2023 Tibor T. Polgar Undergraduate Fellowship

The deadline for 2023 Tibor T. Polgar Undergraduate Fellowship Applications is Monday, February 13.

The Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship program is a student research program of the Hudson River Foundation (HRF) conducted in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Named in honor of Dr. Tibor T. Polgar, a major participant in the early planning and development of the Foundation, this program provides a summer grant ($5,500 for each fellowship) and research funds (up to $1,500) for up to eight undergraduate students to conduct research on the Hudson River, under the guidance of a faculty mentor (mentors to receive a $1,000 honorarium).

Polgar Fellowships are open to undergraduate students only. Students beginning their junior or senior year in the Fall of 2023 are encouraged to apply.

The objective of the program is to enhance opportunities for students to conduct scientific and public policy research with a specific focus on projects studying the Hudson River, its watershed, and the people who live there. A primary goal of the program is to introduce and expose students to the research process through a career-stage appropriate, summer research experience, guided by strong mentoring. The Foundation therefore encourages all interested students, including those with no prior research experience, to apply.

The 2023 program:

• Focuses specifically on undergraduate students, in particular prioritizing rising juniors and seniors, with exceptions made for students who show special promise after their freshman year;
• Encourages BIPOC students as well as first generation science (including natural and social sciences and public policy) undergraduates to apply; no prior research experience is required;
• Welcomes projects that facilitate interactions with research mentors who come from communities that are historically underrepresented in the environmental sciences.

Application Requirements and Procedures

Projects must be relevant to the Hudson River and Watershed but may approach those subjects from a variety of disciplines. Appropriate topics include: studies of the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the River; or examinations of the social, economic, public policy, and environmental justice issues related to the River and Watershed. Projects must be designed to be completed no later than September 2023, allowing for submission of the final written report November 2023. Students will be expected to attend an orientation, mid-term progress, and final reports meeting; they are also required to submit a final written report due November 2023.

The Role of the Mentor

Because of the training and educational aspects of this program, each potential fellow must be sponsored by a primary mentor. The mentor must be willing to commit sufficient time for supervision of the research, to review fellow’s draft and final reports, and to attend the orientation and final report meetings with their students. Mentors will receive a stipend of $1,000. We ask all prospective mentors to read a brief description of our goals for the Fellowship and a mentor’s responsibilities. We strongly encourage potential mentors to contact the Foundation prior to the student submitting an application.

HRF is committed to serving the diverse communities of the Hudson River and to facilitating an ongoing and inclusive dialogue with scientists, managers, policy makers, other stakeholders, and the general public to address the environmental and societal challenges facing the community of the Hudson River and Watershed. We seek to enhance this work by supporting researchers and students, with the unique and varied backgrounds, circumstances, needs, and perspectives that reflect the diversity of our community.