2) Conditions
Within the proposal, and as a condition of each ISRS/TOC Fellowship, recipients will be required to articulate how they will report back to the ISRS/TOC on their research progress, outline their findings, acknowledge the support, and publicize the outcomes.

3) Who can apply?
The Fellowship is available to students worldwide, who are already admitted to a graduate program at an accredited university. The intent of the fellowship is to help Ph.D. students develop skills and to address problems related to relevant applications of coral reef ecosystem research and management. The Fellowship can be used to support salary, travel, fieldwork, and laboratory analyses. The student can work entirely at the host institution, or can split time between developed and developing country institutions.

4) Application materials
A four page proposal as a pdf document, using 12-point font or larger, double spaced, in English, is required from prospective fellowship candidates: proposals that do not meet these criteria may be returned. The proposal should include the following sections:

1. Overview: The overview starts with the Proposal Title, Author's Name, Author's Address, Major Professor's Name, Major Professor's Address (if different than the Author's), and total amount in the budget request. The overview should place the proposed research in context. We are looking for a clearly stated rationale, research objectives and a clear question that is driving the research within the context of the literature.
2. Methods: The methods section includes hypotheses, methods, and experimental design, including details on field or laboratory techniques and how data will be analyzed.
3. Relevance & implications of research: This section will outline expected outcomes, how the work is relevant to host-country management and science issues and the implications of the research within a broader context. This section must also include evidence of host-country coordination (e.g., identification of individuals or programs that will benefit from your results);
   

   The following three sections are required but do not count against the four page limit:

4. Detailed Budget: The budget must not exceed $6,000.
5. Literature Cited: Use a bibliographic format that includes full titles in the citations.
6. Applicant CV: 2 pages maximum.
7. Letter of support: The student's major professor must submit a support letter for the project based on their knowledge of the project, and familiarity with the student's background and abilities. If work will be conducted at another university, a support letter is required from the sponsoring Professor.

5) Submitting your application

All application materials must be submitted electronically as follows:

1. All materials must be sent to Dr. Robert van Woesik at: rvw@fit.edu
2. The completed proposal (items 4a-f above) must be combined into a single document and sent as an attachment in pdf format. Please enter the subject line of your message as your last name followed by ISRS/TOC Proposal 2007 (e.g., J Smith ISRS/TOC Proposal 2007). Similarly, please include your name on the pdf and ISRS/TOC proposal (e.g. Smith ISRSTOC.pdf (don't send proposal.pdf, because they will get misplaced).
3. The letter of support (item 4g above) must come directly from the major professor as an e-mail attachment (Word document or pdf file). Please enter the subject line of the message as the last name of the applicant followed by ISRS/TOC Support (e.g., J Smith ISRS/TOC Support, and SmithSupport.pdf).

Applications will be considered complete only after the support letter has arrived. You should ensure that your sponsors are aware of the deadline, and can get their letters submitted in a timely manner. Only completed electronic applications will be reviewed, and this will be accomplished by an ISRS panel.

6) Evaluation Criteria Will Include:

1. scientific merit,
2. feasibility,
3. support letter from major professor,
and
4. relevance to the Fellowship guidelines.

7) Administration of the Fellowship

The International Society for Reef Studies (ISRS) and The Ocean Conservancy (TOC) support the Fellowship through professional and administrative contributions. ISRS/TOC is committed to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination. The mission of the ISRS is to promote for the benefit of the public, the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge and understanding concerning coral reefs, both living and fossil. The TOC is committed to protecting ocean environments and conserving the global abundance and diversity of marine life. Through science-based advocacy, research, and public education, TOC promotes informed citizen participation to reverse the degradation of our oceans.