in hydrology, ecology, and environmental data science. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.
If you are considering a PhD with us, get in touch before applying so we can discuss a research direction. Current rules limit graduate applicants to the first year of their first graduate degree, with less than one academic year completed; prior graduate degrees and applications can affect eligibility.
Details & eligibilityExternal · Incoming & early graduate students
Graduate funding for eligible immigrants and children of immigrants pursuing a degree in the United States. Applicants must meet the program’s New American criteria and be 30 or younger at the application deadline.
You can pursue this fellowship alongside an application to join WAVES through Bren or Geography, before admission. Applicants already enrolled must not have started the third year of the degree they want funded.
Details & eligibilityExternal · International applicants
A potential route to graduate study or research in the United States for applicants from participating countries. Degree options, funding, eligibility, and university placement procedures vary by country.
Tell us about your research interests and the Fulbright program in your home country. We can explore a PhD or research affiliation with WAVES; your Fulbright commission or U.S. embassy can advise on country-specific requirements.
Details & eligibilityWhen we discuss your PhD in WAVES, we will also discuss how campus fellowships, research appointments, and teaching appointments could support your work. The formal offer from Bren or Geography specifies the funding sources, duration, and conditions. Read Bren’s PhD funding guide and Geography’s financial support guide for how fellowships and graduate appointments fit together.
Internal · Departmental nomination
Central campus and departmental fellowships can help support incoming graduate students through stipends, tuition, fees, and health insurance. The mix of campus and departmental support depends on whether you join us through Bren or Geography.
As we discuss your application to WAVES, we can explore nomination through Bren or Geography. Central recruitment awards generally require a departmental nomination rather than a separate student application; available awards and support packages vary.
Details & eligibilityInternal · International doctoral students
UC Santa Barbara automatically awards eligible incoming international doctoral students support for nonresident supplemental tuition beginning in the fourth quarter, subject to academic standing and time-to-advancement requirements.
For international applicants to WAVES, we can account for this award when discussing a PhD funding plan. It covers nonresident supplemental tuition, rather than living expenses, and does not cover the first year’s nonresident tuition.
Details & eligibilityUse the inquiry form to share a short research idea and your intended start date well ahead of the sponsor’s deadline. You can include a link to your CV or research profile. Together we can develop the research direction and mentoring plan for a potential postdoc in WAVES at UC Santa Barbara.
Internal · UC & campus fellowships
A potential route to a postdoc with the WAVES Lab and a faculty mentoring plan, alongside professional development and a community of fellows across the University of California.
Contact the WAVES Lab to explore a project and mentoring plan with WAVES before applying to PPFP. Highly ranked applications are also considered for Chancellor’s fellowships at the proposed mentor’s campus.
Details & eligibilityExternal · Conservation postdoctoral research
Supports postdoctoral work connecting research to conservation practice. A potential fit for water, ecosystem, and land-use projects with direct relevance to conservation in the United States or its territories.
We can explore a project that connects WAVES research with a conservation partner and brings together the required academic and practitioner mentorship. U.S. citizenship is not required; check the PhD completion window and geographic research requirements.
Details & eligibilityExternal · Specialized fit: AI & biology
The current competition focuses on training at the intersection of artificial intelligence and biological sciences to advance biotechnology. Projects must address that specific focus.
Bring us your idea so we can assess whether a project with WAVES could meet the biological research and AI training focus. Review citizenship, career-stage, and sponsoring-scientist requirements with NSF.
Details & eligibilityIf you join WAVES, we can pursue additional support as your research takes shape. NASA FINESST could support an Earth observation project you develop with the WAVES Lab, provided it aligns with NASA’s science goals. We would work together on the research proposal and submit through UC Santa Barbara in an appropriate funding cycle.
UC Santa Barbara’s continuing-student and dissertation fellowships are also worth planning for as your PhD progresses. Our funding history below includes this kind of support. We can discuss these possibilities during recruitment while keeping the funding offered at admission distinct from future competitions.
Fellowships have helped our students and postdocs pursue fieldwork, develop independent research, and complete their degrees. WAVES researchers have received support from:
This is our funding history, not a list of open competitions. Some programs have changed or ended; links provide program information and, where relevant, historical details. The opportunities above are starting points for planning research with WAVES today.
From the lab archive: student funding awards, Borlaug-supported research, Fulbright fieldwork.
Tell us about the research you would like to pursue, your preferred PhD program or postdoctoral plans, and your timeline.
Your inquiry will be sent to the WAVES Lab through Formspree. Please share only information relevant to your research inquiry.
If the form or spam check presents an accessibility barrier, you can request assistance or an alternative way to submit your inquiry.
Funding information reviewed September 16, 2026. Follow each program’s official link for current availability, deadlines, award terms, and full eligibility requirements.
