Research Opportunities

We are always looking for enthusiastic, self-motivated, and technically skilled students and scholars to work in our lab, at any level of postsecondary education. Most people who work with the Seto Lab have experience in some combination of GIS, remote sensing, complex systems analysis, or statistics. Earth systems science, economics, and geography are the disciplinary foundations of our research, but our projects draw on many more fields that study urbanization and its impacts. We’re looking for thinkers and doers who want to learn fast and push the envelope on urban research: modelers, web designers, poets and bakers are welcome to join us. Please browse our site and read some of our publications to decide whether your interests align with ours.

While we can promise you substantive research opportunities at any level of educational attainment, the best way to work with our lab will depend on your advancement within your field.

Postdocs and Visiting Scholars

Every year, our lab hosts several postdoctoral scholars or affiliates from universities around the world, usually for periods of two months or longer. As a grant-funded lab we ordinarily require postdoctoral and visiting scholars to possess external financial support. If you are interested in hosting opportunities, please send a brief email to Karen Seto describing your research interests, skill set, and what you would like to contribute in the lab.

International Scholars
We are happy to explore new opportunities to collaborate with international scholars and consider hosting visitors in our lab. We receive many more requests than our lab can support and prioritize collaborations that are best suited to our current projects and areas of expertise.

Prospective Graduate Students

Graduate student members the Seto Lab are enrolled through the doctoral program of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, which provides full funding for graduate students. If you wish to conduct research through the lab or request that Karen Seto serve as your advisor, please send her a brief email describing your research interests and intended contributions to the lab.

Current Masters and Undergraduate Students

Students enrolled at Yale are welcome in our lab provided they can work for at least one full academic year. If you are already affiliated with Yale, the best way to gain exposure to our work is to take a course offered by Professor Seto, or alternatively, a course in remote sensing or spatial analysis techniques.  The majority of students affiliated with the Seto Lab are enrolled in a degree program with the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, our host institution. We are especially open to hosting students with well-defined research projects with geospatial dimensions.

If you are interested in assisting with a particular project and honing a particular skill set, please contact the project collaborators. While we can provide substantive research opportunities, we cannot promise funding from our lab unless we have advertised a position.

Summer Interns

We invite students seeking summer research opportunities to consider working with our research group. Year-to-year, our projects involve methods from library research to algorithm development, and we will place you with a project that can help you build skills in your field of interest. We require that you commit to at least 8 weeks of work, with preference for longer periods.

Whether you attend Yale or another university, New Haven is a great place to spend a summer and has there are many affordable sublet opportunities near our lab. We regret that we cannot provide financial support unless we are advertising a paid position.