American Society of Naturalists

A membership society whose goal is to advance and to diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as to enhance the conceptual unification of the biological sciences.

Applications for the 2024 Student Research Awards

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Applications are due March 15

The ASN Student Research Awards support research by student members that advances the goals of the society: the conceptual unification of ecology, evolution, or behavior. Each award consists of a $2,000 check to the candidate. An applicant must must hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, must have passed to candidacy in a Ph.D. program or equivalent, and must be at least one year from completing the Ph.D at the time of the award. Projects in all types of research (i.e., laboratory, field, theory) are encouraged. A total of ten proposals will receive awards. Proposals will be judged on originality, strength, and significance of the questions being addressed, prospects for significant results, and the match between the proposed research and the ASN mission. If not already a member of the ASN (student membership is international and US$20), awardees are expected to join ASN at the time of the award.

Applications include four elements: (1) a two-page proposal describing the research project for which support is requested; (2) a budget with justification (one page); (3) a short curriculum vitae (two pages); (4) a short reference questionnaire filled out by their academic supervisor.

For detailed instructions, or to apply, please click here!

Judging:

Applications will be reviewed by a committee of six persons: three faculty-level researchers and three graduate students. Senior-level appointments are made by the President-Elect. Members each serve for three years; the longest-serving committee member serves as chair in her/his final year on the committee. Graduate student appointments are made from the Graduate Council, in consultation with the President-Elect.

Examples of past winning proposals:

As part of ASN's commitment to mentor the next generation of biologists, we are providing some examples of past proposals that have won the SRA. Note that these proposals are diverse in format, and no proposal is perfect! But all winning proposals, including these examples, clearly articulate an interesting or important need in ecology or evolution, and clearly demonstrate how their proposed work will address that need. To further help guide potential applicants, our awards committee has annotated some of these proposals to highlight what makes each proposal great. Proposals are posted with permission of their student authors (thank you!).