Departmental Grants Award for graduate student research and travel are available through several funds, including the Miriam Watts-Wheeler Fund, the Gilles And Bernadette Allard Geology Award Fund, Joseph W. Berg Scholarship in Geophysics Fund, the Levy Memorial Fund, and the Paul and Loretha Thiele Graduate Fellowship Fund. Although the Watts-Wheeler Fund is open to all graduate students, the other funds target specific types of research. When you submit an application, consider which funds you might be eligible for. To apply for these funds, use the appropriate form for travel support or research support. 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. Email your completed proposal 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. Deadlines for all awards will be announced by the Graduate Coordinator or the Academic Program Administrator. There are typically two deadlines, one in September and one in March. 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 aggressively seek out and apply for external funding before applying for departmental funding. Funding recommendations are made by the Student Awards Committee, with final approval by the Department Head. Miriam Watts-Wheeler Scholarship Fund The Miriam Watts-Wheeler Scholarships are open to all Geology graduate students, and they are the principle means by which we support the research and conference travel of graduate students. The Miriam Watts-Wheeler Scholarship Fund was established in 1996 by the late Mr. Harold Elton Wheeler in honor of his wife, 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 graduate students for primarily field-based research. This typically would involve more than sample collection. This is commonly true for mapping, structural geological studies, and stratigraphic studies; however, it could be used for any study where the research takes place primarily in the field. 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. 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. The Levy Memorial Fund was established in remembrance of John Levy, a graduate student conducting marine geological research on Sapelo Island. Paul and Loretha Thiele Graduate Fellowship Fund The Thiele Fund award supports research in geology, with first preference to students studying clay mineralogy. The Thiele Fund was created in 2025 through the generosity of the Paul and Loretha Thiele and their advancement of clay mineralogy and mining in the state of Georgia. 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. General funds are available from the Geological Society of America, Sigma Xi, the American Museum of Natural History, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, among others. Discipline-specific funds are commonly available, such as for planetary geology, paleontology, hydrology, and sedimentary geology. In some cases, funding is available for specific field areas, so cast a wide net in searching for grants. Also seek out the advice of more senior graduate students.
