The Geographical Fieldwork Grant is the Society's longest running grant scheme. Every year, we help between 40 to 50 teams of students and researchers get into the field.
Several grants are available up to £3,000.
Deadlines
There are two rounds per year. Deadlines are:
- 14 June 2012 - for projects to be undertaken in the winter/southern summer
- 18 January 2013 - for projects to be undertaken in the summer
Apply
Geographical Fieldwork Grant guidelines (PDF)
Geographical Fieldwork Grant Application Form (MSWORD)
Research Ethics and Code of Practice (PDF)
Advice for Applicants
Advice for Applicants (PDF): general advice on applying for RGS-IBG grants
Geographical Fieldwork Grant Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
Expedition Handbook: advice on completing expedition reports and risk assessments
2011 Geographical Fieldwork Grant recipients
Stefan Lachowycz (Oxford University). The project studied the late quaternary volcanism and climate of southern Patagonia - Argentina
Kelby Hicks (University of Cambridge). The project took field measurements of active volcanoes in the Southern Chilean Andes
Elspeth Robertson (University of Bristol). The project sort to understand the science and risk of volcanism in Kenya
Thomas Doherty-Bone (Natural History Museum). The project studied the declining amphibians of Mamfe (Cameroon), following up Sanderson’s 1933 expedition
Lauren Evans (University of Cambridge). The project studied electrified fences as barriers for conservation in Kenya
Craig Turner (Zoological Society of London). The critically endangered pygmy sloth is geographically restricted to Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Panama. This project sort to create baseline data for the declining population
Morgan Gibson (University of Newcastle, University of Edinburgh & Brathay Exploration). The project consisited of an annual survey of the Tunsberg Glacier, monitoring changes in volume, surface profile and snout position - Norway
Kieran Khamis (University of Birmingham). The project studied glacial retreat in alpine environments and the implications for river systems - Pyrenees
William Lake (Durham University). The project studied the glacial land system on Iceland’s largest table mountain - Iceland
Rachel Bloomfield (University of Cambridge). The project sort to reconstruct the Jurassic and Tertiary paleoenvironment in Waikato, New Zealand
Owen King (University of the West of England). The project looked at the proces of 'Icecap to Ocean', creating a holistic model of the Skjálfandafljót River, Iceland
Hannah Clarke (University of Sussex). The project aimed to gain an understanding of the ways in which people construct and perform their identities in relation to others in a given environment - Kampala, Uganda
Daniel Florentin (Oxford University). The project examined the performance of the newly nationalized water service, post-PPP era in Argentina
David Lewis (Oxford University). This project retraced a section of Thesiger's 1933-34 journey down the course of the Awash river in Ethiopia. The team explored the role played by mobile pastoralism in shaping a Danakil tribe’s everyday life
Cor Marijs (Oxford University). Oxford University Expedition to Karnataka, India - the team explored the complex relationships between development and the environment
Lin Yang (Oxford University). The project assessed human drivers of Chinese energy use and policy
Thomas Stevenson (Oxford University). The project documents the traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution employed by semi-stateless "Hill Tribes" in lieu of formal criminal justice - Thailand
Olly Parsons (Royal Holloway University of London). The project sort to map Ugunja in rural Kenya, through a community mapping project
Rosa Goodman (University of Leeds). The team carried out comprehensive inventories in three forest types – open, bamboo-dominated; closed, mature; and early successional - in the western, Peruvian Amazon to determine total forest biomass
Lydia Bach (University of Glasgow). The project took systematic ecological surveys of the Barba Azul Reserve, Bolivia, in order to monitor the effects on habitat and biodiversity of new land management practices
Emily Waddell (University of Glasgow). The project took biodiversity inventories to assess the value for conservation of regenerating compared to primary tropical rainforest in the Manu Biosphere Reserve, Peru
Lauren Nadler (University of Glasgow). The project examined the differences in coral reef health and species diversity between coral reefs with different management policies on the Red Sea coast of South Sinai, Egypt
Shinta Puspitasari (University College London). The project studied ecological resilience of beetle diversity in the face of human activities in Thousand Islands Marine National Park, Indonesia
Ninette Rowland (University of Edinburgh). The project studied the herpetofauna, the critically endangered astrochelys radiata populations, the associated vegetation, livestock management and the levels of human disturbance in Kobokara, Madagascar
Camilla Gallagher (University of Aberdeen). The project studied the after effects of logging in a Bolivian forest and the response of different species
For further information on these projects, including a summary of the research and expedition reports, please browse the Society's Expeditions Database.
About the Award
The Geographical Fieldwork Grants are generously supported by a number of external donors which include:
The Gumby Award, Rio Tinto Award, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, David Cross Expedition Award, Penruddocke-Park Lander Fund, Rod Whitney Bequest, Sir Douglas Busk, Ralph Brown Memorial Fund, HR Mill Trust Fund, Marjorie Sweeting Bequest, Violet Cressey-Marcks Fisher Fund, Barling Fisher Bequest, Gough Island Fund, Stephens Bequest and The Jeremy Willson Trust.