Call for Applications

AAPG Foundation Grants-In-Aid Program for 2015

The purpose of the AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid program is to foster research in the geosciences. Grants are made to provide financial assistance to graduate students (currently enrolled in Masters or Ph.D. programs) whose thesis research has application to the search for and development of petroleum and energy-mineral resources, and/or to related environmental geology issues. If you are unclear about any application guidelines, please contact AAPG Foundation's Program Coordinator, April Stuart at astuart@aapg.org.

Here are a few helpful hints to follow:

General Information

• Grants
• Current Recipients
• Past Recipients
• Abstracts
• FAQ

Regarding Transcripts

Begin a submission to the following:

Steps for Submitting a Grants-In-Aid Program Application Online:

1. Step 1 - Applicant

   Applicant Name and Contact Information (* required information)

   1. First Name/Given Name*
   2. Last Name/Family Name*
   3. University*
   4. Department/Discipline*
   5. Address Line 1*
   6. Address Line 2
   7. City*
   8. State/Province*
   9. Country*
   10. Zip/Postal Code*
   11. Home Phone Number* (either home or office phone number is required)
   12. Office Phone Number*
   13. Office Fax Number
   14. Email Address*
   15. Alternative Email Address
   16. Citizenship*
   17. Gender*

   Eligibility Requirements: Award recipients must be enrolled in a Masters or Ph.D. program or their equivalent. Fourth year degrees or B.S. with honors are not eligible for grants. Students are eligible to win twice during the duration of their graduate studies. Any questions or concerns regarding eligibility, please contact AAPG Foundation's Program Coordinator at astuart@aapg.org.
   
   ATTENTION NON-US STUDENTS: The AAPG Foundation adheres to Sanctions Regulations as set forth by the United States Code of Federal Regulations. In order to apply for this grant you must meet these regulations. Click here to verify that your country of residence or citizenship will not interfere with your eligibility for a grant from the AAPG Foundation before you begin.

2. Step 2 - Personal History

   Personal Academic and Employment History (* required information)
   
   Present Institution:

   1. Institution Name*
   2. Dept./Discipline Name*
   3. Degree Now Being Sought*
   4. GPA or Average Exam Score
   5. Anticipated Graduation Date (mm/yyyy)

   Previous Institution:

   1. Institution Name
   2. Dept./Discipline Name
   3. Degree Obtained
   4. GPA or Average Exam Score
   5. Graduation Date (mm/yyyy)

   Awards

   1. Academic awards and honors*
      - For each please provide name of award, institution making award, year
   2. Non-academic awards as well as other activities and interests*

   Work Experience

   1. Professional experience*
      - job, employer, location, dates of employment
   2. Other work experience (e.g. volunteer, part-time, etc.) and other experiences that demonstrate nontechnical skills such as leadership, creativity, communication skills, etc.*

   U.S. Military Service (if applicable)

   1. Do you have U.S. Military Service experience?*
      
   2. Date of enlistment and discharge
   3. Indicate the branch in which you served
   4. Were you honorably discharged?
   5. Position Title/Rank, type of training or experience

3. Step 3 - Project Summary (including endorsements)

   Abstract Title and Summary Information (* required information)
   
   Abstract Title (enter in upper case)*
   
   Disciplinary Emphasis (First and Second Choice)*

   1. Development Geology
   2. Energy/Minerals
   3. Environmental
   4. Fracture Analysis
   5. Geophysics
   6. Paleontology
   7. Petroleum
   8. Petrophysics
   9. Regional Tectonics
   10. Sedimentology
   11. Stratigraphy
   12. Structural Geology

   Source of Research Project: Individual or group, student�s idea, part of professor�s on-going research, outgrowth of class work, critical review of literature, etc.*
   
   Project Goal: A one sentence statement of central goal of research project.*
   
   Percent of Project Completed*
   
   Suitability of Proposal to Grants-In-Aid Program: Describe how the project will contribute to the better understanding of petroleum geology, energy minerals geology, and/or related environmental issues. The suitability is critical to your thesis topic evaluation.*
   
   Total AAPGF Grants-In-Aid Request for this Project (full dollar amount)*

   1. $500, $750, $1000, $1250, $1500, $1750, $2000, $2250, $2500, $2750, $3000

   Restricted Grants: Select any of the Restricted Grants for which your project might qualify. Your application will be considered for all non-restricted grants based on your score. Click here for a list of the Named/Memorial Grants.*
   
   References: Provide the name and email addresses for two separate references qualified to endorse you and your project. (Preferably your Thesis/Project Supervisor and the Department Chairman or Director -- not the same person). The Department Chairman will only be required to verify your current student status.
   
   When your application is complete, we will send email messages to the people you identify below (after the Confirmation Step), asking them to endorse or comment on you and your project. Once a reference has submitted their opinion or endorsement online, you will receive an confirmation email that a reference was received by AAPG Foundation online system. Please ensure that the email address you provide for each person is a working email address. Please inform these references that they will be asked to submit an opinion or endorsement online, and that AAPG will provide them via email with the necessary password and Web page address. Your application will NOT be considered complete until your references submit that information.
   
   * Please note, periodically universities and/or institutions block these notification emails, mistaking them for spam. We encourage you to suggest to the listed references to add aapg_gia@confex.com to their address book/safe list in order to ensure they receive communication regarding your application prior to you completing the Confirmation step. The listed references have until Sunday, March 1, 2015 to submit their endorsement.

   1. Thesis/Project Supervisor*
      - First Name, Last Name, Email Address
   2. Department Chairman or Director*
      - First Name, Last Name, Email Address

4. Step 4 - Abstract

   Abstracts are limited to 250 words or less in the body. No illustrations, references or abbreviations are permitted.
   
   Your abstract is a brief summary of your project and should include the main objective and rationale of your project, methods you will use to accomplish your objectives, your projected or intended results, and it should draw conclusions about the implications of your project.
   
   Should you be chosen as a grant recipient, this abstract will be used for publication purposes for AAPG�s Search and Discovery. If you are awarded, you will have a chance to update your abstract when your project is completed.

5. Step 5 - Project Description

   Project Description must include the following sections (please be sure to include a colon after each heading):

   1. Purpose:
   2. Regional Context:
   3. Methods:
   4. Scientific Importance:

   The description should be 500 words or less, including the required section headings. No pictures, charts, or tables are permitted. We strongly recommend that you compose the description in your usual word processor so that you might check spelling, grammar, and word count actually submitting your application. Descriptions exceeding the word count will not be accepted. But the system will not check or correct your spelling or grammar.

6. Step 6 - Project Budget (including blank & completed sample)

   AAPG Foundation requires all applicants to complete a project budget and funding request. Download and save the AAPG Foundation predefined Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (.xls) and then upload the completed file into your application. It is extremely important that you provide the budget for your entire project.
   
   For example, if your total research budget is $20,000 and you request $3,000 from the AAPG Foundation, please indicate which other agencies you have applied to for the additional funding of $17,000. Do NOT include money for the purchase of capital items such as computers, printers or tents. The Grants-in-Aid Program does NOT fund conferences, courses, salaries, tuition or room and board. Manuscript preparation should NOT include fees for publication or poster presentations.
   
   Budget and Funding Spreadsheet Instructions:
   
   1. Right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" to download a Blank budget spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel format (.xls).
   
   2. To download a Completed Sample of an AAPG GIA budget spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel format (.xls) to assist you with correctly completing the budget form. Right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As".
   
   3. Open the saved spreadsheet on your computer.
   
   4. Fill out the spreadsheet and save it on your computer. Only enter data into the yellow cells on the spreadsheet. All "Total" cells in white will automatically calculate based on the information entered in the yellow cells. All other cells are password protected and you will not be able to edit/modify the spreadsheet.
   
   5. Be thorough and accurate but do not add padding. Be forthcoming about any additional sources of funding and/or attempts at funding. This shows financial need.

7. Step 7 - Previous AAPG Foundation Grant Disclosure

   Applicants will need to answer the following questions (where applicable) for previous AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid Recipients (if any):
   
   1. Have you previously received an AAPG Foundation Grant-in-Aid?

   1. If you previously received an AAPGF Grant-in-Aid, you must provide the title, year of the grant, and award amount.
   1. If the "Research is completed", you will then need to cite the published reference.
   2. If the research "work is in progress", you will need to provide a one-page summary report and a brief financial statement.

   2. If you have never previously received an AAPG Foundation Grant-in-Aid, have you ever applied for an AAPG Foundation Grant-in-Aid?

   1. If yes, you will need to provide the year previously applied.

8. Step 8 - Confirmation (including academic transcripts, checking endorsement status)

   Upon confirmation, your two references will receive an email notification requesting their endorsement. Please note, references MUST respond to that notification by submitting their endorsements online. Impress upon your advisor that a thorough, honest assessment of you and your project is in his/her best interest, too. We highly encourage you to complete your application approximately two weeks prior to the submission deadline. This will allow extra time for your references to complete the endorsement of your application prior to the deadline.
   
   You may assemble steps 1 through 7 online, resuming or revising your submission at any point between now and the submission deadline. Once you begin a submission, please note your ID# and password in the top left frame. You will need to utilize this information to login to your submission. However, please note, you WILL NOT be able to edit your application after you click the "Conclude the submission" button.
   
   

   Checking Status of Endorsements

   Applicants can check the status of the endorsement of your listed Thesis/Project Supervisor and the Department Chairman or Director. The Department Chairman will only be required to verify your application with a "yes" or "no". Simply log into the application, click the "View Submission" link in the left frame under "Options", then in the right frame scroll down to the "References" section. The listed references have until Sunday, March 1, 2015 to submit their endorsement.
   
   Once a reference has submitted their opinion or endorsement online, you will receive a confirmation email that a reference was received by the AAPGF-GIA online system. AAPGF-GIA staff periodically resends notifications to references that have yet to provide their endorsement online. If you would like to request to have the endorsement notification resent again, please contact AAPG Foundation's Program Coordinator at astuart@aapg.org and provide your Application ID#.
   
   

   Academic Transcripts

   Official transcripts from your last two years or four semesters of schooling are required.
   
   To be deemed �official,� transcripts must be emailed or mailed from your university registrar department. We do not accept photocopies, facsimiles, computer generated transcripts or certificates of your degree in place of an official academic transcript. If you are a first-year M.S. student, provide your undergraduate transcript and fall M.S. transcript. If you are a Ph.D. candidate, provide your M.S. transcript and most up-to-date Ph.D. transcript.
   
   We require the official transcript in your native language as well as an English translation.
   
   Please ensure that your transcript shows current enrollment. If your school does not issue transcripts, you must provide a signed statement on letterhead from your professor commenting on your academic credentials. List courses studied, including dates.
   
   Transcripts must be emailed from the official university registrar department or mailed to:
   
   AAPG Foundation
   Grants-in-Aid Program
   1444 S. BOULDER AVENUE
   TULSA, OK 74119
   
   Your registrar may email transcripts directly to Program Coordinator, April Stuart at astuart@aapg.org
   
   Once your transcript has been received, you will receive an email confirmation that your transcript(s) has been uploaded. If you have not received an email confirming that your transcript(s) has been uploaded within two weeks of your submission, you need to contact your University to determine its whereabouts. Transcripts will be accepted until Sunday, February 15, 2015.

9. Need Support?

   Grants-In-Aid Program Questions/Concerns

   
   If you do not have browsing access to the Internet and/or have questions/concerns about the Grants-In-Aid program including academic transcripts and endorsement notification resend requests, please contact us by e-mail, or write to:
   
   AAPG Foundation-Grants-in-Aid Program
   P.O. Box 979
   Tulsa, OK 74101-0979 USA
   
   

   Technical Support

   
   For help submitting an application online, email Tech Support. Please provide your Application ID# so we can better assist you.