Discover Funding Opportunities

Dudley Stamp Memorial Award

The Dudley Stamp Memorial Award offers grants of £500 for PhD students or postdoctoral researchers to support geographical research. Preference is given to research that leads to the advancement of geography and to international co-operation in the study of the subject. Applications are particularly welcome for projects which will strengthen links between geographers in the United Kingdom and those overseas. The award was established in 1967 to enable geographers in the early stages of their careers to travel in support of their research. It honors Lawrence Dudley Stamp (1898-1966), an internationally renowned British geographer who served as President of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Institute of British Geographers. His Land Utilisation Survey of Great Britain in the 1930s and 1940s sought to classify land use in Britain with the help of teachers and school children. Dudley Stamp worked to popularise geography and played a key role in promoting the teaching of the subject in schools. He travelled widely, assisting in the setting up of numerous land use surveys, while his reputation drew postgraduates from around the world to work on his projects. In 2016 the Dudley Stamp Memorial Fund became a linked charity of the RGS-IBG. The award is administered through the RGS-IBG Postgraduate Research Awards scheme.

Hong Kong Research Grant

The Hong Kong Research Grant is an annual award of £2,500 for PhD students undertaking geographical research in the Greater China region. The grant was established in 2003 and is supported by the Hong Kong branch of the Royal Geographical Society. It is awarded as part of the RGS-IBG Postgraduate Research Awards scheme. Comparative studies are encouraged and preference is given to applicants who have not previously had an opportunity to study in the Greater China region. Applicants must be registered at a UK Higher Education Institution, and preference is given to students who do not receive full funding from a Research Council, university or comparable levels of support from other sources for fieldwork and data collection. The grant supports geographical research and field work in the Greater China region.

Geographical Club Award

The Geographical Club Award offers two grants of £1,000 each year to support PhD students undertaking geographical fieldwork or other forms of data collection in the UK or overseas. The award was established in 2009, and since 2011 has provided two annual grants: one for a physical geography project and another for a human geography project. The Geographical Club is a members dining club with origins in the Raleigh Club established in 1826, which later formed the Geographical Society of London that became the Royal Geographical Society. The Club maintains close links with RGS-IBG and supports the Society through funding conservation work and this award. Recipients are invited to attend a Geographical Club dinner. Preference is given to students who do not receive full funding from a research council, university or comparable levels of support from other sources for fieldwork and data collection.

Walters Kundert Fellowship

The Walters Kundert Fellowship offers an annual grant of £10,000 to support post-PhD field research within Arctic or high mountain environments. Established in 2017, the Fellowship is supported through a generous donation by the Walters Kundert Charitable Trust and encourages applicants from across the spectrum of geographical research to enhance the understanding and well-being of the planet's Arctic and high mountain environments through research. The Fellowship specifically supports field research in physical geography within Arctic and/or high mountain environments, with preference for field studies that advance the understanding of environmental change past or present. Applications are open to post-PhD researchers affiliated with a UK Higher Education Institution or equivalent research establishment, or Fellows and members of the Royal Geographical Society who are employed outside the UK. The Fellowship aims to encourage research that addresses critical questions about environmental change in these sensitive regions, including topics such as glacier dynamics, permafrost disturbances, climate change impacts, and ecosystem responses in Arctic and high mountain settings.

Thesiger-Oman Fellowships

The Thesiger-Oman International Fellowships offer two awards annually of £8,000 to post-doctoral researchers to advance geographical knowledge, involving fieldwork, in an arid or semi-arid environment. Preference will be given to research in the Middle East and other areas visited by Sir Wilfred Thesiger. One award is given for human geography and one for physical geography. These awards were founded with the support of the late Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said al-Said as a memorial to Thesiger. Applicants must be Fellows or members of the Royal Geographical Society with at least three years' post-doctoral experience. The Fellowships are open to applicants of any nation. Individuals or groups may apply for this award. The fellowships support geographical research in the physical or human dimensions of arid and semi-arid environments, particularly in the Middle East and regions associated with Sir Wilfred Thesiger's explorations.