Graduate Student Fellowship (GSF) Application Guidelines

Writing a successful fellowship application can be a challenge. The SEGF-GSF Selection Committee is pleased to have received numerous outstanding applications since the inception of this prestigious program in 2006 and we look forward to receiving many applications in the future. Outlined below are comments and suggestions as to what the Selection Committee members are looking for in a successful application. Also listed are allowable expenses for GSF funds; note 2022 does not allow for research. Answers must be confined to the space provided on the application.

  • What are your major areas of interest in economic geology?
    • State clearly your interests in the field of economic geology.
    • Be specific.
    • What do you like most in this discipline (e.g., field work, mapping, exploration, geochemistry, lab work, etc.)?
    • If you have worked on any ore deposit types, please mention them, or indicate the deposit type or types you are most interested in studying.
  • Describe briefly any undergraduate and/or graduate research projects that you have completed and/or have in progress. If you have not yet undertaken any research projects, do you have any research topics in mind? If so, describe briefly:
    • Any research you may have undertaken.
    • Undergraduate research includes, but is not limited to, undergraduate thesis research, term papers, employment with, or assisting, professors on their research.
    • Provide information on any company work or summer jobs in or related to economic geology that you may have had; this information is very useful to the Selection Committee.
    • If you are currently pursuing a graduate research project in your first year, briefly describe the project, the methods you are or will utilize in carrying out the research, and why it is important.
  • What are your career goals?
    • State clearly, but briefly, your career goals.
  • List any geology work experience (part time or other) that you have had.
    • List and briefly describe any relevant work experience that you have had (including internship(s), industry experience, or relevant non-industry experience).
  • Provide the name(s) of the university(ies) or institution(s) to which you have applied for graduate school admission and the status of your application(s). If you are currently enrolled at a university and pursuing your first year of graduate studies, provide the name of that university and the status of your graduate studies.
  • Support.
    • Provide details of any financial or in-kind support that you are receiving or will receive, including funding applied for, for your graduate study. This should include if you are planning to apply for a current year SEG Student Research Grant.
  • Please provide a brief biographical sketch, including educational and work history.
    • Relevant pre-university biographic information.
    • What motivated you to study geology and, more specifically, economic geology?
    • Outline any activities in which you are involved. For example, participation in student committees, organizing activities, engagement in student and/or department activities, and the general geological community.
    • Other relevant information may include:
      • Outreach and volunteer work.
      • Positions of leadership.
      • International exposure.
      • Languages known/spoken.
  • Two References Letters
    • The comments are intended for those providing references for the applicant; please advise the person(s) providing a reference for you what the committee is looking for in the appraisal of the applicant.
      • References should outline the strengths and weaknesses of the applicant.
      • The academic record is important but so are the applicant's character and potential for success.
      • Describe any soft skills and leadership potential of the applicant.
      • Briefly describe the applicant’s passion for his or her interest in the field of economic geology.
  • Allowable personal expenses for SEG GSF awarded funds:
    • School tuition
    • Living costs (food, rent, internet, utilities etc., travel)
    • Personal equipment (needed for study/research but not normally covered by Professor (i.e. not eligible in the professor's budget from funding source)
    • Field gear (i.e. camera for field, hammer, field boots/steel toe boots, tent, and field clothes)
    • School equipment (text books, laptop, software)
    • Training/experience that benefits the student in his/her studies (not normally/always covered by Professor):
      • SEG field trips or course trips
      • Training courses (e.g., to learn software)
      • Short courses/workshops, post-pre conference field trips
      • Conferences (if not otherwise supported by research grant presentations, etc.)