Mineralogy & Petrology
Grant

The Mineralogical Society of America’s Grants for Student Research In Mineralogy And Petrology are funded by an endowment created by contributions from the MSA membership. The grant comprises two awards of up to $5,000 each for research in mineralogy and petrology by graduate students and a $2,000 grant for research in this field by an undergraduate student.

Students, including graduate and undergraduate students, are encouraged to apply. Undergraduate and graduate applications are considered separately, but all graduate applications (masters and doctoral level) are considered together. The award selection will be based on the qualifications of the applicant, the quality, innovativeness, and scientific significance of the research, and the likelihood of success of the project.

The eligibility requirements for the grant are that the applicant:

  • Is an MSA member,
  • Is more than one year from completing his or her degree,
  • Cannot submit proposals for both this and Crystallography grant in the same year, and
  • is not an MSA Councilor.

Application Evaluation
Applications are evaluated by members of the MSA Mineralogy/Petrology Research Grant Committee on the basis of the qualifications of the applicant, the quality, innovativeness, and scientific significance of the research, and the likelihood of success of the project. There is no specific policy favoring small or large projects. Evaluation criteria include:

a. Clarity of the stated problem and/or hypothesis to be explored
b. Significance of he problem to science and/or society
c. Alignment of the proposed study topic with mineralogy and petrology research
d. The quality of the research plan and approach, including how well it is designed and conceived, how clearly it is explained, and how well it addresses the stated problem or hypothesis
e. Accuracy and clarity of the scientific background, figures, and other supporting information, and how well they support and explain the problem significance and proposed approach
f. Clarity and organization of the budget request and budget justification
g. Overall quality of the application

Budget requests must be limited to research-related expenses. Travel to meetings, conferences, short courses, non-research field trips, tuition, non-research living (room and board) expenses, overhead or indirect costs, etc. are not suitable uses of the money. Neither should the money be used for salary or wages for the researcher. Proposals that make such requests will not be considered further.

The successful applicant will also be asked in the year following grant to write a short summary of how the money was spent.

  • The next award will be made in May, 2024.

Recipients of the MSA Grant for Student
Mineralogy & Petrology Research

Submitting Proposals for the Mineralogy & Petrology Grant

Proposal submissions for the grant are to be made online. Instructions for application and submission of proposals are at http://grants.minsocam.org/2023grants.html. You can still use this link to submit a 2024 application. You will need your MSA member USERID and password to access the application:

  • Your username is: (the email address we have for you xxx@xxx.xxx)
  • Your password is: (MSA ID number = xxxxx).

If you have any problems uploading your proposal in Part C of the application process, send it directly to Ann Benbow and request an application cover sheet from her (email below). Further information can also be obtained from:

Dr. Ann E. Benbow, Executive Director
Mineralogical Society of America
3635 Concorde Pkwy Ste 500
Chantilly VA 20151-1110 USA
Tel: +1 (703) 652-9950
Fax: +1 (703) 652-9951
e-mail:abenbow@minsocam.org

Completed applications must be returned to the MSA Business Office by March 1, 2024.