Bridgewater State University Scholarship 2027 in USA — Funded

The Bridgewater State University Scholarship M.S. Graduate in Urban Wildlife Ecology is open, and the application deadline is November 30, 2026, but the lab recommends contacting Dr Thilina Surasinghe before that date, as review of inquiries begins in early October 2026. This is a funded two-year research assistantship in the Department of Biological Sciences, covering the full master’s programme from January 2027 through December 2028. The position is tied to an NSF-funded project on urban wildlife ecology and tick-borne disease risk in southeastern Massachusetts.

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The project runs in collaboration with Columbia University, Boston University, Tufts University, and the University of Sussex/Bath. The master’s student admitted to this position will be embedded in that broader multi-institution research effort, contributing wildlife monitoring data that connects with tick, landscape, and disease-risk datasets collected by collaborators. If your background is in wildlife ecology, landscape ecology, or quantitative ecology and you have at least one year of relevant experience, the details below tell you exactly what this position involves and what a strong application looks like.

Bridgewater State University Scholarship Summary

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Qualifying Requirements for the Scholarship

• You must hold a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology, urban ecology, quantitative ecology, landscape ecology, or a closely related field.
• You must have at least one year of relevant experience — fieldwork, research, or lab experience in a related area.
• Prior experience with any of the following strengthens your application materially: camera traps, ARUs (AudioMoth recorders), GIS, R, or statistical modelling. These are not hard requirements, but applicants without any of them will be at a disadvantage in a competitive pool.
• You must be willing and able to conduct fieldwork in the Greater Boston region under variable outdoor conditions — this is a field-intensive position, not a desk-based one.
• You must be organised and reliable. The position involves equipment deployment, data quality control, and coordination with undergraduate students and project collaborators across multiple institutions. These are practical demands, not aspirational ones.
• International applicants must confirm their eligibility to study and work in the United States on the relevant student visa. Contact the BSU international students office for guidance on this before applying.

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What the Research Involves

Most scholarship blogs describe assistantships in vague terms. This position has a specific research scope and specific daily responsibilities. Read both carefully before deciding to apply.

The research focus: The master’s thesis will examine how urbanisation influences wildlife activity and distribution across urban and peri-urban landscapes in southeastern Massachusetts. You will model wildlife occurrence, relative abundance, habitat use, and community patterns using camera-trap imagery and ARU acoustic data, combined with environmental and landscape covariates. The analytical approach is quantitative — you will run ecological models in R to answer questions about how urban gradients shape wildlife communities and, by extension, tick-borne disease risk.

Day-to-day responsibilities:

• Fieldwork in the Greater Boston region — regular outdoor work across multiple sites
• Deployment, maintenance, and retrieval of trail cameras and AudioMoth recorders
• Camera image processing and data organisation
• GIS and spatial data preparation
• Statistical modelling in R
• Collaboration with the lab’s postdoctoral researcher, undergraduate students, and multi-institution project partners
• Preparation of your master’s thesis, research manuscripts, and conference presentations

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This is a working research position with a 20-hour minimum per week commitment alongside your graduate coursework. Applicants who have not done fieldwork before or who have no experience with quantitative ecological methods should be honest with themselves about whether this is the right fit before applying.

Required Documents for the Bridgewater State University Scholarship

The lab is explicit: all materials must be submitted as one single PDF. Do not send separate attachments. A submission with multiple files may not be reviewed.

Your single PDF must contain all four of the following in this order:

1. Statement of interest — brief, covering your research interests, relevant experience, and career goals. Tailor this specifically to urban wildlife ecology and the NSF project described above. A generic statement of interest that could apply to any ecology position will not be competitive.
2. CV — full academic and professional CV, not a 2-page resume. Include fieldwork experience, technical skills (GIS, R, camera traps, ARUs), publications or presentations if any, and relevant coursework.
3. Unofficial transcripts — from all degree-granting institutions attended.
4. Contact information for two or three references — names, institutional affiliations, email addresses, and phone numbers. Do not attach reference letters at this stage — contact details only.

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What the Bridgewater State University Scholarship Covers

The posting describes this as a funded assistantship with salary commensurate and negotiable. Bridgewater State University has not published a fixed stipend figure for this position — the exact amount will be confirmed with Dr. Surasinghe during the enquiry process.

What funded means in practice for this type of NSF-backed assistantship at a US public university typically includes a tuition waiver for the duration of the programme and a stipend paid across the two years of the appointment. Confirm both components directly with Dr. Surasinghe when you make contact — ask specifically whether tuition is waived and what the annual stipend figure is before committing to an application.

The position runs from January 2027 through December 2028 — two full years.

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Step-by-Step Application Process for the Bridgewater State University Scholarship

The application process has two stages and the order matters.

Stage 1 — Contact Dr. Surasinghe directly (do this now, before October 2026)
Send your single PDF to Dr. Thilina Surasinghe at [email protected]. Review of enquiries begins in early October 2026 and continues until the position is filled. Contacting the lab before October puts you in the first review batch. The posting explicitly encourages prospective students to reach out before submitting a formal application — this is standard practice for funded research positions in US biology departments, and skipping this step reduces your chances.

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Stage 2 — Formal application to the BSU Biology M.S. programme
If Dr. Surasinghe responds positively to your initial contact, you will then submit a formal application to the Bridgewater State University Biology M.S. programme through the university’s graduate admissions portal. Do not submit the formal graduate application before making contact with the lab — the assistantship and the degree programme are connected, and the lab contact comes first.

Application Deadline

The formal application deadline is November 30, 2026.

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Send your materials or direct questions to:
Dr. Thilina Surasinghe, Department of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University
Email: [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

I am based in Nigeria. Can I apply for this position as an international student?

The posting does not restrict applications by nationality, and the lab works with an international network of collaborators. However, this position is based in the United States and requires you to be physically present in Bridgewater, Massachusetts for fieldwork. You will need an F-1 student visa to study in the US, and the assistantship must cover or supplement your cost of living in Massachusetts. Before applying, confirm with Dr. Surasinghe that the position is open to international students and what the stipend covers. Contact the BSU Office of International Students for visa guidance in parallel.

I have fieldwork experience but have never used R or GIS. Should I still apply?

The posting lists R and GIS as desirable, not mandatory. Strong fieldwork experience, camera trap or ARU familiarity, and a genuine interest in developing quantitative skills can compensate. Be honest in your statement of interest about where your skills are and how you plan to develop them — the lab is training a master’s student, not hiring a postdoc. What matters is whether your existing skills fit the field component and whether you can credibly commit to building the analytical side.

The posting says salary is negotiable. What does a typical funded M.S. assistantship pay at a US public university?

Stipends for funded M.S. assistantships at US public universities in the biological sciences typically range from $18,000 to $24,000 per year, often accompanied by a tuition waiver. Bridgewater State University has not published the specific figure for this position. Confirm the exact stipend and whether tuition is waived directly with Dr. Surasinghe in your initial email. Do not assume — get the figures before committing to an application from abroad.

Should I contact Dr. Surasinghe before or after I prepare my full application PDF?

The posting recommends contacting Dr. Surasinghe before submitting a formal application to the BSU graduate programme. Prepare your single PDF with all four required components and send it to the lab email as your initial contact. This serves as both your expression of interest and your application materials for lab review. If the lab responds positively, you then proceed to the formal university admissions application.

The position ends December 2028. What happens after the assistantship concludes?

The posting does not describe post-assistantship pathways. The two-year period covers the standard duration of an M.S. degree. Students who complete the programme will graduate with an M.S. in Biology from Bridgewater State University and a published or in-progress thesis on urban wildlife ecology backed by an NSF-funded research project — a strong foundation for doctoral study or a research career in conservation, public health ecology, or environmental consulting.

Disclaimer: All scholarship details, deadlines, award values, and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from official sources as of July 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly with Dr. Thilina Surasinghe and the official Bridgewater State University Biology M.S. programme before submitting your application. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with Bridgewater State University or the Surasinghe Lab.

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