The Geological Society awards research grants to support a broad scope of research activities in the geosciences. Applicants may apply for up to £4,000, with no minimum award. The 2026-27 application cycle opens on 1 September 2026 with applications for this year's research grants and bursaries to be submitted by end of day 8 February 2027.
How to apply
Applications must be submitted using one of the two downloadable forms. If the applicant is a postgraduate Masters or PhD student, please use the form here. All other applicants should use this form. Please note that you do not need to be a Fellow to apply. However, if successful, you will need to become a Fellow to receive your grant.
Applications must be accompanied by one Supporting Statement form, completed by a suitable person familiar with your work and proposed project. The referee does not need to be a Fellow.
Before applying, read the Application Guidance document for full details, paying particular attention to the allowable and non-allowable costs, as well as the information required for your application.
All queries and submissions should be sent to grants@geolsoc.org.uk. Please note that due to the large volume of queries we may not be able to respond immediately, especially close to the application deadline. Applicants are encouraged to consider this when preparing their application forms.
Our funds
Geological Society research grants are supported by a range of funds, listed below. Note that applicants do not need to apply to a specific named fund.
For fieldwork in structural geology as applied to regional tectonics.
For outdoor research preferentially of a palaeontological or stratigraphical character, and preferentially within the limits of the British Commonwealth.
For detailed geological mapping.
For members of the Society, for geological field-based research anywhere in the world. Preference will be given to early career applicants.
To assist geologists of Great Britain and Ireland to travel to and in Canada; or to assist in the publication of meritorious papers by geologists of Great Britain and Ireland upon the geology of Canada; or to assist such geologists in any other way best adapted to further this object.
CASP (formerly known as the Cambridge Arctic Shelf Programme) has generously bequeathed an endowment in memory of Robert Scott, one of their senior geologists, who died suddenly in 2012 of leukaemia. The interest earned will be used to support a single research award of £2,200 each year.
To be eligible for the award, applicants must be UK-based and either (a) registered postgraduate students; (b) university postdoctoral researchers; or (c) university lecturers. Postdoctoral researchers and university lecturers should preferably apply within seven years of their first appointment to an academic position.
Awards shall be made to support research under the following terms:
- At least 50% of the award should be spent directly on research fieldwork (transport, accommodation and field logistical support).
- Preference will be given to applications that are in regard of fieldwork in Arctic regions (field areas within the Arctic Circle).
- Preference will also be given to projects that focus on basin analysis studies including tectonics, structural geology, sedimentology, stratigraphy and provenance analysis.
An annual award of up to £2,000 will be made for the encouragement of research into engineering geology with preference being given to the study of construction materials and/or research incorporating the use of petrological techniques.
Join our Research Grants Committee panel
Are you interested in research funding awards and would like to learn more as part of our Research Grants Committee panel?
You are invited to submit your expression of interest to sit on the pool of Fellows that we call upon for our annual Research Grants Committee. You will work alongside other experienced Fellows and Society staff. The time requirement can vary depending on the number of applications received, but is typically around eight hours per round.
Please submit an expression of interest (no more than 300 words), including details of current position and area of expertise, via email to grants@geolsoc.org.uk.
Expressions will be carried forward for a three-year period unless you indicate otherwise. Expressions of interest from Early Career Researchers are warmly welcomed.