Funding opportunities
The Steve Farrell Memorial Fund
The Steve Farrell Memorial Fund offers financial support to postgraduate students (of any age) attending field based sedimentology conferences outside the UK. Applications for assistance with sedimentological fieldwork may also be considered. Awards are in the region of £250-300.
Successful recipients of the Fund are requested to prepare a short illustrated report on their experiences, for inclusion in the BSRG web site and newsletter.
How to Apply
Applications are assessed by the BSRG Committee primarily on the originality of the research and need. Send the following documents by e-mail to the BSRG Awards Officer by 31st January (rtf or pdf format, all in 12 point Times, single spaced, minimum 1.5 cm margin, with diagrams if appropriate):
A brief CV emphasizing your academic qualifications back to first degree level. Include: your name, current UK university, supervisors name(s), current source of funding, other sources of funding applied for (all frequently omitted!). Stick to relevant information we don't need to know if you can juggle chain saws while unicycling but we do need to hear about the training you have received (any related courses/industry experience acquired during your PhD period), relevant skills, any other awards you have received during your PhD research and the financial background to your project (for example are you NERC-, Industry-, University-, Department- or self-funded or a combination of these?). No more than 1 side of A4.
An outline of your present and proposed research. Outline the key generic problem that your PhD research is aiming to solve. Try to stress the aims, and possible uses of the research. Why should we fund you and not someone else? You must include: an explanation of how the award will be used (conference or fieldwork) and how your personal development and academic experience will benefit. No more than 2 sides of A4.
A breakdown of the budget giving details of the total cost of fieldwork or conference attendance. If you are applying for partial funding from BSRG you need to include a statement of how the balance will be raised. We need to know the exact amount that you are requesting from the fund. 1 side A4 max.
An e-mail from your supervisor, sent directly to the BSRG Awards Officer by the deadline, that includes a statement confirming that you are a PhD student at the institution named in your CV and demonstrating that you fulfil the conditions of the award. The email should include an explanation of why the award is needed for the project. This should not be a reference as such but should justify the request for funding and include comments as to why additional funds are require
Past winners
2022 Awards:
Eivind Vagle (University of Manchester) "Determination of processes governing hypogene dissolution and collapse of carbonate rocks" - Award of £200 to support fieldwork in North Wales and Ireland.
2019 Awards:
Jesse Zondervan (University of Plymouth) "Eccentricity-forcing of Saharan climate and its influence on the evolution of fluvial systems" - Award of £250 to support attendance at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna.
2017 Awards:
Zoe Roseby (University of Southampton) - “Reconstructing the processes and deglacial history of the Anvers Palaeo-Ice Stream Trough, western Antarctic Peninsula.” – Award of £603 to support a research visit to the University of Florida to learn and apply a novel dating technique.
Benjamin Taylor (University of St Andrews) – “Enhanced carbon sequestration through saltmarsh restoration.” – Award of £420 to support attendance at the EGU General Assembly, Vienna.
2016 Awards:
Oscar Baez (University of Leeds) – "Stratigraphic heterogeneity induced by allogenic factors in a Paleogene low net-to-gross fluvial succession, Tremp-Graus, Spain." – Award of £300 towards fieldwork in the Tremp-Graus Basin, Spain.
Andrew Cunliffe (University of Exeter) – "Carbon dynamics in degrading semi-arid rangeland ecosystems." – Award of £300 to support attendance at the EGU General Assembly in Vienna. Read Andrew's report.
2015 Awards:
Orla Bath-Enright (University of Portsmouth) – “The Burgess Shale: Short distance bustling commuters or long distance serene surfers?” – Award of £500 towards fieldwork in the Burgess Shale, Canada
2014 Awards:
Joseph Kenworthy (St Andrews) - Attendance at Ocean Sciences Meeting, Hawaii (£200)
Martin Geach (Plymouth) - Attendance at Fluvial Archive Group meeting, Spain (£400)
Chris Unsworth (Hull) - Fieldwork to assess preservation of dune cross-sets at the event scale (£710)
Craig Smeaton (St Andrews) - Fieldwork to assess link between carbon in terrestrial and marine sinks (£500)
2013 Awards:
Thilo Wrona: £200
Claire Keevil: £1640
2012 Awards:
Mauricio Santos £500
Roman Soltan £250
2011 Awards:
Iris Verhagen, Bangor University (full award) £900 – conference presentation, INTERCOH 2011
Nick Holgate, Imperial College London (partial award) £500 – fieldwork, USA
2010 Awards:
Steve Banham, University of Leeds (full award) £490 – fieldwork, NW Scotland
John Cummings, University of Liverpool (partial award) £200 – conference presentation, EGU
Matt Booth, University of Edinburgh (partial award) £200 – fieldwork, Turkey
2009 Awards:
Samantha Ilott, University of Plymouth (full award) £350 – fieldwork, Sorbas, Spain
2008 Awards:
Robert Raine, University of Birmingham (full award) £322
2007 Awards:
Oliver Wakefield, University of Keele (winner) £450
Rhodri Jerrett, University of Liverpool (partial award) £200
2006 Awards:
Aaron Micallef, University of Southampton (winner) £350
Stephen Cain, University of Keele (partial award) £600
2005 Awards:
Pablo Harris Davila, University of Leicester (winner) £600
Simon Cook, University of Keele (partial award) £300
2004 Awards:
Rob Duller, University of Keele (winner) £360
Oliver Jordan, University of Keele (partial award) £300
2003 Awards:
James Howard, University of Leicester (winner) £300
Chris Edwards, University of Liverpool (partial award) £200
Roy Davies, University of Liverpool (partial award) £200
The Gill Harwood Memorial Fund
The Gill Harwood Memorial Fund offers financial support to female graduate students (of any age) and female sedimentologists (under the age of 30), of any nationality, who require funds to assist them in carrying out sedimentological fieldwork or for attendance at international meetings.
Successful recipients of each fund are required to report on their BSRG-supported activities, normally via presenting a poster or talk at the following year’s Annual General Meeting.
About the Fund
In memory of Gill Harwood's international contribution to evaporite and carbonate sedimentology, and in keeping with Gill's spirit of global adventure and knowing that she would want other young women to share in some of the opportunities she pursued. The British Sedimentological Research Group, with assistance from the International Association of Sedimentologists and the Geological Society of London, have raised money through donations to generate a fund that will enable yearly grants to be awarded. The donations towards this fund were given mainly by individuals who knew and worked with Gill, from industry and from the British Sedimentological Research Group.
We wish to thank all of the many individuals who contributed to this fund, and to Amerada Hess, British Petroleum, Cambridge Carbonates, Mobil North Sea, Ranger Oil, and the Universities of East Anglia, Leeds and Newcastle for their generous contributions.
Jan Alexander (University of East Anglia)Dan Bosence (Royal Holloway University of London)Duncan Pirrie (Camborne School of Mines)
Thanks to the Personal Contributors to the Gill Harwood Memorial Fund:A. Adams, T. Alexandersson, J. Andrews, T. Atkinson, R. Bathurst, K. Bjorlykke, U. Boiano, I. Boomer, P. Brenchley, N. Chroston, I. Davison, H. Downes, W-C. Dullo, I. Fairchild, Fiona, G. Friedman, P. Friend, G. Fries, A. Friewald, S. Frisia, B. Funnel, R. Ginsburg, D. Grainger, O. Green, J, Hendry, J. Hudson, J. Ineson, E. Insalaco, I. Jarvis, T. Jickells, G. Kelling, M. Leeder, J. Light, I. Lind, J-P. Loreau, M. Luca, B. Maher, R. Major, M. Mange, I. McCave, B. Myers, G. Nichols, T.O'Riordan, F. Orszag-Sperber, H. Owen, L. Pray, C. Pudsey, E. Purdy, B. Purser, H. Reading, J. Reijmer, R. Riding, G. Rizzi, K. Schofield, S. van Rose, F. Vine, I. West, P. Wilson, J. Wood, R. Wood, J. Wonham, P. Wright.
Additional contributions to the fund would be very welcome and should be sent to either: Jan Alexander, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, U.K. or Dan Bosence, Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, U.K.
How to Apply
Applications are assessed by the BSRG Committee primarily on the originality of the research and need. Send the following documents by e-mail to the BSRG Awards Officer by 31st January (rtf or pdf format, all in 12 point Times, single spaced, minimum 1.5 cm margin, with diagrams if appropriate):
A brief CV emphasizing your academic qualifications back to first degree level. Include: your name, current UK university, supervisors name(s), current source of funding, other sources of funding applied for (all frequently omitted!). Stick to relevant information we don't need to know if you can juggle chain saws while unicycling but we do need to hear about the training you have received (any related courses/industry experience acquired during your PhD period), relevant skills, any other awards you have received during your PhD research and the financial background to your project (for example are you NERC-, Industry-, University-, Department- or self-funded or a combination of these?). No more than 1 side of A4.
An outline of your present and proposed research. Outline the key generic problem that your PhD research is aiming to solve. Try to stress the aims, and possible uses of the research. Why should we fund you and not someone else? You must include: an explanation of how the award will be used (conference or fieldwork) and how your personal development and academic experience will benefit. No more than 2 sides of A4.
A breakdown of the budget giving details of the total cost of fieldwork or conference attendance. If you are applying for partial funding from BSRG you need to include a statement of how the balance will be raised. We need to know the exact amount that you are requesting from the fund. 1 side A4 max.
An e-mail from your supervisor, sent directly to the BSRG Awards Officer by the deadline, that includes a statement confirming that you are a PhD student at the institution named in your CV and demonstrating that you fulfil the conditions of the award. The email should include an explanation of why the award is needed for the project. This should not be a reference as such but should justify the request for funding and include comments as to why additional funds are required.
Past winners
2023 Awards
Nemi Walding, (University of Hull) "The PDC flow units problem: deposit heterogeneity from varying cohesive behaviour and sediment flux."
Rosemary Huck, (University of Oxford) "The impact of wildfire on mineral dust emissions from partially vegetated sand dunes."
2022 Awards
Sharman Jones (Aberystwyth University) "Sedimentary proxies of fast ice flow in Late Palaeozoic subglacial bedforms of the Dwyka Group, Namibia" - Award of £200 to support fieldwork in South Africa.
2019 Awards
Madeleine Hann (University of Manchester) "Debris flows and flash floods in paraglacial settings" & “What are we doing to enable Women in Geoscience?”– Award of £255 to support attendance at the EGU General Assembly, Vienna.
2017 Awards
Elizabeth Dingle (University of Edinburgh) – “River dynamics in the Himalayan foreland basin.” – Award of £470 to support attendance at the EGU General Assembly, Vienna.
Laura Quick (University of Edinburgh) – “Earthquake generated sediment pulses in Nepalese rivers.” Award of £900 to support fieldwork in Nepal.
Autumn Pugh (University of Leeds) – “Macrofaunal and environmental change in the Lower Jurassic of Bulgaria.” – Award of £295 to support attendance on a course in Germany to learn about carbonate microfacies analysis.
2016 Awards
Shuqing Yao (University of Aberdeen) – "Unravelling the controls on hydrothermal dolomitisation geometries in shallow-marine carbonate reservoirs." – Award of £500 to support fieldwork in Benicassim, Spain.
Keziah Blake-Mizen (University of Exeter) – "Reconstructing the Greenland Ice Sheet during the Plio-Pleistocene." – Award of £340 to support attendance at the EGU General Assembly in Vienna.
2015 Awards
Janet Richardson (University of Leeds) – “Antecedent fluvial systems on an uplifted continental margin: constraining Cretaceous to present-day drainage basin development in southern South Africa” – Award of £500 towards cosmogenic analysis of field samples from South Africa
Madeleine Vickers (University of Plymouth) – “Early Cretaceous high latitude climate” – Award of £500 towards fieldwork in Spitzbergen, offshore northern Norway
2014 Awards
Julie Hope (Bangor) - Attendance at American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) meeting, Hawaii (£300)
Duna Roda Boluda (Imperial) - Fieldwork on sediment routing in active tectonic settings (£400)
Ellis Elliott (Derby) - Stratigraphic, petrophysical and geochemical analysis of the Bowland Shale (£380)
Anastasia Polymeni (Heriot-Watt) - Fieldwork in Sicily and Pantelleria in support of a study on tectono-stratigraphic analysis of the central Mediterranean (£300)
Safiyeh Haghani (Brunel) - Attendance at IAS, Geneva (£300) - Final report
2013 Awards
Mel Froude £400
Naomi Jordan £600
Rosemary Dartnell £900
2012 Awards
Marie Busfield £1000
Hayley Allen £500
2011 Awards
Jessica Ross, University of Leeds (full award) £500 – fieldwork, USA
Suzanne Palmer, University of Chester (full award) £500 – fieldwork, Jamaica
2010 Awards
Jo Venus, University of Leeds (full award) £500 – fieldwork, NW England
Helen Doherty, University of Keele (partial award) £200 – fieldwork, NW Spain
Emma Pidduck, University of Plymouth (partial award) £200 – fieldwork, France
2009 Awards
Ann Rowan, University of Manchester (full award) £500 – overseas lab work, Idaho National Lab
Rajasmita Goswami, University of Manchester (partial award) £450 – conference presentation, EGU
Amandine Prélat, University of Liverpool (partial award) £300 – fieldwork, California
Rebecca Williams, University of Leicester (partial award) £300 – fieldwork, Pantelleria, Italy
2008 Awards
Heather MacDonald, University of Leeds (full award) £450
Suzanne Palmer, Manchester Metropolitan University (full award) £375
Natalie Parker, University of Birmingham (partial award) £300
Rachel Kieft, Imperial College, London (partial award) £150
2007 Awards
Margaret Stewart, Imperial College (full award) £600
Fengling Yu, University of Durham (partial award) £150
2006 Awards
Rachel Batt, University of Leeds (full award) £790
Laura Evenstar, University of Aberdeen (partial award) £425
2005 Awards
Katie Thomson, University of Durham (full award) £600
Nicola McLoughlin, University of Oxford (partial award) £400
2004 Awards
Amy Whitchurch, Imperial College (full award) £500
Elizabeth Nunn, University of Plymouth (partial award) £550
2003 Awards
Clare Henman, University of Leicester (full award) £500
The Trevor Elliott Memorial Fund
The Trevor Elliott Fieldwork Fund offers financial support for postgraduate students (of any age) to undertake field-based sedimentological research.
Successful recipients of the fund are expected to report on their BSRG-supported activities, normally by presenting a poster or talk at the following year’s Annual General Meeting
About the fund
This fund was set up in memory of Trevor Elliott by his family, friends, students and colleagues. Trevor’s research interests spanned fluvial to deepwater stratigraphy, sedimentology and basin analysis. Trevor’s greatest strengths were in his scientific methods and teaching style and ability to engage with everyone, regardless of experience. We wish to thank all of the individuals who contributed to this fund.
How to Apply
Applications are assessed by the BSRG Committee primarily on the originality of the research and need. Send the following documents by e-mail to the BSRG Awards Officer by 31st January (rtf or pdf format, all in 12 point Times, single spaced, minimum 1.5 cm margin, with diagrams if appropriate):
A brief CV emphasizing your academic qualifications back to first degree level. Include: your name, current UK university, supervisors name(s), current source of funding, other sources of funding applied for (all frequently omitted!). Stick to relevant information we don't need to know if you can juggle chain saws while unicycling but we do need to hear about the training you have received (any related courses/industry experience acquired during your PhD period), relevant skills, any other awards you have received during your PhD research and the financial background to your project (for example are you NERC-, Industry-, University-, Department- or self-funded or a combination of these?). No more than 1 side of A4.
An outline of your present and proposed research. Outline the key generic problem that your PhD research is aiming to solve. Try to stress the aims, and possible uses of the research. Why should we fund you and not someone else? You must include: an explanation of how the award will be used and how your personal development and academic experience will benefit. No more than 2 sides of A4.
A breakdown of the budget giving details of the total cost of fieldwork. If you are applying for partial funding from BSRG you need to include a statement of how the balance will be raised. We need to know the exact amount that you are requesting from the fund. 1 side A4 max.
An e-mail from your supervisor, sent directly to the BSRG Awards Officer by the deadline, that includes a statement confirming that you are a PhD student at the institution named in your CV and demonstrating that you fulfil the conditions of the award. The email should include an explanation of why the award is needed for the project. This should not be a reference as such but should justify the request for funding and include comments as to why additional funds are required.
Past winners
2023 Awards:
Candela Martinez, (Royal Holloway) - "Sedimentological characterisation of fault-controlled systems along the eastern margin of the Crati Basin (Italy)"
2022 Awards:
Yorick Veenma (Univrsity of Cambridge) - "Characterising the terrigenous mud supply to pre-vegetation marine depocentres (N Wales and SE Ireland)" - Award of £200 to support fieldwork in Canada.
2019 Awards:
Cole McCormick (University of Manchester) - "Fluid movement through subsurface carbonates" – Award of £500 to support fieldwork in Western Canada.
2017 Awards:
Juliet Sefton (University of Durham) – “Mangroves – precise indicators of late Holocene sea-level changes?” – Award of £500 to support fieldwork in Panama.
BSRG Early Career Grant
The Early Career Grant offers financial support for postdoctoral researchers and those within 3 years (full time equivalent) of starting a permanent academic position to support sedimentological research (e.g. field or laboratory) or to attend international meetings.
How to Apply
Applications are assessed by the BSRG Committee primarily on the originality of research and need.
Send the following documents by e-mail to the BSRG Awards Officer by 31st January (rtf or pdf format, all in 12point Times, single spaced, minimum 1.5 cm margin, with diagrams if appropriate):
A 2-page CV plus a list of publications. The CV should include qualifications back to first degree level. Include: your name, current UK university, current sources of funding, and other sources of funding applied for.
An outline of your present and proposed research. You must include: an explanation of how the award will be used (e.g. conference/fieldwork/ lab work) and how your personal development will benefit. No more than 2 sides of A4.
A breakdown of the budget. If you are applying for partial funding from BSRG you need to include a statement of how the balance will be raised. We need to know the exact amount that you are requesting from the fund. 1 side A4 max.
A letter of support from an appropriate supervisor or collaborator, sent by email to the BSRG Awards Officer by the deadline, supporting your application and confirming that you are eligible for the award.
Past winners
2023 Awards:
Thomas Vandek, (Open University) - "Preservation potential and sedimentologic evolution from the forefield of the rapidly retreating Pasterze Glacier, Austria''
2022 Awards:
Rachel Brackenridge (University of Aberdeen) - "Constructing 3D virtual outcrop models of the Lefkara and Pakhna Formations" - Award of £200 to support fieldwork in Cyprus to map
2019 Awards:
Natasha Dowey (University of Hull) - “Unpicking uncertainties in our interpretation of explosive eruptions” - Award of £1030 to support fieldwork in Santorini, Greece.
Other Potential Sources of Funding
This section could be expanded to contain information on other potential sources of funding to which postgraduate students in particular can apply. Having members present at conferences and acknowledge the group provides good publicity and exposure for the group as a whole. All suggestions on this will be gratefully received.
CASP Research Awards for Geological Fieldwork
CASP is funding 5 annual awards of up to £3,000 so that UK/EU-based undergraduate masters to early career researchers can carry out applied geological fieldwork. Funding will be for the fieldwork element alone and therefore excludes any significant analytical budget and will not include the applicant’s stipend. Further details can be found here.
AAPG Grants in Aid
The AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid Program is available to geoscience graduate students who may require funding for their research project. Grants are based on merit, and in part, on the financial needs of the applicant.
The program focuses on support of qualified candidates for masters or equivalent degrees. Qualified doctoral candidates are also encouraged to apply. Factors weighed in the selection of successful applicants include:
Qualifications of the applicants as indicated by past performance.
Originality and imagination of the proposed project, support of the department in which the work is being done.
Perceived significance of the project to petroleum, energy minerals and related environmental geology.
Monetary awards up to a maximum amount of $2000. Grants are to be applied to expenses directly related to the student’s thesis work, such as fieldwork, laboratory analyses, etc. Funds are not to be used for capital equipment, conferences, salaries, tuition, room & board during the school year.
Applicants are required to submit official academic transcripts by mail before the deadline. The deadline for the program closes on January 31st. Applications for the program are available online through the AAPG website.
Geological Society Research Funding
The Geological Society invites applications for awards from several funds for research into all aspects of geology, the average award has been £1,000.
Awards Secretary,Geological Society,Burlington House,Piccadilly, London W1J 0BG.
Tel: +44 20 7434 9944 Fax: +44 20 7439 8975 Email: enquiries@geolsoc.org.uk
IAS Grants
In order to promote the study of Sedimentology, one of the goals of the IAS is to help PhD and other students with their Sedimentology studies. Therefore, the IAS offers three types of grants: the Postgraduate Grant Scheme (PGS), various travel grants and an 'Institutional IAS Grant'. More info here.
SEPM Student Grants
The SEPM Foundation, Inc. manages the distribution of various designated student assistance grants. Details for application (by Jan 15th) can be found here.