Required Program Components
By the end of the program, graduate students will have completed the following components:
Thesis Based Internship
CCL’s core element is the thesis internship, in which MSc/PhD students co-create research question(s) and conduct research in collaboration with their partner and their academic supervisor. The internship includes a mobility component, in which students engage in their research on location (minimum 3 months for Masters students; 6 months for PhD students).
Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Course
CCL offers a team-taught graduate course that provides a shared foundation in the history, theory, successes, and failures of conservation science from a social-ecological systems perspective.
Winter Workshop Series (Two Terms)
CCL offers training in leadership, facilitation, project management, knowledge sharing, ethical community engagement, and Indigenous-Canadian relations. Throughout the series, students will have opportunities to present their research and build their communication skills. We will also invite CCL partners to share diverse career paths, support networking, and discuss special topics depending on student interest.
Land‑based Learning Experience
This is a multi-day, fully funded experience centered on Indigenous-led conservation, intercultural learning, reflection, and building relationships. CCL participants will engage with Indigenous knowledge holders and conservation experts in a respectful and reciprocal learning environment.
While the mentioned components are required, the program is flexible, allowing students to complete elements in a different order over the two years of the fellowship—especially in this first year of the program, when some students may have already conducted some or all of their . Students with demonstrated competencies may opt out of selected components of the program upon approval from CCL.
Optional Program Components
CCL also offers optional components, allowing students to tailor the program to their research needs, career goals, and interests:
Technical Skills Training and Lab Rotations
Students may participate in lab rotations, field visits, workshops, or courses to develop specialized technical or analytical skills not available within their home departments.
Topics may include (but are not limited to):
- Research Ethics
- Biodiversity surveys and monitoring
- Remote sensing of vegetation and land use
- Camera trapping
- Data science and statistical modeling
- Genomics and eDNA
- Evidence-based and structured decision making
Additional Graduate Courses
CCL fellows may enroll in graduate courses developed by IBioS faculty taking an interdisciplinary approach to conservation, such as:
- Causal Inference for an Interdisciplinary Audience [Gantois] (RES 500X), will be taught in 2027
- Ethical Engagement for Climate and Environmental Justice [Wittman] (ENVR 350)
- Strategic Thinking for Healthy Forests and People [Devisscher] (UFOR523 / FRST532C)
Undergraduate Mentorship
CCL fellows may mentor undergraduate interns through the Biology Undergraduate Diversity in Research (BUDR) program. BUDR supports students from underrepresented groups by providing mentorship and research experience across a range of scientific disciplines, including Botany, Zoology, and Earth Science. This mentorship opportunity allows graduate students to develop leadership and supervision skills, while gaining experience in inclusive mentorship.
