About NMGS Scholarships & Awards

Overview:

The New Mexico Geological Society supports geoscience students in New Mexico via scholarships, awards, discounts, and subsidies that, combined, exceed $50,000 per year. The society funds both competitive and non-competitive scholarships and awards. Applications for competitive awards are due by the third Friday in February of each year. Non-competitive award recipients are typically chosen by faculty at New Mexico geoscience departments.

Summary of Scholarships & Awards

Below is a summary of the scholarships, awards, and amounts awarded to students every year. See our scholarship details page for more information on each of the these scholarships and how to apply.

Competitive Awards:

• Graduate Grants-in-Aid: up to $2000 (the two top-ranked grant-in-aid applicants will receive the $5000 Kottlowski Research Award and $5000 Cearley Grant in Aid Award respectively)
• Graduate and Undergraduate Cearley Geochronology Award: up to $2000
• Graduate Mentorship Award: up to $1500
• Lucille H. Pipkin Undergraduate Research Award: up to $1500 (the top ranked undergraduate applicant will receive the $2500 Cearley Award)
• Outstanding Student Papers $150 each (for the best oral and best poster presentations at the Spring Meeting, available for undergraduate and graduate students)
• Student Science Fair Winners: $100 each (two awards to outstanding presentation of geoscience-oriented projects submitted to regional New Mexico science fairs and to the New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair)

Non-competitive Awards:

• Lucille H. Pipkin Senior Scholarship: $600 each (to a geoscience major who will be a Senior the following academic year at each of ENMU, NMHU, NMIMT, NMSU, NTU, and UNM)
• Lucille H. Pipkin Book Scholarship: variable by school, maximum $175 each (to undergraduate geoscience students at NM schools)
• Outstanding Senior Award $200 (to the outstanding graduating senior in geosciences at WNMU)
• Robert Wellnitz Memorial Scholarship: $1500 (for field oriented research in NM; rotates among the Geoscience Departments at UNM, NMIMT, and NMSU)
• Beverly Wellnitz Memorial Scholarship: $750 each (two graduate recipients per year; rotates between UNM, NMIMT, or NMSU)


• Fall Field Conference Scholarships:
  The number of scholarship awards varies by year and is determined by the NMGS Scholarship Committee each year. Universities and colleges nominate undergraduate and graduate students for consideration. We are able to support student attendance to the conference via these three scholarships:
  • NMGS Fall Field Conference Scholarships: variable by year, includes fall field conference registration and a stipend for travel and lodging (awarded to graduate and undergraduate students at each New Mexico university offering earth science related degrees).
  • Cearley Fall Field Conference Scholarships: variable by year, includes fall field conference registration and a stipend for travel and lodging (awarded to graduate and undergraduate students at New Mexico universities offering earth science related degrees)./em>
  • Barbara Sue McBride (Thomas A. Solak) Student Participation in the NMGS Fall Field Conference Scholarship: variable by year, includes fall field conference registration and a stipend for travel and lodging (awarded to graduate and undergraduate students at New Mexico universities offering earth science related degrees). This scholarship was established by NMGS Member Thomas A. Solak in honor of Barbara Sue McBride (1956-2000), former VP of Exxon Exploration Company.
  
  

  We are able to support teacher and educator attendance to the conference via this scholarship:

  • Wilma Cerruti Lucas Educator NMGS Fall Field Conference Scholarship:Awarded to educators at New Mexico schools from early childhood through 12th grade. This scholarship is variable by year, and includes fall field conference registration and a stipend for travel and lodging . Educators apply in spring/summer for consideration; preference is given to educators near the Fall Field Conference location. This scholarship was established by NMGS Member Susan A. Lucas Kamat in honor of her mother, Wilma Cerruti Lucas (1936-2017), a lifelong educator who taught for over 40 years on 6 continents.