This award partially supports the GSA research grants program. The primary role of this program is to provide partial support of Master's and Doctoral thesis research in the geological sciences for graduate students at universities in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America. Grants are intended as an aid to a research project, not to sustain the entire cost. Students may receive a GSA graduate student grant once at the Master's level and once at the Ph.D. level and a maximum of $4000 per award will be given to an individual student. Since the amount of money requested for grants usually greatly exceeds the amount available, applications are evaluated on a competitive basis.
Eligibility is restricted to GSA members. Grants are awarded only to individuals; institutions, societies, and universities are not eligible for grants. Grants with allowances for institutional overhead costs will not be funded. Grants are awarded to graduate students currently enrolled in universities or colleges in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America. Applications are evaluated on the basis of the scientific merits of the problems, the capability of the investigator, and reasonableness of the budget. GSA strongly encourages women, members of under-represented groups in Geosciences, and persons with disabilities to participate fully in this grants program.
The Geological Society of America’s (GSA) Graduate Student Research Grants Program (Program) is one of the largest and most prestigious funding programs for graduate students in the geosciences. This program aids in field and laboratory costs of geoscience projects proposed and conducted by master’s and doctoral students at universities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. The GSA Program was established in 1933 when it awarded 40 research grants for a total amount of $47,600. Since then, over $11.6 million has been awarded to almost 10,000 geoscientists through 2010. Many noted geoscientists have benefited from the GSA Program, including Harold C. Urey, a Nobel Prize winner and 13 current members of the National Academy of Sciences. An average of $2000 is awarded to roughly 50% of the applicants yearly. Funding for the GSA Program is supported by the GSA Foundation, GSA, and from the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF has awarded GSA matching funds (approximately 32% of the entire Program) since 1990. NSF’s long-term relationship with GSA has played a key role in the professional development of geoscientists by supporting student research. Many of these projects have led to timely discoveries that affect the future and quality of our environment and have often extended the impact of research of principal investigators funded directly by NSF (by providing supplemental student support). Indirectly, the NSF/GSA relationship has had a positive influence on the growth and effectiveness of geoscience departments in universities and research institutions (e.g., by broadening the scope of research for emerging scientists). It has also benefited geoscientists who work in government agencies and in industry (by fostering collaboration between students and senior researchers). A continued goal for the GSA Program is to encourage and support women and minorities in the geosciences. GSA has supported these groups at relatively high and constant levels and has acknowledged these grants in the GSA monthly journal GSA Today and through various awards. The GSA Program provides three minority research awards and one woman-specific research award, all funded through the GSA Foundation. These awards are presented yearly at the GSA Annual Meeting at the Student Research Grant Awards Ceremony. It is GSA’s hope that women and minorities who are funded through this Program will be more competitive in the academic and professional fields of geoscience. By creating a foundation of student research support, NSF and GSA together have helped direct and shape the entire geoscience community and the field itself. Students, professors, and the broader scientific community have come to rely on this program as an ongoing part of geoscience education, both as a means for professional development of fledgling scientists, and as a forum to address future challenges we face from a variety of geoscience perspectives.
