Aerial photo of wetlands and rivers system

Research Group awards and prizes

Prospective support

The British Society for Geomorphology

Postgraduate grants

University of Liverpool-BSG Luminescence Dating Award (postgrad)
University of Liverpool-BSG Luminescence Dating Award (postgrad) offers up to six OSL ages, to pump-prime geomorphological research undertaken by postgraduate student or early-career researcher (ECR) members of the Society.
Postgraduate Conference Attendance Grants
Conference attendance grants are available to help BSG postgraduate members who wish to attend the BSG Annual Meeting or any other disciplinary conferences.
Postgraduate Research Grant
Grants of up to £2000 are available to fund research projects proposed by postgraduate members of the society.
Member Grants: BSG Special Call: Decolonising Geomorphology
The British Society for Geomorphology invites applications to a special call on decolonising geomorphology. Two grants of up to £5000 are available for this purpose.

Early career grants

University of Liverpool-BSG Luminescence Dating Award (early career)
The University of Liverpool-BSG Luminescence Dating Award offers up to six OSL ages, to pump-prime geomorphological research undertaken by postgraduate student or Early-Career Researcher (ECR) members of the Society.
Carer Support Grant
The BSG has instituted a Carer Support Grant which will help carers undertake dedicated geomorphology-related academic activities (e.g., attending conferences, meetings, workshops; or conducting field-based research; or partaking in national/international internship; etc.) that they might not otherwise be able to undertake because of their care responsibilities. The proposed grant scheme offers up to £500 in support, which can be used towards any additional caring costs incurred by the carer whilst undertaking the academic activity.
Geomorphological Outreach Grant
Grants of up to £1000 are available to full members of the society who would like to organise geomorphological outreach activities involving schools, the general public or industry
Research Network Grant
Grants of up to £2000 each are available to support the development and activities of research networks that are geared towards developing bids for large-scale external funding, for example through EU sources, RCUK thematic programmes and/or RCUK Discovery Science bids.
BSG Support for Conference or Session Sponsorship
For conference or conference session organisers only. BSG sponsors events/sessions/keynotes at a wide range of conferences (note this is not support for individuals)
Early Career Researcher Grants
Up to £7500 is available to pump-prime geomorphological research undertaken by an Early Career Researcher (ECR).
Research Grants
Grants of up to £2000 are available to full members of the Society to fund (i) research projects, (ii) Fixed Term Working Groups, or (iii) long-term monitoring projects

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Development Geographies Research Group

Postgraduate Travel Award
DevGRG provides an annual award to a postgraduate geography student to encourage and assist fieldwork in developing countries. It is aimed at those preparing for a PhD in topics related to development studies. Applicants should be based at a UK institution of higher education, but may be of any nationality. The award must usually be spent on travel costs, and preference may be given to students in the early stages of their research or have been especially adversely impacted by the pandemic. The successful candidate is required to provide a short report for the DevGRG Website. The award is £800, although smaller awards are sometimes made.
Early Career Best Paper Prize (awarded with IDPR Journal)
In 2020, the DARG launched the DevGRG/ International Development Planning (IDPR) Review Paper Prize for early career researchers. This prize will be given to the best paper presented at a DevGRG sponsored session at the RGS-IBG Annual Conference, as presented within a DevGRG Sponsored session. The winner will receive the chance to work with the editors of IDPR Journal to develop their paper for publication.

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Historical Geographies Research Group

Biennial Conference Organisation Funding Scheme
The RGS-IBG Historical Geography Research Group seeks to support the organisation of conferences dedicated to the advancement of historical geography and the profile and careers of postgraduate and early-career historical geographers. Support will take the form of a grant of up to £1,500 as well as such organisational and marketing assistance as can be afforded by HGRG’s committee. It is anticipated that one such grant will be awarded biennially.
Small Conference and Seminar Funding
Organisers may apply for grants or loans up to a maximum of £500.
Postgraduate Support Scheme
Postgraduates may apply to HGRG for support for travel to research sources or conferences up to a maximum of £500. Priority may be given to those whose grants do not include provision for conference fees or travel.

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Social and Cultural Geography Research Group

Workshop Funding
The Social and Cultural Geography Research Group runs a workshop funding scheme. The scheme is designed to support and promote research in social and cultural geography by providing financial resource for an event (or set of events) of wide and lasting significance to work within the subdiscipline (and, if relevant, linked areas in and outside of geography). The focus is entirely at the discretion of organisers, and may be methodological, theoretical, substantive, or work across these categories. What we are looking for is an event or set of events which is not only of wide significance, but has the potential to generate enthusiasm, interest, and engagement amongst the community. The event(s) may be in-person, hybrid, or online, and they may be one off or a sequence of activities.

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Recognition

The British Society for Geomorphology

Fiona Kirkby Award
These awards are made upon recommendation by the ESPL Board as a tribute to Fiona Kirkby, who was the Assistant Editor of ESPL from 1978 to 2019. They recognise outstanding contribution to the journal by reviewers. ESPL is, of course, very fortunate to have an extremely large number of excellent reviewers. But, occasionally, we see reviewers who go the extra kilometre in supporting our authors in publishing the very best geomorphological research.
The David Linton Award
The David Linton Award is given to a geomorphologist who has made a leading contribution to the discipline over a sustained period. The winner is invited to present the Linton Lecture, which is one of the central elements of the AGM. Nominations are drawn together for the selection process in January each year and should be suibmitted by the end of December of the preceding year. Unsuccessful nominations will be carried forward for a maximum of two further years, if (i) the Research Committee deems them to be of a sufficiently high calibre to be competitive in future years and (ii) the nominee remains eligible for the Award.
The Gordon Warwick Award
The Gordon Warwick Award is made annually for excellence in geomorphological research by someone within 15 years of being awarded their doctorate (i.e. time since graduation). Nominations are drawn together for the selection process in January each year and should be submitted by the end of December of the preceding year. Unsuccessful nominations will be carried forward for a maximum of two further years, if (i) the Research Committee deems them to be of a sufficiently high calibre to be competitive in future years and (ii) the nominee remains eligible for the Award.
Mike Kirkby Award
The Mike Kirkby award is given to the best paper published in the BSG's Journal Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, as decided by the ESPL editorial board. The paper is selected from the volume of the journal for the given year of the Award.
The Dick Chorley Award
One of Dick Chorley’s lasting contributions to geomorphology lies in the post-graduate students whom he inspired and guided at the start of their academic careers. Many have gone on to academic careers themselves and include several of the leading figures in British geomorphology. In recognition of Dick’s commitment to serving the future of the discipline, the BSG has decided to honour his memory by creating the Dick Chorley Medal and Prize (£500) for Postgraduate Research. The award is made for a published paper based on PhD research, where the nominee is expected to be the first author. Nominees should be within 4 years of their PhD award at the time of nomination.
Nominations are drawn together for the selection process in January each year and should be submitted by the end of December of the preceding year. Unsuccessful nominations will be carried forward for a maximum of two further years, if (i) the Research Committee deems them to be of a sufficiently high calibre to be competitive in future years and (ii) the nominee remains eligible for the Award.
The Bernie Smith Award
Awarded to the best poster and talk given by a postgraduate at the BSG Annual General Meeting.

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Carceral Geography Working Group

The CGWG is offering a £50 prize for postgraduate research. The prize-winner will also be offered one-day registration for the Annual International Conference of the RGS-IBG and invited to feature their writing on the Carceral Geography website.

The prize will be awarded for the best research ‘paper’, which could be derived from a Master’s thesis, PhD chapter, or a conference paper script. No more than 5000 words should be submitted. Where students submit a script for a conference paper, a copy of any accompanying slides should also be submitted. Papers should include a full set of references and images (as relevant).

The prize is open to both current and former postgraduate students at both Masters and PhD level. In order to be eligible for the prize, former postgraduate students must have submitted a Masters or doctoral dissertation no earlier than 12 months before the prize deadline. Where any applicant wishes to submit a conference script for consideration, the conference paper should have been delivered no earlier than 12 months before the prize deadline.

Applications from outside the UK are welcomed but the paper should be written in (or translated professionally to) English. Students need not necessarily be aligned to a geography(-related) discipline but their work should engage with issues of carcerality and/or themes emergent in carceral geographies.

Papers should be submitted by the student in pdf format with an appropriate research supervisor copied into the email.

For any further details or questions please contact Dr Lauren Martin using the details below.

Submissions to: Dr Lauren Martin lauren.martin@durham.ac.uk

Economic Geography Research Group

The EGRG awards a prize each year for the best PhD Dissertation in the broad field of Economic Geography.

An annual call for nominations is made in around January/February each year and this is distributed widely via email – including the EGRG listserv – with a usual deadline February. The prize winner is then announced In May/June. The winner receives £150 in prize money.

In order to be considered for the award, an electronic copy of the thesis should be forwarded to the EGRG PhD Prize Officer. This must be an absolutely final version of a PhD thesis that has passed the degree for which it has been submitted at a UK institution, between January to December in the preceding year. The theses will be reviewed by the EGRG committee.

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Energy Geographies Research Group

In the 2021-2022 academic year, The Energy Geographies Research Group (EnGRG) is pleased to announce a new award competition for outstanding papers written by postgraduate students. This year the research group will award three paper prizes from submissions received (including a cash award of £50 each).

Papers may take multiple forms (e.g. conceptual papers, original empirical research, methods pieces), and we welcome submissions in any field of energy geographies.

Each of the prizes will recognise a distinct area of excellence:

Outstanding Research Design & Methods
Outstanding Conceptual Contribution
Outstanding Impact & Engagement.

Deadline for submission: 5.00pm Tuesday 31 May 2022

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History and Philosophy of Geography Research Group

History and Philosophy of Geography Research Group Engagement Award 2023

Every two years, HPGRG offers a small award of £150 to support projects which seek to widen audience engagement within the history and philosophy of geography.

Projects which meet our criteria might include public engagement through presentations, media presence, artwork, workshops, exhibitions, and other events, ideally in collaboration with museums, archives, savant societies and institutions, galleries and libraries, whose collections and purposes relate to themes about the histories and philosophies of geography. Examples include:

public events or performances, installations, museum trails, and exhibitions;
displays and content for actual or virtual spaces of public engagement, including posters, non-academic publications such as museum catalogues, and informal learning sheets;
media articles, blog posts, social media posts, podcasts, video and audio files;
specific events for school children or other diverse demographics.

This biannual award is open to doctoral students and early career postdoctoral researchers of geography and associated disciplines, both in academia and other sectors. Applications from around the world and from non-Anglophone countries are particularly encouraged but these would need to be submitted in the English language. Collaborative projects between geographers and practising artists, poets, musicians, actors, sculptors, or other performers will also be welcome. HPGRG also seeks to encourage applications from minority and underrepresented identity groups.

Recipients of this award will be offered the chance to showcase their work during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of HPGRG (generally at the end of August or early September) and on the HPGRG website.

The scheme is designed to further the ambition of HPGRG to diversify participation in, and methods of presenting and practising, the history and philosophy of geography via works that communicate, integrate, and encourage geographical insights across diverse wider publics.

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Social and Cultural Geography Research Group

SCGRG Book Prize (with Social and Cultural Geography)

The Social and Cultural Geography Research Group (with Social and Cultural Geography) invites nomination for their first annual book prize. The book prize will run every three years and is designed to recognise and celebrate a book that makes an original contribution to the field of social and cultural geography, broadly understood. It aims to celebrate work that, as well as embodying qualities of rigour, invention and care, makes, or has the potential to make, a difference to knowledge and practice in the subdiscipline. Recognising the important contributions that all forms of books make to research and scholarship, they welcome nominations of research monographs, textbooks and edited collections. This is a joint initiative between the Social and Cultural Geography Research Group and the journal Social and Cultural Geography.

To note:

For the first round, books are eligible which were first published between 1^st January 2019 – 1^st January 2022.
Authors/editors of nominated books can be based anywhere in the world.
A short statement (maximum 200 words) should accompany the nomination, briefly setting out the contribution the book makes to social and cultural geography. Nominations without the accompanying statement will not be considered.
Anyone can nominate a book, but please ensure you have permission of the author(s) and/or editor(s) before nominating. We also welcome and encourage self-nominations.
The Prize will be decided through review by a gender balanced subcommittee of SCGRG, comprising of Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, a member of the Social and Cultural Geography editorial team, and four additional members. Should a conflict of interest arise, other members of the SCGRG committee or Social and Cultural Geography editorial team will be involved in the review process.
The Prize will be awarded against the criteria of the originality of the work – its actual and/or potential impact on: knowledge and/or established methodological, theoretical and/or teaching practice in contemporary social and cultural geography.
The book will be the focus of a review and celebration session at the RGS-IBG Annual Conference following award, and an author meets critics forum in Social and Cultural Geography.
In the event of a competitive field, we may make a joint award and/or note a number of ‘highly commended’ runner up books.
Nominations, with supporting statement, should be sent by 28^th January 2022 to Prof Ben Anderson at ben.anderson@durham.ac.uk with subject line ‘2022 SCGRG Book Prize Nomination’. The Prize will be announced in July 2022. Any questions please contact Ben.
Nominations should provide a) name of book and author(s)/editor(s); b) 200 word supporting statement and c) pdf of the book.

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Transport Geography Research Group

Postgraduate Paper Prize
Emerald Group Publishing are sponsoring the TGRG’s Postgraduate Paper Prize which will be awarded to the best presentation in a TGRG-sponsored session at the RGS-IBG Annual Conference. There is a first prize of £100 and a book chosen from the Emerald transport titles, and a runner-up prize of a book chosen from the Emerald transport titles. The competition is open to postgraduate students who presents at TGRG-sponsored session at the RGS-IBG Annual Conference. Those wishing to be considered for the postgraduate prize should indicate their intention to enter by emailing postgraduate reps Zhengyue Wan and Suzanne Mass by Wednesday 25 August.
Hay Award
The TGRG also awards an annual Alan Hay Award, which is given for outstanding contribution to transport geography.

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