PhD student to start in the Fall 2018 semester. The student will work on a collaborative, funded
project studying the impacts of crop weed management practices on wild bee communities and
honey bee colony health. Students interested in landscape or nutritional ecology, pollinator
health or behavior, or sustainable agriculture are particularly encouraged to apply. Experience
identifying wild bees is especially valuable but not required to be successful.
The Rittschof lab takes an integrative and comparative approach to the study of pollinator
social behavior and health, using tools and approaches from behavioral ecology, neuroscience,
and genomics. The Entomology Department is in the College of Agriculture, Food, and the
Environment, and it represents a broad range of basic and applied insect science relevant to
urban, forest, and agricultural landscapes, as well as human and animal health. Our lab
interacts frequently with researchers across the University campus, including the Department
of Biology and the Neuroscience Department in the College of Medicine.
Kentucky is a unique and exciting state for agricultural studies, with a wide range of specialty
and commodity crops, a robust beekeeping community, many small family farms, and a focus
on local production and sustainable practices. Lexington is a historic, mid-sized city situated
among beautiful horse farms in the heart of bourbon country. We are in close proximity to
renowned outdoor recreation areas, including the Red River Gorge and Mammoth Cave
Students interested in this position should contact Clare Rittschof (firstname.lastname@example.org).
Please be prepared to provide a one-page document that describes your research interests,
specifically how your past experiences and coursework have shaped these interests and your
motivation to earn a PhD.