Faculty and staff positions
Graduate student opportunities
Indigenous prairie agroecosystems: investigating soil health and perspectives on climate solutions
Dr. Melissa Arcand is seeking an MSc student to conduct research to examine soil health and perspectives on climate solutions in partnership with Indigenous communities who are engaged in agriculture and agricultural land management across the Prairies. This is part of the LEAP (Leveraging Ecosystems to transform Agriculture on the Prairies) Project (https://umanitoba.ca/agricultural-food-sciences/leap), an NSERC/SSHRC funded Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative, led out of the University of Manitoba, with this position located at the University of Saskatchewan, Department of Soil Science.
Students will gain interdisciplinary experience, conducting soil health assessments as well as interviews with First Nations land managers and farmers. There will also be close interaction with the SAGE (Soil and Agroecosystem) Project, which is an outreach and education initiative focused on developing and delivering workshops on soils and Indigenous Prairie agroecology. Dr. Arcand’s team is comprised of students and staff from diverse backgrounds and life experiences working collaboratively on various topics related to soil nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, plant-soil relationships, and Indigenous agriculture.
Interested students should have the following experience, interests, and skills:
- Undergraduate degree in soil science, Indigenous studies, environmental science, environmental studies, renewable resource management, geography, or related discipline
- Strong communication skills and ability to work and communicate with colleagues and collaborators of diverse backgrounds
- Self-motivated and ability to work independently as well as in a collaborative team
- An interest in learning about plains Indigenous history, culture, and contemporary issues particularly related to agriculture and land stewardship
- Experience working in collaboration with Indigenous communities considered an asset
MSc students will be paid a stipend of $24,000 per year for 2.5 years. Additional scholarship opportunities and teaching assistant positions are available.
Interested candidates should submit a CV, a cover letter indicating your interest in this specific project, and unofficial transcripts to melissa.arcand@usask.ca.
Start date: May 2025 or September 2025.