Typical award amount: $8,500 (maximum of $10,000)
Estimated number of awards: 20-22 annually
Deadline: February 1, 2023, 11:59 p.m. MST (Lab Letter and Supervisor Letter deadline is February 8 2023, 11:59 p.m. MST).

The AGeS-Grad proposal submission portal will open on the Grad-How to Apply page on December 1, 2022. The Geological Society of America provides key logistical support for the proposal submission process.

Eligibility details:

  • Students currently enrolled in a research-focused graduate degree program at an accredited college or university in the United States or its territories.
  • Students may only receive one AGeS grant during each graduate degree (MSc or PhD). Preference will be given to students who have not received a previous AGeS award.
  • Students may submit one AGeS proposal per funding cycle.
  • AGeS labs may support up to 4 proposals in an application cycle

Goals of AGeS-Grad

  • Broaden access to geochronology data.
  • Educate users of geochronology data.
  • Promote synergistic science by fostering new relationships between labs and other disciplines.
  • Provide strategic, high-quality, scientifically valuable geochronology data for projects in which both users and producers of the data are intellectually engaged.

Program Overview

The AGeS-Grad program is a collaborative strategy for supporting community access to geochronology data and expertise. This micro-funding opportunity enables graduate students to develop the scientific rationale for projects involving geochronology and then provides them with hands-on experience acquiring data in labs, all while being mentored by geochronologists. AGeS awardees visit an AGeS lab for a week or more, participate in sample preparation and analysis, and learn fundamental aspects of the methods, techniques, and theory used in modern analytical facilities. Awards can be used to fund analytical costs, sample preparation, travel to the host geochronology lab, lodging, and other expenses.

The $6–10k AGeS awards fill an important funding gap between small ($1–3k) student research grant opportunities and large (>$100k) grants. However, these moderate funding amounts are sufficient to finance publishable datasets, provide the foundation for future larger proposals, and/or enable piloting of unproven and in some cases “risky” ideas. Graduate students can work in any AGeS lab.

AGeS is committed to advancing and supporting BAJEDI principles and values. We recognize that the future of geoscience will be strengthened by broad participation.

Types of Projects Supported by AGeS-Grad

AGeS-Grad project study areas may be sited anywhere worldwide. AGeS supports projects that fall under the scope of the broader science supported by the Division of Earth Sciences of the National Science Foundation, which is aimed at "... improving the understanding of the structure, composition, and evolution of the Earth, the life it supports, and the processes that govern the formation and behavior of the Earth's materials."

AGeS Geochronology Labs

AGeS currently includes a consortium of 64 geochronology labs and >100 affiliated geochronologists, consisting mostly of individual-investigator based facilities that together contain the majority of the geochronology technical infrastructure distributed across the United States. Any lab in the United States or its territories can participate. If you are interested in working with a lab who is not yet part of the AGeS lab network, please encourage the lab to join the program. Labs can support up to 4 proposals in a given application cycle.

How to initiate an AGeS proposal

Students wishing to submit an AGeS proposal are responsible for initiating contact with an AGeS lab to propose a project and discuss potential timelines. If the lab director feels that this is a mutually beneficial opportunity, the lab will help the student refine and clarify their proposed research and provide a support letter for this specific project. Note that labs are under no obligation to collaborate on a project if approached by a student.

Because one of the goals of this program is to foster new research collaborations, students may not request funds to work in labs they are already associated with, including labs managed or directed by their project supervisor(s).

Students are encouraged to contact labs with plenty of time before the proposal deadline so that the lab has the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposal idea and the draft project description. Labs may support no more than 4 proposals in an application cycle, so approaching labs close to the deadline may mean that some labs have already reached their AGeS proposal limit.