Continental Margins Oceanography Scholarships

Students interested in doing graduate work in Continental Margins Oceanography at Texas A&M University are invited to apply for scholarships of up to $10,000 per year. Dr. Wilford Gardner (PI) and several co-PIs have obtained a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant of nearly $600,000 to recruit and help support up to 8 MS and 4 PhD students to begin in the fall of 2009 to study geological/geophysical oceanographic processes along continental margins. Eleven more students will be recruited in the following two years.

This scholarship program is funded through the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program to encourage academically talented students with demonstrated financial need to enter graduate programs in those fields.

Join our research teams in the Department of Oceanography at Texas A&M University and become Scholars of Continental Margins Oceanography. Students from under-represented groups are especially encouraged to apply.

Why Continental Margins Oceanography?

Recent natural disasters and environmental challenges (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, sea level rise) affecting coastal to offshore areas of the U.S. and other nations have brought to light the importance and need for education and research focusing on processes along continental margins. The U.S. and other nations are increasingly seeking economic reserves, such as oil and gas, from continental margins, making those regions economically, environmentally, and socially important due to human and natural impacts.

While some of our research at Texas A&M is in the Gulf of Mexico, there are opportunities to work in continental margins of other areas, including the margins of Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands through a cooperative program with the Ecuadorian Navy.

student at microscope How to Apply
The S-STEM Continental Margins Oceanography program for the 2009-2010 academic year is now accepting applications. Recruitment of students will be based on residency, financial need, academic qualifications, personal statement of research interests and letters of recommendation.

To be eligible for this scholarship you must:

Be a United States Citizen, National, or Permanent Resident at the time of application
Demonstrate financial need as determined by filling out a FAFSA application
Be enrolled full time (a minimum of 9 hours) in the Department of Oceanography
Maintain a 3.0 GPR and making satisfactory progress
Members of under-represented groups are encouraged to apply.

Application Deadline: January 13, 2010
Applications completed by this date will receive full consideration. After this date applications will be reviewed until all scholarships have been awarded.

For the 2010-2011 academic year, we anticipate awarding at least 12 S-STEM scholarships – 8 M.S. and 4 Ph.D. students.

This program provides up to $10,000 per year (depending on need) toward a student’s stipend, tuition, fees and insurance for 2 years for MS students and 3 years for PhD students with an MS degree. Additional support will be sought through teaching and research assistantships. Tuition and insurance are paid for full time teaching assistants and some research assistants. Additional support for travel to professional meetings in the second and third year is available.

Other Fellowship programs available through Texas A&M University include:

Association of Former Students Graduate Merit Fellowships
Graduate Diversity Fellowships
Pathways to the Doctorate fellowships – Deadline Dec. 5, 2009

Who Will You Work With? Continental Margin Faculty