Departmental Grants Funding for graduate student research and travel are available through the Miriam Watts-Wheeler Fund, the Gilles And Bernadette Allard Geology Award Fund, Joseph W. Berg Scholarship in Geophysics Fund, and the Levy Memorial Fund. These awards are made on a competitive basis to students in good standing, with the amount of awards determined by the quality of the proposal, available funds, and extent of efforts to seek external funding. Students are highly encouraged to apply for external grants before applying to these departmental awards. Deadlines for all awards will be announced by the Graduate Coordinator or the Academic Program Administrator. All of these funds accept applications in the Spring Semester. The Watts-Wheeler Scholarship has an additional round of funding in the Fall Semester, primarily to cover travel to the national GSA and AGU meetings. Miriam Watts-Wheeler Scholarship Fund The Miriam Watts-Wheeler Scholarships are awarded in the Fall and Spring Semesters and are open to all Geology graduate students. Watts-Wheeler Scholarships are available for travel and for research. Travel grants are intended for travel to professional meetings and conferences to present talks and posters, as well as workshops and training sessions. Research grants are intended to cover research-related expenses, such as sample collection, sample analysis, and field work. Funding recommendations are made by the Admissions Committee, with final approval by the Department Head. To apply, use the appropriate form for travel support or research support, and email it to the Academic Program Administrator, Ms. Ashley Arnold. Ask your major professor to submit a supporting letter, sent as a separate pdf to the Academic Program Administrator. The Miriam Watts-Wheeler Scholarship Fund was established in 1996 by the late Mr. Harold Elton Wheeler in honor of his wife, the late Miriam Watts Wheeler. Mrs. Wheeler’s lifelong interest in rocks and minerals gave them many years of pleasure as they traveled throughout the United States and abroad gathering specimens for her collection. Mrs. Wheeler was impressed by the University of Georgia, and Mr. Wheeler established this fund in her memory. Gilles And Bernadette Allard Geology Award Fund The Allard Award supports the field research of a graduate student. The award is drawn from the pool of qualifying Watts-Wheeler research proposals. In other words, if you submit a Watts-Wheeler research proposal and are conducting field research, you are automatically considered for the Allard Award. Funding recommendations are made by the Admissions Committee, with final approval by the Department Head. The Gilles and Bernadette Allard Geology Award Fund was initiated by Dr. Jeff Reid (Ph.D., 1981) upon the retirement of Professor Gilles Allard. Contributions from Dr. Allard’s colleagues, alumnae, as well as the Allards have made the fund operational. Joseph W. Berg Scholarship in Geophysics Fund The Berg Scholarship supports research in geophysics by undergraduate and graduate students. Funds can be used for field expenses, laboratory expenses, and research supplies. For undergraduates, funds may also be used for travel to meetings to present a talk or poster. Undergraduate students may receive a maximum of $500 during their time in the Department, and graduate students may receive up to $1500. Students may apply for additional funding in subsequent proposal cycles. To apply, use the research support form, and email it to the Academic Program Administrator, Ms. Ashley Arnold. Ask your major professor to submit a supporting letter, sent as a separate pdf to the Academic Program Administrator. This scholarship was established in memory of Dr. Joseph W. Berg, Jr., an internationally recognized geophysicist with a distinguished record of service and research in government and academia. John Sanford Levy Memorial Fund Thie Levy Fund award supports research by graduate students in marine geology, specifically the physical, chemical, or biological study of any modern saline depositional environment or any sediment or rock in a saline wetting that requires modern marine technology or logistics during sampling. Eligible areas include marine sedimentology, petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, and studies involving the paleontological, ichnological, and paleoecological implications of modern marine organisms. Preference is given to students having no other support, although all students in marine science are eligible to apply. Grant funds may be used during the summer and subsequent academic year. Proposals are evaluated by the Marine Geology Committee, which also sets the amount of money to be granted. M.S. students may receive a maximum of $1,000 during their time in the Department, and Ph.D. students may receive up to $1,500. To apply, use the research support form, and email it to the Academic Program Administrator. Ask your major professor to submit a supporting letter, sent as a separate pdf to the Academic, Ms. Ashley Arnold Program Administrator. The John Sanford Levy Memorial Fund was created in remembrance of John Sanford Levy, a masters student in marine geology in 1968, advised by Vernon Henry. External Grants We highly encourage students to seek research funding from external agencies. This has many benefits. For the student, it provides additional possibilities of funding, as well as valuable practice in seeking funding. For the department, it advertises the quality of work our students are doing, and it makes our internal funds go farther. External grants are available from many sources, and web searches often reveal new avenues for funding. Some of the major sources are listed below, but search also for regional sources of funding. If you discover a source of funding, please send the information to the Graduate Coordinator, so that it can be added here. General Geology The Geological Society of America (GSA) supports a broad range of geological research. Our Watts-Wheeler research grant application is patterned after GSA’s, so if you can write a Watts-Wheeler proposal, you can write a GSA proposal. Sigma Xi supports an even broader range of proposal across all of the sciences. The American Museum of Natural History offers several types of grants for research across a range of scientific fields. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) funds research broadly related to petroleum. Sedimentary Geology and Paleontology The Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) supports research in sedimentary geology, and they have several grants and funds available. The Paleontological Society (PS) supports research in paleontology. The Society for Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) has several types of student research grants in vertebrate paleontology. Structural and Planetary Geology The Pierazzo International Student Travel Award supports travel to planetary science meetings (conferences and workshops) outside of the United States. The Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG) Early Career Travel Award supports invited 15-minute talks at the SBAG meeting with a travel grant. The Eugene M. Shoemaker Impact Cratering Award supporst the study of impact craters on Earth or other solid bodies in the solar system. The FINESST award is a graduate fellowship in earth science, heliophysics, planetary science, and astrophysics.
