Opportunities
Graduate Assistantship
Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) at Culverts in Tennessee
Dr. Lisa Izzo
Dr. Lisa Izzo (Fisheries and Aquatic Conservation Ecology Lab) in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is seeking applicants for a M.S. student in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. The student’s thesis work, funded through the Tennessee Department of Transportation, will focus on monitoring culverts that have been recently upgraded with Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) measures to determine if and how different species are moving through them over time. This is a collaborative project where the graduate student will also work with a students and co-PIs in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at UTK to understand these movements in relation to hydraulic stability of the culvert over time.
Applications are due October 18th and review will begin immediately after. Successful candidate will apply formally to the UTK graduate school following the internal application process.
Duties
In addition to course requirements of the M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science program, primary duties of the student will include (1) sampling fish via electrofishing (or other methods) and tagging a variety of species using visible implant elastomer (VIE) tags or PIT tags; (2) assisting the engineering team with their data collection; (3) study design for monitoring culverts for AOP; (4) data management and analysis; (5) presentations to project partners and at regional/national conferences; and (6) writing of a final thesis, at least one manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal, and reports to the project funder. The selected applicant will have the opportunity to develop and investigate hypotheses and address objectives of interest within the context of the project. Field work will take place across the state of Tennessee, so overnight travel during certain sampling periods is required.
Successful applicants must have a B.S. degree in Natural Resources, Ecology, Fisheries Science/Management, or a closely related field, and meet all other qualifications for admission to the School of Natural Resources Master’s Program. Please note that GRE scores are optional for admission. Applicants should have an interest in aquatic research and fisheries management, and a strong desire to learn new skills through the graduate school process. The successful candidate must possess a valid driver’s license and be able to lead field work independently. Prior experience in aquatic field work (particularly sampling in small streams and identification of southeastern fishes) is preferred but not required.
$37,000/year stipend for 2 years, coverage for tuition, and health insurance benefits. The student will be responsible for paying graduate student fees.
Please email (1) a one-page statement of research interests and career goals, (2) a CV, (3) unofficial transcripts, and (4) contact information for three references to Dr. Lisa Izzo paste0(lizzo1, "@utk.edu") with a subject line of MS Application Culvert AOP and your last name. Applications are due October 18th and review will begin immediately after. Successful candidate will apply formally to the UTK graduate school following the internal application process.
January 2027
Volunteer Sign-Up Form
If you are interested in the projects our lab is working on and want to gain some hands on experience, fill out this form! There are seasonal projects that will provide great learning opportunities and we would love to have you out with us! We encourage all UT students to fill out the form who would be interested to volunteer with us for a day of sampling!
You need to sign in with your UTK Google Account when signing up
Deadline: Open all year