Through its Scholarship and Awards Committee or its Graduate Admission Committee, the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences nominates or awards many scholarships and fellowships for well-qualified Geology, Geophysics, Atmospheric Sciences, and Environmental Sciences undergraduate and graduate students enrolled full time at UH.

These scholarships and fellowships are awarded through various scholarship endowment funds, the UH Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Alumni Association, the College of Natural Science and Mathematics Alumni Association, The Robert and Margaret Sheriff SEG Fellowship Endowment, the Houston Geological Society, and other sponsoring corporations and organizations.

Apply to the EAS Student Research Grant Program (closes Sept 29th 4:00 pm)

Application Forms

• Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship Application Form - NOTE: Applications accepted from March 19th 5:00pm through April 10th 4:00 pm, 2024.
• College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Scholarship Programs

Eligibility

Scholarships are open to all eligible individuals. There are no restrictions to applicants based on sex, race, age, nationality, religion, disability, or country of origin except for restrictions designated by the scholarship donor.

Incoming Freshmen

Applicant must be a graduating high school senior with an SAT score of at least 1200 (or ACT score of 16 or better), and must meet all other admission requirements for the University of Houston College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The recipient must enroll in, and complete, a minimum course load of 12 semester credit hours (full-time equivalent) as a major in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 during the fall semester of the award and enroll in and complete a minimum course load of 12 semester credit hours (full-time equivalent) in the spring semester of the award.

Continuing Undergraduates

Applicant must be an undergraduate student in good standing at the University of Houston, must be a declared major in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher in all courses taken at UH, and must have 24 or more semester credit hours remaining in the degree program at the time of the scholarship award. The recipient must enroll in, and complete, a minimum course load of 12 semester credit hours (full-time equivalent) in the fall and spring semesters following receipt of the award as a major in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0. The exception to this is the Field Camp award, which can be used by graduating seniors to attend the UH field camp offered the summer immediately after the award is given and requires a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher in all courses taken at UH (see below).

Field Camp Scholarship Applicants

Applicant must be a current junior or senior in good standing at the University of Houston, must be a declared major in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, must have a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher in all courses taken at UH. The award must be used for UH field camp tuition and fees the summer immediately after the award is given. If the student delays attendance at field camp, then they must reapply the following year.

Graduate Students

Applicant must be a graduate student in good standing at the University of Houston, must be a major in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and must have a GPA of 3.25 or higher. The recipient must enroll in, and complete, a minimum course load of 9 semester credit hours each semester of the award, and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25.

Other Eligibility

Some award donors may have set specific GPA, financial need, U.S. citizenship requirements that must be followed. In addition, some awards may not be accompanied by scholarships (e.g. Furbunch Award for outstanding field work). Graduate fellowship assistance in the form of scholarships provided by external sponsors is typically awarded during the admission process based on academic ranking, GRE and TOEFL scores, and prior undergraduate records and preparedness for graduate studies. These scholarships are often matched for exceptionally well qualified students by the Dean of Graduate studies with Presidential Scholarships on a 1:1 or 2:1 basis. The Graduate Committee, which consists of the department chair and graduate advisors for Geology, Geophysics, Atmospheric Science, and Environmental Sciences, will recommend these supplemental scholarships for those students who rank the highest in the selection process during the admission of new graduate students. Society of Exploration Geophysicists and Houston Geological Society awards require application directly to the Society and HGS; these awards require faculty nominations.

Several awards for outstanding research talks and posters are granted each year during the Student Research Conference in April and the Sheriff Lecture in November. A committee of faculty and alumni judges will review and rank talks and posters in choosing the most outstanding presentations for the awards. The grants awarded are in the form of travel grants to national meetings. The students must attend the meeting within the following fiscal year and present a talk or poster to a national or international audience.

Selection Criteria

The Scholarship Committee shall review scholarship applications of majors in the department for scholarships and awards dispensed each spring for the following academic year. Scholarship applications are ranked by the committee and deserving students based on academic performance and sometimes other criteria, such as financial need or specific requirements listed by the sponsor (e.g. U.S. Citizenship, foreign citizenship, graduate or undergraduate status, major in Geology, Geophysics, Atmospheric Sciences, or freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, M.S. or Ph.D. status, etc.) Each industrial or philanthropic organization sponsor may have different criteria from year to year, and these may change yearly dependent on the sponsor's objectives for that year.

The Scholarship Committee works to assign the internal scholarships in its control based on the sponsor's directives (e.g., academic performance, financial need, major, graduate or undergraduate status, etc.) In some cases, outside sponsors work through their own scholarship committees to make awards, but ask for departmental nominations from the Scholarship Committee. The Scholarship Committee attempts to balance and distribute the number of awards among well-qualified students based on the specific criteria for the award or scholarship so that the broadest number of students attain support. From time to time, exceptionally well-qualified students may receive multiple awards at the discretion of the committee based on their academic excellence.

How to Apply

Applicants must complete and submit the online scholarship application with requested attachments (see link above). Complete only one online application to be considered for all Earth and Atmospheric Sciences scholarships for which you are eligible. Incomplete applications that do not include all requested attachments will not be considered for a scholarship.

Notification of Scholarship Award

Most of the internal awards are made each spring at the annual departmental awards ceremony (generally the last Friday of classes spring semester) for the subsequent academic year or summer session. For other awards, the scholarship recipients will be notified when a scholarship is awarded.

Scholarship Fund Disbursements

Scholarship disbursements will be made in two equal increments (fall and spring) directly into the recipient's student account upon verification of enrollment, major, and minimum qualification requirements. Field Camp Scholarships will be awarded prior to the start of Field Camp. Travel Grants will be disbursed after travel records, documenting the travel and presentation, are submitted.

Forfeiture

Failure of the recipient to register for classes (at least 12 semester credit hours for undergraduates and 9 semester credit hours for graduate students) by the published UH late registration deadline will constitute an automatic forfeiture of the scholarship, with the exception of the Field Camp Scholarships. For Field Camp Scholarships, failure of the recipient to register for the UH Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Field Camp the summer of the award will constitute an automatic forfeiture of the scholarship. Travel Grants must be used by the student within the following fiscal year for travel expenses to present a talk or poster at a national or international professional meeting. Travel Grants can be used after graduation, but funds not used within one fiscal year after the award will be forfeited. Documentation of travel and the presentation must be provided for reimbursement.