Applications Invited for MSc Dissertation Fellowships - 2025

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About the Organization

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) is a globally recognised non-profit  organisation focused on environmental conservation and sustainable, socially just development. ATREE engages in the generation and dissemination of rigorous interdisciplinary knowledge that informs and is informed by the needs of grassroots communities, policymakers and the wider public. It prioritises capacity-building for producing the next generation of scholars.

About the Fellowship  

The Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) is a non-profit organisation focused on rigorous interdisciplinary knowledge generation for use by policy and practice, towards environmental conservation and sustainable, socially just development.

The AMP-Himalaya project at ATREE aims to conserve biodiversity, restore landscapes and foster human well-being in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). Three key areas prioritized to achieve the goal in the IHR are: 1) Assessment, Monitoring, and Conservation of Biodiversity; 2) Restoration of Multi-functional Landscapes; and 3) Nature-based Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Resilience.

The project is being implemented in 3 distinct landscapes located in 3 states and 1 union territory of IHR namely: the Khangchendzonga Landscape covering the Darjeeling hills of north Bengal and Sikkim state; the Trans-Himalayan Landscape representing a high dependence on rangelands with agro-pastoral and pastoral systems in Ladakh; and Arunachal Pradesh with the largest, greenest, ethnically diverse and most biodiversity rich landscapes.

As part of AMP-Himalaya project, ATREE invites applications to provide support to Four, fourth semester Masters students who wish to do their dissertations in the following regions and thematic areas.

Ladakh

Preferred research areas for the dissertation include but are not limited to:

• Participatory mapping of community-conserved areas and sacred valleys in Ladakh. 
• Transitions in pastoralism especially with respect to the use of natural resources, politics and gender dynamics. 
• Mapping and documentation of biocultural knowledge and practices. 
• Human-wildlife interactions.  
• Pedagogic research for courses on pastoralism – both at school and university level. 
• Tribal autonomy and local governance systems in Ladakh.  
• Tourism in Ladakh.
• Environmental change and its impacts
• Environmental pollution

Khangchendzonga Landscape – Sikkim & Hills of North Bengal

• Biodiversity in Changing Landscapes. 
• Assessment of Ecosystem Services Provided by Remnant Forest Patches.  
• Dimensions of Human-Wildlife Interaction. 
• Traditional Knowledge and Sustainable Use of Bioresources.
• Assessing the impact of Climate Change on Himalayan Biodiversity and Ecosystem.
• Evaluating the Economic Impacts of Land Use Changes and Biodiversity Loss in the Khangchendzonga Landscape.
• One Health Perspective: Interlinkages of Environment and Zoonotic Diseases

Arunachal Pradesh

• Effectiveness / evaluation of Conservation regimes
• Quantifying biodiversity and bioresources in Eastern Himalayan ecosystems
• Traditional Ecological Knowledge and cultural systems of local communities linked to forest and wildlife
• Policy review around CCAs & OECMs

Eligibility

• Pursuing Masters in any discipline but should have completed three semesters (course work)
• Students should be studying in universities in the Indian Himalayan  Region (IHR)
• Preference will be given to students from IHR.
• Students who have started their research in second and third semesters can also apply.

How to Apply

Interested students may submit the application using the attached template and relevant documents and a letter from their institute/university to support their fellowship to ihr.fellowships@atree.org

The students would be jointly supervised/co supervised by faculty from ATREE and their respective institutions/University.

Shortlisted candidates may be invited for an interview with the selection committee.

Last date to apply: September 25, 2025

For any further information/queries please email ihr.fellowships@atree.org

Download Application Form

For more information please check the Link

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Tags Environment and Sustainability Livelihood Research