2026 Application: Synthesis Skills for Early Career Researchers (SSĒCR)

Please complete this application for participation in the LTER Synthesis Skills for Early Career Researchers (SSĒCR) course by March 31, 2026. The class will consist of 2-hour online class meetings every other week, alternating with team project meetings. Participants should plan to devote 3-5 hours per week to class activities from September 2026-December 2026.

Name(Required)
If you entered “Other” for career stage, please specify
At which institution are you a student or employed?
Subfields
Please check up to three subfields in which you are most interested.
Network Affiliation(s)
Are you associated with an ecology-related research network? If so which?

Please indicate the primary LTER site with which you are affiliated.
Your advisor or supervisor will be contacted for a brief statement in support of your application to ensure that they understand you will be devoting time to the course. If there is important context regarding your this relationship that you’d like to share, please do so in the comment section at the end of the application.
Please briefly describe what interests you about this opportunity and what you hope to get out of it.
Do you have a specific synthesis research project in mind? This might be an extension of your own research or a side project that has sparked your interest. Project ideas are not required at this stage and will evolve throughout the application process and first weeks of the course.
If you have faced particular challenges in your education, research, or career, please briefly describe the challenges, how you have handled them, and what you need to be successful.
If there is anything else you’d like us to know about your application or participation in the course, please add it here.
Time Commitment(Required)
Building skills takes time and practice. Do you anticipate you will be able to devote 12-20 hours per month to course work and a synthesis research project during the course period (Fall 2026)?

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