Discover Funding Opportunities

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.

RGS-IBG Postgraduate Research Awards

The RGS-IBG Postgraduate Research Awards were established in 2008 to support PhD students undertaking research and fieldwork. The Society offers awards of up to £2,500 for PhD students undertaking fieldwork and data collection to advance geographical knowledge. These awards are offered to individuals and aim to help students establish themselves in their particular field. Applicants must be registered at a UK Higher Education Institution. 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 awards include the Albert Reckitt Awards, Walters Kundert Grants, the Geographical Club Award, Hong Kong Research Grants and the Dudley Stamp Memorial Award. Successful applicants may be given a named award based on their research discipline. Fieldwork should not begin before 1 April 2026 except under exceptional circumstances, and the Society cannot support fieldwork that has already taken place.

Henrietta Hutton Research Grant

The Henrietta Hutton Research Grant offers up to three grants of £500 annually to undergraduate or Masters students undertaking overseas field research as an individual or as part of a team. The fund was established in 1964 in memory of Henrietta Hutton, a University of Oxford student who was a keen ornithologist and founding member of the Oxford Women's Exploration Club. Preference is given to support field research with a significant geographical, social and/or environmental science, or natural history element. Applicants should be undertaking an independent field research project that lasts longer than four weeks. The field research does not have to be related to the student's academic studies, but applicants must be registered at a UK Higher Education Institution. Where the applicant is part of a larger expedition, it should be made clear how their research is distinct from the wider project. Applicants should show strong evidence of host country participation in their research projects.

Monica Cole Research Grant

The Monica Cole Research Grant offers £1,000 each year to a physical geography undergraduate or Masters student undertaking original fieldwork overseas. Named after Monica Cole, a leader in the field of geo-botany who held the position of Chair of Geography at Bedford College and received the Society's Murchison Medal for major contributions to the geography of South Africa and to the understanding of savannas. Applicants must be registered at a UK Higher Education Institution. The grant supports student-led research in physical geography disciplines including glaciology, climate science, geomorphology, biogeography, and related earth science fields.

Jasmin Leila Award

The Jasmin Leila Award was established in 2008 in celebration of Jasmin Leila Sidaway. The £250 award is given to one of the projects supported under the Society's Small Research Grants scheme. In tribute to Jasmin, the project to be recognised by the award will have a focus on either medical and health geography, performance (especially any aspects of music, theatre, fashion and/or dance and their geographies), or transnational communities. Applications to the Jasmin Leila Award should be made through the Society's Small Research Grants scheme.

Rob Potter Award

The Rob Potter Award offers £1,500 to post-PhD early-career researchers studying the geographies of development. Given in celebration of Rob Potter, an eminent human geographer and founding editor of Progress in Development Studies, this award is provided through the Society's Small Research Grants scheme, either as a supplement or as an independent award. In tribute to Rob Potter, the project should focus on geographies of development (especially urbanisation, housing and participatory planning, and socio-economic development) or transnational migration and identities. Preference is given to research on the contemporary Caribbean, with studies of Mexico, Latin America and small island nations also welcomed. Rob Potter (1950-2014) was Emeritus Professor of Human Geography at the University of Reading, and a distinguished academic expert on urban geography and the geographies of development, with particular reference to the Caribbean.

RGS-IBG Small Research Grants

The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Small Research Grants provide awards of up to £3,500 to early career researchers for original desk or field-based research in any area of geography. Each year several grants are given to early career researcher individuals who are up to 10 years post PhD. One grant of up to £3,500 is awarded from the 20th International Geographical Congress Fund. The Jasmin Leila Award and the Rob Potter Award may be given as a supplement to projects supported under the scheme, or as independent awards. Applicants are expected to hold a PhD at the time of applying, must be affiliated with a UK Higher Education Institution or equivalent research establishment and must be Fellows or Members of the Society. These awards are only available to individuals. At risk academic geographers hosted at UK institutions through programmes such as Cara are eligible to apply. The grants support original research across all areas of geography, including both human and physical geography topics.