Coastal Wetland Studies Award
Preference for: students who are early in their degree programs, field-based research that occurs in coastal wetlands of the U.S.
The award is a one year scholarship for graduate studies in coastal wetlands and carries a stipend of $5,000 to support field based research. The goals of the Garden Club are to promote wetlands conservation through the support of young scientists in their field work and research.All applications are reviewed by a selection committee of practicing wetland scientists. Selection criteria include the technical merit of the proposed work and the degree to which the work is relevant to the Garden Club objective of promoting wetlands conservation. For the purposes of this scholarship, coastal wetlands are defined as those tidal or nontidal wetlands found within coastal states, including the Great Lakes.
All materials should be submitted electronically to gcawetlands@wetlan.vims.edu with the name of the applicant and GCA in the subject line. Please also include the applicant name on the proposal.
Applicants must provide: (1) a resume; (2) a written plan for the work to be undertaken during the scholarship period; and (3) a letter of endorsement from the applicant's graduate faculty advisor. There are no special forms or required formats, but content should include those things specified below. All materials should be submitted electronically to gcawetlands@wetlan.vims.edu.
1. Vita
At a minimum this should contain:
*mail and email addresses;
*educational background;
*relevant educational, work, or volunteer experiences;
*any publications; and
*names and contact information for three references.
2. Statement of work
*This should be a short (no more than 3 page) description of the work that would be undertaken while receiving GCA scholarship support. The statement of work should:
*identify the research question and how it relates to current knowledge in the subject area;
*describe the study methodology;
*explain the project's significance to wetlands conservation; and
*identify the applicant's career goal(s).
3. Letter of endorsement from applicant's major advisor
*The advisor should email this letter directly to the address above. The letter should:
*identify the student;
*indicate the status of the student in the graduate degree program; and
*evaluate the student's ability as an independent researcher.