Overview
Much of STRI’s success is due to its ability to attract some of the brightest scholars from diverse fields of tropical research. We invest more than $3 million every year to support creative young researchers at critical stages in their careers. Fellowships range from three months to three years and allow young scholars to explore their own research questions across Panama’s rich tropical ecosystems while based at our state-of-the-art facilities.
Before you apply
Prior to submitting the formal application, applicants must first reach out to the staff scientist they are interested in working with to determine if that scientist is available to serve as a research advisor and mentor. Staff research profiles and contact information can be found here and a list of research associates is here. Also, applicants should review the specific guidelines of each fellowship. You must use the Smithsonian Online Academic Appointment System (SOLAA) available through the Office of Fellowships and Internships webpage to apply for all internships for which you are eligible.
* Tax Information – This information is being offered as a courtesy only for fellows and interns. Fellows and interns are solely responsible for determining their own tax liability and complying with all applicable tax laws and reporting obligations.
Note: Neither the Smithsonian, on behalf of STRI, nor the Republic of Panama withholds taxes on any fellowship awards. This is because fellows are performing their own, independent research and are neither treated as employees or contractors of the Smithsonian.
US citizens: Payment of income tax is a personal obligation of each individual. The Internal Revenue Service of the United States (IRS) specifies that all income of citizens and residents of the USA, and their spouses if filing jointly, that is generated from fellowship or internship appointments is reportable.
Smithsonian stipend recipients who are U.S. citizens or residents will NOT receive an IRS tax form (W-2 or 1099) from the Smithsonian because they are not employees of or contractors for the Smithsonian. Stipend recipients are responsible, however, for including the entire award (stipend, travel and research allowances) in their income tax return for each full or partial tax year during which he/she received an award. U.S. citizens who reside in the U.S. will receive a Financial Statement from the Smithsonian that includes the amount of the stipend paid but this is for the fellow or intern’s personal records and is not submitted to the IRS. U.S. Citizens who reside in Panama will not receive a Financial Statement unless they request one. Persons who are residents of other countries are responsible for complying with the applicable tax reporting requirements for their home country,
For those required to report their income to the IRS, various income exemptions and the tax credits on fellowship and internship awards may be available, depending in part on the length of time the fellow or intern spends in Panama during a tax year. These exemptions vary tremendously with individual circumstances and each fellow/intern is responsible for determining his/her own exemptions and tax liability. The Smithsonian cannot provide tax advice on these matters. Fellowship recipients are encouraged to consult IRS publications 970 "Tax Benefits for Education" at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf, and publication 54 “Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad” at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf. You may call the IRS at 1-800-829-3676 for further information and to request forms by mail. Commercial online tax preparation services also are available.
Current fellowship opportunities
Resilience and Sustainability Science Postdoctoral Fellowship
Life on a Sustainable Planet aims to promote evidence-based decision-making, working in concert with local communities to address the climate crisis.
Life on a Sustainable Planet will use the Institution’s more than 175-year history of scientific research and data gathering across a global network of research centers, its expansive museum collection, and its diverse set of exhibits and educational programs to produce, curate and communicate evidence-based strategies for adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change to the public. The Institution will pioneer new technologies to collect environmental data, develop new platforms to analyze and share these data and work with partners and communities to inform conservation action.
Life on a Sustainable Planet, in part, is supported by the Adrienne Arsht Community-Based Resilience Solutions Initiative, which in turn, is funding a cohort of resilience fellows, working across several Smithsonian units and with outside partners, to use our collections to better understand resilience in nature and in human communities, and to strengthen connections between our collections and the latest scientific innovations. In this “living laboratory,” scientists will study how we can use fundamental knowledge of nature-based resilience solutions in ecological systems such as tropical rainforests or oceans to help create resilient communities and to devise and field-test solutions.
Through the Resilience and Sustainability Fellowship, the Smithsonian seeks to support up to five post-doctoral fellows as they conduct independent research in support of the Smithsonian’s goals to understand and expand resilience. These fellows will be able to leverage the Smithsonian’s resources, including its scientists, collections, exhibits, and data sets, to advance scientific understanding resilience and sustainability in either marine or terrestrial systems.
October 15, 2024
Fall 2024
24 months (in residence).
Recipients will receive a stipend of $62,000 per year for Postdoctoral Fellows. Stipends are prorated for periods of less than 24 months. A maximum research allowance of $10,000 is available for the fellowship period.
The Anthony G. Coates 3-Year Postdoctoral Fellowship
June 15, 2024
Three years
Postdoctoral fellowship is awarded once a year to an outstanding candidate in one of the many research fields practiced at STRI. Successful candidate will conduct a three-year research program based at a STRI facility, typically in the lab of a staff scientist who serves as host or advisor on the project.
Researchers whose Ph.D. studies are completed before fellowship begins.
A yearly stipend of $US 57,000 and a research budget of up to $16,000.
Three-year NOMIS–STRI Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Animal Behavior in the Tropics
April 15, 2025
Three years
The start date is flexible but should begin within six months of notification of the award.
The NOMIS Foundation, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), headquartered in the Republic of Panama, are seeking outstanding biologists for three-year postdoctoral fellowships in tropical animal behavior (see: NOMIS and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute launch new fellowship program). Successful candidates will explore fundamental questions addressing social behavior and its proximate and ultimate causes. Areas of specialty may include, but are not limited to, the evolution of social behavior, sensory biology and neuroethology, cognitive ecology, socioecology, neurogenetics, and the genetic or physiological bases of social behavior. Candidates working on any animal taxa, marine or terrestrial, will be considered. NOMIS–STRI fellows will be resident in Panama, and will have the opportunity to conduct comparative research throughout the tropics. Awards are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, or disability. STRI is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity in its workforce.
The NOMIS Foundation supports and enables insight-driven science across all disciplines, focusing on researchers who put forth bold new ideas, exhibit a pioneering spirit, and seek to inspire the world around them. NOMIS’ vision is to “create a spark” in the world of science by enabling and supporting pioneering research in the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities that benefits humankind and our planet. In 2024, NOMIS partnered with STRI to establish the NOMIS–STRI Fellowship Program for Animal Behavior Research in the Tropics.
- PhD studies must be completed before the fellowship begins. Preferably, candidates will be more advanced in their scientific career, and will have already acquired their first postdoctoral experience. However, the Selection Panel will also consider exceptionally promising candidates who fall outside the above criteria.
- NOMIS–STRI Fellows are expected to commit a significant portion of their research at STRI’s field locations in Panama.
A yearly stipend of $US 62,000 and a research and travel budget of up to $13,000 per year.
D. Ross Robertson fellowships for field research on neotropical shore-fishes
TBA
The 2023 fellowship is a 12-month predoctoral fellowship.
Fellowships usually begin about two months after notification of acceptance.
Supported by an endowment created to further the accomplishment of field research on the evolution, ecology, natural history and related taxonomic and systematic issues, of marine and brackish-water fishes found in nearshore, tropical and subtropical waters of North, Central and South America, and the Panama Canal. This includes research in neotropical countries other than Panama, although the fellow is expected to be based at STRI during at least part of the tenure of the fellowship.
PhD students formally enrolled at a university.
In 2023 this endowment will support a 12-month predoctoral fellowship for a student pursuing a PhD. Stipend: US$46,000; Research allowance: up to $25,000 (note that this is intended to cover, and be the sole source of STRI funding for, all reasonable expenses for the research planned in the proposal, so prepare the budget accordingly); Round trip airfare to Panama; Health insurance - up to $2,500.
D. Ross Robertson Research Fellowship Awards for Field Studies of Neotropical Deep-Reef fishes
September 30, 2024
Research must be conducted within one year after accepting the award.
Fellowships usually begin about two months after notification of acceptance.
The endowment supports field research on any aspects of the biology of living reef-fishes found between 40-300m, anywhere in the Neotropics. Awardees are not required to use STRI facilities nor to conduct research in Panama.
PhD students formally enrolled at a university, and recent PhDs (up to 3 years after receipt of their degree) who are formally affiliated with a research- or teaching institution. Proposals for collaborative research involving both the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and the Division of Fishes of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) are encouraged.
Up to $40,000.00. The fellowship will support the costs of conducting fieldwork on deep-reef fishes. Those costs include the awardee’s travel to and from the research site and living expenses while conducting fieldwork there. Awards do not provide a stipend or cover costs of related laboratory research.
Short-Term fellowships
February 15, June 15 and October 15
Three months
Fellowships usually begin about two months after notification of acceptance.
The Short-Term Fellowship Program allows selected candidates to come to STRI at any time of the year and is an excellent resource to provide support for graduate students and introduce them to tropical research. Although focused primarily on graduate students, awards are occasionally given to undergraduate and postdoctoral candidates. These fellowships enable selected candidates to work in the tropics and explore research possibilities at STRI.
Graduate students, undergrads and postdocs.
Fellowships provide a modest stipend to cover living expenses while at STRI (currently $1,250/month, a total amount of $3,750 for stipend), a modest research allowance, NOT to exceed $2000; and a round-trip coach airfare. Partial awards are occasionally given depending on funding availability. Applicants are encouraged to seek additional sources of funding.
Sabbatical for Visiting Scientists
Up to twelve months
Sabbatical for up to twelve months may be given to an individual who will do full-time research or other activities at STRI and has demonstrated the achievements expected of an established and independent research scientist, scholar, professional or creative. Sabbatical Fellows are expected to pursue independent research, scholarship, or creative work, although collaboration with STRI scientists and/or members of the Panamanian scientific community is highly desirable.
3-YEAR TUPPER POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP
June 15, 2024
Three years
Appointments will begin after May 1, 2025.
STRI’s most prestigious postdoctoral fellowship is awarded once a year to an outstanding candidate in one of the many research fields practiced at STRI. Successful candidate will conduct a three-year research program based at a STRI facility, typically in the lab of a staff scientist who serves as host or advisor on the project.
Researchers whose Ph.D. studies are completed before fellowship begins.
A yearly stipend of $US 57,000 and a research budget of up to $16,000.
Smithsonian Institution fellowships
The Smithsonian Institution’s central fellowship program awards scholarships to conduct independent study at one or more of the Smithsonian’s 19 units and research centers. Fellowships are designed for young scholars at different stages of their academic career from graduate students to senior postdoctoral researchers. Please follow the links below for information about duration, eligibility and stipends related to specific SI fellowships.
There are numerous Smithsonian Institution fellowships that can be hosted at STRI, ranging from 10 weeks to three years, depending on the fellowship. These academic appointments are targeted to a range of young scholars from graduate students to senior post-doctoral researchers. All applicants for fellowships are eligible and considered for the Secretary’s Distinguished Research Fellowship, which provides the awardee with an additional year of support.
The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP) is listed in SOLAA under the Office of Fellowships.
