Student Research Grants

Call for Applications

Deadline: March 31 Awardees will be notified by May 1

The Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO) is sponsoring up to two $500 student research grants in support of research on Pennsylvaniaโ€™s avifauna. We invite anyone to pass this news along to any students involved in research, as well as any professors who could share this announcement with their students.

If selected, the student must travel to the PSO Annual Meeting to give a talk (~30 minutes) about their work, AND/OR the student must submit an article to the Pennsylvania Birds journal, not more than two years after the award of the grant, describing their study and findings to the PSO membership. The recipient will also be awarded a one-year membership in the PSO.


Eligibility:

The award is designed to provide support to either graduate or undergraduate students in pursuit of a bachelorโ€™s degree, masterโ€™s degree, or doctorate. The research should be conducted in support of a thesis or dissertation and eventually published. The studentโ€™s academic institution does not need to be in Pennsylvania.

The field work does not need to occur in the Commonwealth, however, there is a preference for projects with a Pennsylvania field work component.


Criteria:

Proposals will be judged for their scientific merit and the likelihood that the work will make a meaningful contribution to our understanding of Pennsylvania avifauna.

Submissions must include the name of the studentโ€™s academic institution, the corresponding department at the institution, the degree the student is pursuing, and the name of their academic or research advisor.


Research Proposal Document:

The body of the proposal should be a condensed version of the studentโ€™s thesis/dissertation proposal, not to exceed 5 pages in length (not including any figures or tables). Please note whether Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approval has been or will be obtained.

Each proposal should include a section on how the results of the proposed study will be helpful to future scientific understanding, conservation efforts, and/or land management implications.

Signed Letter indicating Studentโ€™s Advisorโ€™s Approval:

In addition to the proposal document, each submission should include a brief, signed letter from the student’s academic advisor verifying that the applicant is a student in good standing, and that they are receiving the advisor’s support for the proposed project.

Submissions will be evaluated by a PSO committee. Submissions must be sent as pdf email attachments by March 31.

Please send submissions or questions to Deb Grove at dsg4@psu.edu


Donation

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