Thank you for your interest in joining our research group!
Opportunities for undergraduate students: We typically hire 2 students to work on campus during the winter terms through the Work Learn program and 2-3 students during summer to work either on campus (UBC students only) or on Vancouver Island living near our field site. For opportunities for May - August 2025, please reach out in January to early February - we will be hiring at least one Work Learn student to work on campus and one student to work full time in the field on Vancouver Island. Send an email that includes a short statement about why you are interested, what skills you would bring and those you want to learn, and attach an unofficial transcript and your CV.
Opportunities for graduate students: I am looking for 1 - 2 graduate students (MSc or PhD) to join our group in 2024. I am looking for graduate students who are curious about population ecology, with at least some relevant undergraduate coursework and/or research experience. Students in the group will develop strong quantitative skills (statistical and/or modeling) and do reproducible research. Prospective students should be in interested in becoming more quantitative, and we will help them get there. Helpful if prospective students know something about identifying and growing plants, have taken at least one statistics course and an introduction to R, and have a valid driver’s license.
Graduate students have the flexibility to develop a project that fits into ongoing lab research. Specifically, for MSc students, there are opportunities to explore how plant diversity in the Garry oak ecosystem changes over time and short-spatial scales in our rainfall experiment or to dive into how changes in rainfall may change phenology at the community scale. PhD students will have more flexibility in project development, and research could take place on Vancouver Island, in model systems (duckweed or Arabidopsis) in the greenhouse, or branch out to new field sites.
The Williams Lab is committed to creating a safe and supportive lab environment, particularly for students from marginalized communities. Our group interacts with a diverse group of geographers interested in the environment, and with ecologists and evolutionary biologists from across UBC, who are brought together by the Biodiversity Research Centre for classes, seminars and discussion groups. We have ties with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Metro Vancouver, and land managers at native prairie sites across the Pacific Northwest.
Applications for MSc students are due December 15 and for Ph.D. students on January 1. Curious if you might fit into the group? Send an email ([email protected]) telling a little about your research interests. Already know you’d like to be considered? Send an email including a brief statement that describes your research interests, past research experience and why you are interested in this position, and attach your CV and an unofficial transcript.
A note about funding: All graduate students admitted to Geography are guaranteed a stable income ($26,000 - $32,000/year depending on degree program and fellowships) that comes from a combination of teaching assistantships and UBC fellowships. I am be happy to assist Canadian students with their NSERC fellowship applications.
Opportunities for postdocs: I am happy to work with prospective postdocs to apply for funding through the UBC Killam Fellowship, Banting Fellowship Program, NSERC postdoc fellowship, or other opportunities available to you through your home country.
Opportunities for undergraduate students: We typically hire 2 students to work on campus during the winter terms through the Work Learn program and 2-3 students during summer to work either on campus (UBC students only) or on Vancouver Island living near our field site. For opportunities for May - August 2025, please reach out in January to early February - we will be hiring at least one Work Learn student to work on campus and one student to work full time in the field on Vancouver Island. Send an email that includes a short statement about why you are interested, what skills you would bring and those you want to learn, and attach an unofficial transcript and your CV.
Opportunities for graduate students: I am looking for 1 - 2 graduate students (MSc or PhD) to join our group in 2024. I am looking for graduate students who are curious about population ecology, with at least some relevant undergraduate coursework and/or research experience. Students in the group will develop strong quantitative skills (statistical and/or modeling) and do reproducible research. Prospective students should be in interested in becoming more quantitative, and we will help them get there. Helpful if prospective students know something about identifying and growing plants, have taken at least one statistics course and an introduction to R, and have a valid driver’s license.
Graduate students have the flexibility to develop a project that fits into ongoing lab research. Specifically, for MSc students, there are opportunities to explore how plant diversity in the Garry oak ecosystem changes over time and short-spatial scales in our rainfall experiment or to dive into how changes in rainfall may change phenology at the community scale. PhD students will have more flexibility in project development, and research could take place on Vancouver Island, in model systems (duckweed or Arabidopsis) in the greenhouse, or branch out to new field sites.
The Williams Lab is committed to creating a safe and supportive lab environment, particularly for students from marginalized communities. Our group interacts with a diverse group of geographers interested in the environment, and with ecologists and evolutionary biologists from across UBC, who are brought together by the Biodiversity Research Centre for classes, seminars and discussion groups. We have ties with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Metro Vancouver, and land managers at native prairie sites across the Pacific Northwest.
Applications for MSc students are due December 15 and for Ph.D. students on January 1. Curious if you might fit into the group? Send an email ([email protected]) telling a little about your research interests. Already know you’d like to be considered? Send an email including a brief statement that describes your research interests, past research experience and why you are interested in this position, and attach your CV and an unofficial transcript.
A note about funding: All graduate students admitted to Geography are guaranteed a stable income ($26,000 - $32,000/year depending on degree program and fellowships) that comes from a combination of teaching assistantships and UBC fellowships. I am be happy to assist Canadian students with their NSERC fellowship applications.
Opportunities for postdocs: I am happy to work with prospective postdocs to apply for funding through the UBC Killam Fellowship, Banting Fellowship Program, NSERC postdoc fellowship, or other opportunities available to you through your home country.
