Graduate Student Conservation Research Award

Graduate Student Conservation Research Award

The Conservation and Environmental Issues Committee (CEIC) is pleased to offer the annual Graduate Student Conservation Research Award (GSCRA).

The GSCRA consists of one or more awards totaling $1,000 supporting the best graduate student research proposal(s) addressing at least one of the following criteria:

  1. advancing knowledge of the biology or ecology of an endangered or threatened species or ecosystem;
  2. advancing knowledge of conservation of biodiversity at any or all levels of organization (from genes to ecosystems);
  3. developing a plan to conserve an aquatic species or ecosystem;
  4. supporting or implementing the conservation or restoration of an impaired or threatened species or ecosystem.

Eligibility

  • Applicants must be CURRENT STUDENT MEMBERS of SFS. Click here to to join SFS.
  • Only graduate students are eligible to apply.
  • Applicants may receive only one GSCRA award during their student career.
  • Project must be on-going or to be initiated upon receipt of award.
  • Students who receive one SFS endowment award will NOT be eligible for other endowment awards in the same year.

Instructions

To be considered for the Graduate Student Conservation Research Award in 2025 you must apply by January 26, 2025.

Please submit all proposal materials as .pdf files.

The proposal should consist of 4 parts: Part 1 should contain applicant information, Part 2 consists of the project description, Part 3 is the reference section, and Part 4 provides a budget and budget justification.

Part 1. Include the following applicant information: Name, institution, mailing address, telephone/fax number, email address, current degree program (M.S. or Ph.D.) and number of years in current degree program, major professor/advisor's name, and project title. Please also include a very short paragraph (no more than 4 sentences) describing how your project will directly address one or more of the four award criteria listed in the first paragraph of this announcement.

Part 2. The project description must be limited to two single-spaced pages (excluding references) written in 12 point font with standard 1" margins on all sides and should contain sufficient detail for evaluation. Project descriptions should include a clear, concise description of objectives, hypotheses, methods, anticipated results, and significance of the research.

Part 3. A separate brief letter from the applicant's major professor/advisor confirming graduate status must be submitted directly to Karen Gaines (Karenh.Gaines@dgf.nm.gov).

Part 4. The budget must contain sufficient detail and explanation of how the award will be used. The following items are typically supported: Living expenses in the field or at a research station; travel to study sites (if via automobile, an allowance of $0.55 (U.S.)/mile may be used to estimate costs); consumable supplies or expendable equipment. The following items will not be supported: salaries, manuscript preparation and publication costs.

Applications lacking any of the requested information will not be reviewed.

Application Submission

Application materials should be submitted in electronic form to Karen Gaines (khgaines@hotmail.com). The subject line of the email should read: CEIC Research Award Proposal. 

All applications will be reviewed by a non-student committee of reviewers appointed by the CEIC committee chairs, and proposals will be rated based on the criteria described above. Award decisions will be made by late-February following the application deadline. The SFS Conservation Fund should be acknowledged for providing funds in support of research.

Past Recipients

2024 | Guido Herrera-Rodriguez, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

2023 | Matea Djokic, University of California, Irvine

2022 | Daniel J. Toews, University of California, Merced

2021 | Brenna Friday, Wayne State University

2020 | Susan Washko, The University of Arizona

2019 | 
Marshall Wolf, Utah State University
Rachel Buck, Utah State University

2018 | Benjamin Steven Wilson, Austin Peay State University

2017 | 
Jacob M. Hutton, University of Kentucky
Corey A. Krabbenhoft, Wayne State University

2016 | Jessica T. Grady, Austin Peay State University

2015 |
Zachary Wolf, Austin Peay State University
Anna Boegehold, Wayne State University

2014 | Mason Murphy, University of Kentucky