We prepare graduate researchers for careers that integrate science with management and policy while advancing Climate Adaptation Science for the threatened landscape of the Interior West.

Unique internship-research cycle:

The Climate Adaptation Science program provides trainees with direct experience in actionable science through an internship-research cycle. Each trainee will complete a two-part internship with a government agency, NGO, or industry partner. Internship experiences bracket a year-long research studio course.  Through the internships, and a series of Science-Management-Policy Exchange meetings, trainees learn the cultures, opportunities and constraints, and science needs of the many work-places in which climate adaptation science is created and used.

Skills trainees acquire:

  • Facility with Data and Modeling
  • Facility in Communication with Scientist and Non-scientist Audiences
  • Ability to Collaborate Across Disciplinary and Workplace Boundaries
  • Ability to Work in Diverse Teams, as a Leader or Follower, and to Manage Projects
  • Understanding Risk and Decision-making
  • Ability to Think Comprehensively about climate, geo-hydrology, biology, social sciences and the models, concepts, and analyses that integrate these.

Innovative course formats:

Trainees will have a research-based and experiential curriculum supported with elective short-courses (0.25 to 1 credit) that are flexible in length, timing, and format. These short, focused, content-rich courses respond to interests and needs of students, promote cross-participation of faculty, and deliver emerging tools and perspectives.

Details are given in Program Timetable

About the Program

 

Recent News

Sarah Null and Colleagues Publish Study Assessing How Watersheds React to Climate Change

Natural and managed watersheds show similar responses

Hadia Akbar Participates in Meeting of the Upper Colorado River Commission

As part of her CAS internship, Akbar presented at the bi-annual meeting for water managers, water users, researchers, and other stakeholders.

  • Agricultural support buildings and grain elevator

Muyang Ge Reports Findings on Land Ownership and Irrigation on American Indian Reservations

Ge and colleagues use reservation boundaries as a natural experiment, and find that full property rights lead to greater agricultural development on tribal lands.

  • dandelion seeds flying in the wind

Noelle Beckman interviewed by Rachel Hager for Utah Public Radio

How is seed dispersal related to plant life histories?

  • A wide, shallow river with water moving in riffles over rocks

Following the Flow in the Mekong Basin

A blog post on the Wonders of the Mekong project by CAS student Liana Prudencio.

  • An infographic about practicing heat safety wherever you are

CAS Student Emily Esplin Interviewed by Utah Public Radio About New HeatRisk Tool

Esplin interns with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, where the new tool is being implemented.

CAS Students and Faculty to Present at the 24th International Symposium on Society and Resource Management

Cohort 1 will present Studio research findings, and many other CAS researchers will present on climate-related topics at the annual meeting of the International Assoc. for Society and Natural Resources.

  • Sunlight streams through a crack in hoodoos in southern Utah

CAS Trainee Rachel Hager Reports on Climate Change Perceptions for Utah Public Radio

Hager interviewed Peter Howe on a recent paper linking seasonal weather perceptions to climate change perceptions

  • Sunbeams shine through large trees in a forest.

Inequality is Normal: Dominance of the Big Trees

Utah State University researchers used large forest plots from 21 countries and territories to study the invaluable contributions of big trees.

Patrick Belmont Named USU Faculty Researcher of the Year

Belmont’s research is known for translating well into actionable management and policy guidance.

Utah State University Announces Funding for Climate Adaptation Science NRT Project

 

Utah State University’s Climate Adaptation Science Program is Funded by a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) Grant