Cornell's Food System and Poverty Reduction IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program, funded by the National Science Foundation) addresses the challenges faced by the 1.2 billion poorest people on the planet who live in rural areas in developing countries and depend on food systems for their livelihoods. Food systems are dynamic systems that are characterized by complex webs of connections, dynamic linkages and feedback loops among many spatially and temporally distinct sub-systems. Therefore, understanding how to manage them to reduce poverty, hunger and malnutrition, and environmental degradation poses a complex challenge that necessarily involves people from multiple disciplines who are able to collaborate and communicate with one another effectively.

The program is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents admitted through one of 20 participating graduate fields. For information on funding levels, curriculum, and how to apply, see the program's website here.