Student Initiatives
The Program on Climate, Resilience and Mobility provides funding for full-time undergraduate and graduate students at Duke University to work on research topics related to climate change and migration, to attend relevant conferences, and to organize public engagement activities.
STUDENT EVENTS
stories on SNS and Queen/Eilish/Gabriela
AWARD DETAILS
Funding requests may include costs of research materials, domestic and international travel, and other directly related expenses. All expenses should have a clear justification in the Project Statement.
Average awards range from $250 to $1500, depending upon the activity or project. Applicants are encouraged to apply for additional awards from Duke and other sources. Please note that your budget should include the total cost of the project and not just that portion requested from PCRM.
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
The stories below underscore how the support from PCRM has empowered students across Duke University to attend climate-related conferences and engage in diverse professional development opportunities.
Dylan Moore, MPP’24
Awarded Funding: Summer Tuition Support
PCRM supported my summer placement with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in Geneva. While at UNITAR, I helped to plan and manage several capacity-building projects at the nexus of climate and migration. I helped to plan and implement UNITAR’s Capacity Development Fellowship with the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which provides diplomats and youth leaders from climate-vulnerable countries with comprehensive training to allow them to engage more effectively in international negotiations under the UNFCCC. I also helped develop new training proposals designed to introduce policymakers and diplomats to emerging artificial intelligence (AI) applications, including one on geospatial AI, which is evolving predictive tool with critical applications in situations that intersect with climate-related migration, including Land Use Conversion, Urban Planning, and Conservation Management; Natural Disaster and Conflict Monitoring; and Logistics Management and Deployment.
Aaliya Aaliya, Ph.D Student
Awarded Funding: Conference Travel; Professional Development
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to PCRM for allowing me to attend the 2023 Conference on Climate Change and Migration in Washington, DC. Meeting researchers, decision-makers, practitioners, and educators in-person was an eye-opening experience for me as I learned more about their cutting-edge research around climate change, environmental justice, and migration. PCRM also provided me with the opportunity to attend the 2023 International Summer School on Climate Migration to gain interdisciplinary knowledge and perspectives on the complex relationship between climate change, migration, and non-migration (immobility). The virtual meeting and open-ended weekly interactions with the key speakers and international participants from around the globe helped me learn more about ongoing efforts to address the challenges of human rights, climate change, environmental justice, migration, and immobility. Overall, both experiences inspired me to understand why interdisciplinary studies, research, and collaborations are important for exploring the climate migration nexus as well as the socioeconomic, environmental, political, and ecological drivers of migration and their complex interactions at various scales.
Candela Cerpa, MEM/MCRP’25
Awarded Funding: Professional Development
Over the summer, I participated in the International School on Climate Migration (ISCM). The course was co-hosted by Earth Refuge, the Centre for Human Rights Law, the Law, Environment and Development Centre, and the Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies at SOAS University of London. Every week, we listened to lectures from leading experts in the field and frontline leaders. We also discussed readings related to the week’s theme with other participants. We spent the first week discussing immobility, non-migration, and attachment to place. This exploration of why some people cannot or choose not to migrate was key in framing migration as one adaptation strategy of many, rather than the inevitable outcome. It asked us not to abandon those who stay for their choice. The weeks that followed also complicated the existing climate migration narratives and laid out the challenges to addressing the issue. I am thankful to have had the chance to join ISCM and highly encourage other students to participate!
DYLAN MOORE, MPP '24
Awarded Funding: Summer Tuition Support PCRM supported my summer placement with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in Geneva. While at UNITAR, I helped to plan and manage several capacity-building projects at the nexus of climate and migration. I helped to plan and implement UNITAR's Capacity Development Fellowship with the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which provides diplomats and youth leaders from climate-vulnerable countries with comprehensive training to allow them to engage more effectively in international negotiations under the UNFCCC. I also helped develop new training proposals designed to introduce policymakers and diplomats to emerging artificial intelligence (AI) applications, including one on geospatial AI, which is evolving predictive tool with critical applications in situations that intersect with climate-related migration, including Land Use Conversion, Urban Planning, and Conservation Management; Natural Disaster and Conflict Monitoring; and Logistics Management and Deployment.
AALIYA AALIYA, PH.D. STUDENT
Awarded Funding: Conference Travel & Professional Development I would like to express my sincere gratitude to PCRM for allowing me to attend the 2023 Conference on Climate Change and Migration in Washington, DC. Meeting researchers, decision-makers, practitioners, and educators in-person was an eye-opening experience for me as I learned more about their cutting-edge research around climate change, environmental justice, and migration. PCRM also provided me with the opportunity to attend the 2023 International Summer School on Climate Migration to gain interdisciplinary knowledge and perspectives on the complex relationship between climate change, migration, and non-migration (immobility). The virtual meeting and open-ended weekly interactions with the key speakers and international participants from around the globe helped me learn more about ongoing efforts to address the challenges of human rights, climate change, environmental justice, migration, and immobility. Overall, both experiences inspired me to understand why interdisciplinary studies, research, and collaborations are important for exploring the climate migration nexus as well as the socioeconomic, environmental, political, and ecological drivers of migration and their complex interactions at various scales.
CANDELA CERPA, MEM/MCRP'25
Awarded Funding: Professional Development Over the summer, I participated in the International School on Climate Migration (ISCM). The course was co-hosted by Earth Refuge, the Centre for Human Rights Law, the Law, Environment and Development Centre, and the Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies at SOAS University of London. Every week, we listened to lectures from leading experts in the field and frontline leaders. We also discussed readings related to the week’s theme with other participants. We spent the first week discussing immobility, non-migration, and attachment to place. This exploration of why some people cannot or choose not to migrate was key in framing migration as one adaptation strategy of many, rather than the inevitable outcome. It asked us not to abandon those who stay for their choice. The weeks that followed also complicated the existing climate migration narratives and laid out the challenges to addressing the issue. I am thankful to have had the chance to join ISCM and highly encourage other students to participate!
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APPLICATIONS
Please complete and submit the online application. Included in your application, you will submit the following:
> Cover Letter
> Project Statement (one to two pages) indicating:
– Title of the proposed project
– Description of research/activities
– Plans and general timeline
– Significance of proposed project for future research
> Itemized Budget
> Curriculum Vitae (for graduate students) or Personal Statement (for undergraduate students)
> Supporting Letter from a faculty member who is familiar with your academic work (submitted directly from faculty member via Qualtrics, please also have the faculty e-mail supporting letter to climatemigration@duke.edu)
> Confirmation of International Travel Registration for all international travel, if applicable
> Letter of Invitation from organizing/partner institution, if applicable
> IRB Approval (not required upon proposal submission, but required to receive award if applicable)
FOREIGN NATIONALS
Be aware that your award will be assessed a 34% tax. A Form-1099 will be issued in December, which will enable you to file for its return at the start of the next calendar year.
RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS
For graduate and professional school students whose proposed research involves human subjects, you should be aware that it is necessary for you to obtain approval of your research from the Institutional Review Board. Please consult with the Office of Research Support about the policies concerning research with human subjects at Duke University. Information can be found on the Office of Research Support website at https://campusirb.duke.edu/.
DUKE’S COVID-19 TRAVEL POLICY
If you are awarded a Graduate Award that involves travel, it will be necessary for you to complete all requirements for approval of your international travel in accordance with the current Duke Global Travel Policy and COVID-19 Addendum, including via the Duke Travel Registry. The approval process is not automatic and can take time, so you are encouraged to begin this process at the time of application for the research grant. Do not wait until you receive an award notification. No fellowship funds can be released until the necessary registry and approval requirements have been fulfilled. This is a University rule. Please consult with Global Administrative Travel Support at globaltravel@duke.edu, if you are considering research-related travel and have any specific travel-related questions.
