This spring, the Global Change Center offers a broad set of opportunities for faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates — including research funding, fellowships, and interdisciplinary training. To help our community plan ahead, we’ve compiled all upcoming spring deadlines in one place.

Explore the dropdowns below for key dates, eligibility details, and links to apply. Whether you’re pursuing funding, advancing your research, or preparing to share your work at the symposium, these opportunities support the collaborations and scholarship that drive the GCC mission forward.

Faculty Funding Opportunities

Graphic for the Global Change Center’s Faculty Seed Grants program. Text reads: ‘Faculty Seed Grants. Seeking projects that link multiple faculty programs and take advantage of unique combinations of expertise at VT, have societal implications and/or a policy component, deal with emerging global change issues that have regional and global significance, and have high potential to eventually leverage external resources. Apply by March 1.’ Image shows two small green seedlings emerging from soil on a dark background alongside the Virginia Tech Global Change Center logo.

Each year, the GCC, with funding from the Fralin Life Sciences Institute and the Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment, accepts proposals from GCC faculty to support collaborative research that will lead to proposals submitted to extramural funding sources. In addition to our normal funding priorities, this year we are also encouraging proposals that position teams to be competitive for new funding that will become available through our new membership in NECASC.

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Graduate Funding Opportunities

Flyer titled ‘Rural Environmental Health T32 Predoctoral Training Program.’ Text highlights include: ‘Receive assistantship and tuition support for the first two years of the program’ and focus areas: ‘Molecular mechanisms of environmentally mediated diseases; community‑engaged, implementation science, and epidemiological approaches; exposure science and risk assessment.’ Additional text states: ‘Complete rural environmental health–specific training covering toxicology, epidemiology, exposure science, and community-based methods.’ Application deadline is listed as March 16. A small image appears at the bottom right.

The Rural Environmental Health T32 predoctoral training program at Virginia Tech is a competitive program that provides PhD students with training in environmental health sciences, with a focus on applications in rural landscapes. REH trainees will receive assistantship and tuition support for their first two years of the program.

Trainees will complete rural environmental health specific training covering toxicology, epidemiology, exposure science, and community-based methods. The curriculum will also leverage the well-established Interfaces of Global Change Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program. Rural Environmental Health trainees must be enrolled in one of the six participating PhD programs in biomedical sciences and environmental engineering, be advised by an affiliated faculty mentor, and meet NIH T32 citizenship requirements. 

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Graphic advertising the Global Change Fellowships. A circular, fisheye-style photo shows a landscape with fields, trees, and sky. Text reads: ‘Global Change Fellowships. PhD assistantships to reward excellence in research and innovation among students who have demonstrated commitment to the IGC Program.’ A box below states: ‘Apply by April 1, 2026.’ Logos for the Virginia Tech Graduate School and the Global Change Center appear at the bottom.

With support from the Virginia Tech Graduate School, the Interfaces of Global Change IGEP awards four 9-month Ph.D. assistantships every academic year, intended to support students who have demonstrated commitment to and engagement within the IGC program.

To be eligible to apply for this assistantship, students should have been enrolled in the IGC IGEP for at least 12 months, have not previously received an IGC fellowship award, and be in good academic standing with the IGC Program, their mentor(s), home department, and the Virginia Tech Graduate School.

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Postdoc & Later Stage Graduate Funding Opportunities

Graphic titled ‘Early Career Synergy Grant.’ A green banner reads ‘Apply by April 1.’ Text below explains that proposals are sought from current GCC postdoc affiliates and later-stage IGC IGEP fellows, with priority for new or first-time partnerships supporting early career researcher development and innovative research directions with strong potential for future external funding. On the right, a butterfly rests on pink flowers against a blue sky. Logos for Virginia Tech and the Global Change Center appear at the bottom.

The Global Change Center postdoctoral affiliates and later stage (3rd year or later) IGC IGEP Fellows can propose research aimed at fostering research collaborations among research programs of two or more GCC Faculty affiliates. Proposals must focus on addressing global change issues, and priority will be given to funding proposals that establish research between research programs with limited previous collaboration OR established collaborations pursuing completely new research directions.

We anticipate awarding approximately $30,000 over approximately 1-3 successful proposals. Applications are due April 1. 

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Undergraduate Funding Opportunities

The Global Change Scholars Program, a partnership between the Mentorship & Academic Outreach Programs  (MAOP)  and the Global Change Center, offers financial support to undergraduate students dedicated to academics, research, and community stewardship. Scholars engage in research projects with GCC faculty and take part in MAOP “family” meetings and seminars that emphasize personal and academic development. Awards, ranging from $750 to $1,500, are available to students with demonstrated financial need. The application deadline for the 2026–2027 academic year is April 15.

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IGC IGEP Graduate Research Symposium

Save The Date - April 17, 2026

*Please note this event is reserved for current Global Change Center affiliates and Interfaces of Global Change IGEP fellows. 

Fellows who are in their 2nd year or more of the IGC program (admitted Spring 2025 and prior) are expected to present their work at the symposium in the form of a poster or platform presentation.  First year IGC Fellows (admitted Fall 2025 & Spring 2026) have the option to present their proposed research ideas as a poster but are not required to do so.  Fellows that are presenting their IGC capstone project have the option to also present their personal research findings in the form of a platform presentation or a poster, but are not required to do so. Fellows who have presented before should be sure to submit abstracts on new research findings that differ from their prior symposium presentation(s).  

Senior IGC Fellows, in their 3rd year of study and beyond are strongly encouraged to give a talk.  Because we can only accommodate around 10 talks, priority will be given to those who 1) have not presented a talk at a past IGC symposium, 2) present result-rich content, 3) present content that is clearly relevant to global change issues, and 4) are furthest along in their Ph.D. program. Awards will be given for the best platform presentations.

 

FORMAT

Each abstract should contain:

  1. Title
  2. Authors and Affiliations (e.g., Department and University), presenting author denoted by an asterisk.
  3. An abstract highlighting key findings and not to exceed 250 words in length

Format example:

Hopkins, W.A.*1, Dude, T.H.E. 1,2, and Sobchak, W. 1
1 Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech; 2 Dept. of Interior Room Design, University of Abides

PLATFORM TALKS: presentation max time length of 12 minutes, followed by 3 minutes for Q&A.

POSTERS: maximum poster size is 40″ x 60″.  An easel and backboard will be provided.

 

The symposium will be held on April 17 from 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM. A full agenda with specific details will become available here in April of 2026.

Flyer with an image of keynote speaker Dr. Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq. To the right her leadership positions are listed: Founding Director, Center for Sustainable Engagement in the Arctic (CSEA) Partner, The Rematriation Project Partner, The Iñupiatun Language Access & Sovereignty Project Co-Founder, Respectful Research.

This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq, Iñupiaq scholar, tribal member of the Noorvik Native Community, and founding director of the Center for Sustainable Engagement in the Arctic in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. A full bio and description of her talk will be available here in April of 2026.