Accepting Applications for the 2025 Cohort from April 1, 2024
2025 Student Application Instructions
Applicaiton Info Session Video on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 12 PM EST
The Trellis Fund Fellowship Program (TFFP) is a program led by Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), and supported by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture (also known as the Horticulture Innovation Lab) is managed by a team at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Department of Plant Sciences.
The TFFP connects organizations in East Africa, West Africa, South Asia and Central America with U.S.-based graduate students who have agricultural expertise, generating benefits for both the students and the in-country stakeholders. FAMU leads the implementation of the TFFP, annually selecting graduate students from 1890 Land Grant and other Minority Serving Universities in the United States.
Small organizations in developing countries identify a horticultural problem facing local farmers and propose a project to the Horticulture Innovation Lab Trellis Fund. The Trellis Fund matches selected organizations with graduate students who have skills relevant to the proposed project. The students then work with the funded organization to help the project connect with information and to reach their goals. In this way, organizations are able to extend new ideas, information, and technologies to their communities, while graduate students gain hands-on experience in international development and applied research. Organizations and graduate students are encouraged to form long-term connections. Trellis Fund projects may address farmer issues related to selecting planting materials and growing media, pest management, reducing post-harvest loss, nutrition, marketing, or data collection and analysis in relation to fruits, vegetables and high-value horticultural crops.
Please view the Scopes of Work for 2024 with details on each of the available research internship. For this application cycle, there are projects in the following countries.
Graduate students in good standing, including international students, from the 1890 Land Grant and other Minority Serving Universities in the United States are invited to participate. In addition, you will need to be considered a student by your university throughout your involvement in the project.
The Trellis Study program is a six-week online program delivered from (February 17-March 28, 2025). The students selected will work at his/her own pace during the six-week period. The program is intended to prepare students for their projects and provides useful background information and practical tools for success. Topics may include survey design and implementation, communicating with your organization, developing extension materials, gender and development, and marketing strategies, The Study Program will take place virtually via Canvas with Zoom links to each module.
U.S. graduate students will be selected based on how well their expertise reflects the needs of the funded projects, as well as whether this would also be a good opportunity for the student to grow. The announcement of students selected will be on January 10, 2025.
Please submit a personal statement and resume for each of the Trellis Fund projects you want to apply for. You may apply for up to two projects (please indicate your preferences 1or 2 when you apply). You can view individual projects and access the online application with instructions for uploading your application documents here:
If applying for more than one project, please apply to each project separately by submitting a customized personal statement for each project. When you apply through our online application system, please indicate your project preference (with preference 1 being your first-choice project).
April 1, 2024 |
Student applications open |
November 1, 2024 |
Student applications close |
January 10, 2025 |
Student selections announced |
February 17-March 28, 2025 |
Six-week study program |
April 1-May 31, 2025 |
Pre-travel virtual research collaboration with in-country project staff |
June 1-September 30, 2025 |
14-day in-country capstone experience consistent with scope of work description |
If you have any questions about the application process or if you would like to browse past Trellis projects please visit http://horticulture.ucdavis.edu/main/trellis.html, or contact us at trellisfellowship@famu.edu or (850) 599-8867.
Sincerely,
The Trellis Fund Fellowship Team
TFFP-2025 Fillable Application
This program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture-funded Trellis Fund Program and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the U.S. Government.