Taylor Research Fellowship

About the Fellowship

The Taylor Research Fellowship award—a fellowship program offered through the Yale Forest School—offers competitive research grants to YSE-affiliated researchers to conduct research at the Great Mountain Forest in Northwest Connecticut. 

(Image from https://housatonicheritage.org/Places/great-mountain-forest-norfolk-cana…) 

To Apply 

Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis. Grants can be used to cover travel, lodgings, supplies, and equipment related directly to the proposed research. If funds are sought to cover publication costs, the applicant must be ready to publish within the calendar year. Durable equipment purchased with Taylor Research Fellowship funds, such as field tools or laboratory equipment, should be retained by the school at the end of the project. Unused funds should be returned.

The fellowship administers grants to undergraduate, graduate, post-docs, and faculty.

Please contact Laura Green (laura.green@yale.edu) with any questions about the fellowship or preparing an application.

Applications should be formatted as a single PDF or word document. The document title should include the Applicant’s name.

Applications must include the following: 

  • Applicant information:
    • Project Title
    • Applicant Name & Contact Information
    • Current Program and Year
    • Advisor’s Name and Department
  • Project Proposal:
    • Project Description (maximum 2 pages, single-spaced). The project description should identify the intellectual merit of your proposed work, its broader relevance, and describe the methods to be used.  
    • References (no limit).
  • Budget and Budget Justification (1 page).
    • Budgets must be itemized and specific. For example, if mileage reimbursement is included, the travel locaitons, number of trips, and miles should be specifed. If you are pursuing multiple sources of funding for your project, please include a note about the other funding sources and if the fundings has been applied for and/or secured.
  • Letter of Support from Advisor (only required for student applicants). Please request that your advisor submit a letter via email to YMFResearch@yale.edu and Laura.Green@yale.edu.

Application materials are in the same general format as those used for the YIBS Small Grants Program. Applicants applying to both YIBS and the Taylor Research Fellowship are welcome to re-use the bulk of their YIBS proposal for their Taylor Research Fellowship application. However, applicants do not NEED to apply to YIBS, nor are you required to submit an identical application to both YIBS and Taylor. 

Applications should be submitted via email to YMFResearch@yale.edu and Laura.Green@yale.edu.

Requirements for funded projects

Fellowship funding comes with the following requirements:

  • Researchers must secure approval from all relevant organizations before beginning their field work.
    • If research will be conducted on Yale Forests’ property at Great Mountain (ie - at or immediately around the Yale Camp at Great Mountain): Submission of a Yale Forests research application for review by the Yale Forests Research Committee, and abiding by all Yale Forests policies for researchers. Projects may not begin field work at any Yale Forest property without project approval. Applicants do not need to have submitted a Yale Forests research application before applying for the Kohlberg-Donohoe fellowship, but please be advised that it may take several weeks for research applications to be reviewed. 
    • If research will be conducted on property that is part of Great Mountain Forest, researchers must work with Great Mountain Forest staff to secure approval. We are happy to help direct reserachers to the correct personnell at GMF to start this process.
  • Projects should produce publishable-quality work, and all publications and presentations of the work should include an acknowledgement of the Yale Forests and the fellowship. Publication can take many years, and we do not required it as a term of the fellowship.
  • End-of-year report on the project, including a 1-page research brief, and 3-5 pictures of the student, research, and project site, to be posted on the Yale Forests website.
  • Notify the Research & Extension Forester of any future publications and presentations resulting from the project.
  • Return any unused funds, and any left-over supplies or durable equipment purchased with fellowship funds at the conclusion of your projects. Please coordinate with Laura Green about this when your project is completed.

Please direct any questions to Laura Green, Research & Extension Forester (YMFResearch@yale.edu; laura.green@yale.edu).