The 2024 proposal deadline has passed.
For more information about applying to the AGeS-Grad program, see the AGeS-Grad Info Session Video Recording from December 20, 2023 and the PDF of materials presented during that session.
The next proposal deadline is February 1, 2025, 11:59 pm MST (Lab Letter and Supervisor Letter deadline is February 8 2025, 11:59 pm MST).
Proposals must include the information below and fit within the stated character limits (character limits include spaces). Incomplete or late proposals will not be considered. Your application information will be submitted through a web-form. Click here to view screenshots of the web-form for reference when preparing your application materials.
Project Description
Intellectual Merit
You may find it helpful to refer to the intellectual merit review criteria as you write this portion of your proposal
- Project Title (up to 150 characters)
- Project supervisor at home institution
- AGeS lab and lab director
- State the geoscience question or hypothesis that this project will address. (Up to 1200 characters).
- Discuss the importance of the proposed study. (Up to 2500 characters).
- Briefly explain the relevance of your project to NSF-Division of Earth science goals, which are 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". (Up to 500 characters).
- Proposed work. Concisely state your research plan and how it will answer the question or test the hypothesis outlined above. (Up to 2500 characters).
- Brief timeline (up to 500 characters)
- Figure(s) with caption(s). At least one figure is required, but the figure(s) should occupy no more than one page. Note that the figure is explicitly considered as part of the rubric scoring.
- References Cited.
- Available funds. Please explain if you currently have any funds available for the proposed geochronology work. Is your project unlikely to occur without AGeS support? If you require more money than AGeS can support, then where will those additional funds come from? Additional funds are not required. (Up to 500 characters).
- Detailed budget and budget justification. Budgets may include funds for travel to and from the AGeS lab where you propose to work, food and lodging while visiting the lab, analytical and training fees, equipment or consumables required for analysis, and sample preparation fees (including mineral separation accomplished at another facility if necessary). Requested budgets may not exceed $10,000 per proposal. AGeS awards do not go directly to the students nor to their institutions. Travel is generally reimbursed, although we also work with students for airfare purchased in advance, etc., to ease your financial burden. Lab and other processing costs are invoiced directly to ASU upon analysis completion. Awardees can spend up to their award amounts in analytical and other costs until the date specified in their award documents (typically within one year of the award).
Broader Impacts
You may find it helpful to refer to the broader impacts review criteria as you write this portion of your proposal
- Geochronology Experience. List what geochronology experience you already have. Be specific. Enter "None" if you have no geochronology experience at all. One goal of AGeS is to expand access to geochronology data and expertise, so if you have limited or no geochronology experience it can be advantageous for the broader impacts of your proposal.
- Geochronology Opportunities. Explain what geochronology opportunities that you already have through your existing thesis research. Do you have local access to geochronology facilities and expertise? Does your advisor direct a geochronology lab? Does your advisor’s research group regularly use the technique that you propose to use in this project? (Up to 500 characters).
- New Collaborations and Improved Sense of Belonging. Explain the extent to which this project represents a new collaboration, new access to geochronology data or expertise, and/or an opportunity to strengthen your geoscience network. Are there ways in which your project and your experience address and support Belonging, Accessibility, Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (BAJEDI) values? Be specific. You may find it helpful to refer to the AGeS inclusive community pages as you write your response to this prompt. (Up to 500 characters).
- Have you received a previous AGeS award? (yes/no) If yes, was this during a previous graduate degree? Graduate students are eligible for one AGeS grant during each graduate degree.
Additional Required Documents
- Provide the URL to the lab profile of the collaborating AGeS lab. The profiles for all AGeS labs can be found here.
- Upon submission of your proposal, a request will be sent to your project supervisor at your home institution for a letter of support that will comment on both the intellectual merit and broader impacts of this project. This "Supervisor Letter" should address the following prompts:
- Intellectual Merit. Please: A) comment briefly on the feasibility of the proposed research, B) describe the skills and capability of the student, and C) explain your level of engagement in the project. Past experience with AGeS projects indicates that ongoing interaction among the student, home advisor, and lab following the lab visit is essential for the generation of published products from AGeS awards, so it is key that the home advisor be engaged in and fully supportive of the AGeS project (1,500 character limit).
- Broader Impacts. Please explain: D) the extent to which this project will represent an opportunity for the student to gain hands-on geochronology experience otherwise not available to the student, and E) the extent to which this project will represent a new collaboration with the host geochronology lab (1,500 character limit).
- Please choose a category that best captures the relative contributions of the student and you to the proposal idea:
- The proposal idea and project design were entirely the student’s, with only minor suggestions from me.
- The proposal idea and project design were developed jointly by myself and the student.
- I provided the proposal idea and project design.
- Other: Please explain briefly.
- Please choose a category that best captures the relative contributions of the student and you to the proposal writing:
- The proposal writing was entirely the student’s, with only minor suggestions or edits on the writing from me.
- The student wrote the proposal with moderate suggestions or edits on the writing from me.
- The student wrote a draft of the proposal and I provided substantial input on the writing.
- Other: Please explain briefly.
- Upon submission of your proposal, a request will be sent to the collaborating AGeS lab for a letter of support. The lab letter should address the following prompts:
- Please explain: A) the feasibility of the proposed research, B) your level of interest in this project, and C) the extent to which this project will represent a new collaboration. (2,000 character limit):
Examples of Successful AGeS-Grad Proposals
Below are several examples of successful proposals from previous AGeS-Grad awardees, posted with their permission. Please note that some details of the information requested in the Project Description have changed over time, so the prompts in the examples may not all be exactly the same as those of the current proposal cycle.