Scholarships

Undergraduate

G.T. Halpin Family Endowment Scholarship

The SMSC Halpin Family Endowment offers competitive merit-based scholarships to undergraduate students participating in one of SMSC’s semester programs.  Interested students can complete an application through Mason’s AcademicWorks.

In order to be considered for this scholarship students:

  • Must be a Mason student
  • Must be accepted into a semester program and plan to attend in the upcoming semester
  • Must have at least 30 credits at the time of the application and 45 by the time the award is made
  • Must answer two essay questions and include a resume
  • Must have a 3.0 GPA

James W. Hazel Scholarship

The James W. Hazel Scholarship for SMSC offers both merit and need-based scholarships to undergraduate students participating in one of SMSC’s semester programs.  Interested students can complete an application through Mason’s AcademicWorks.

In order to be considered for this scholarship students:

  • Must be a Mason student
  • Must be accepted into a semester program and plan to attend in the upcoming semester
  • Must have at least 30 credits at the time of the application and 45 by the time the award is made
  • Must answer two essay questions and include a resume
  • Must have a 2.75 GPA for need-based scholarships and a 3.0 for merit based scholarships

Returning Student Scholarships

Students who have participated in one of our residential semester-away programs and are returning for a second or third semester at SMSC are automatically eligible for a $2,000 scholarship.

Resident Assistant Positions

Resident Assistants are trained to respond in emergencies, build community among residents, and help students access resources. In exchange, they receive free housing in the SMSC residence hall. Students who apply by the priority application deadlines will have first consideration for these positions. Details will be sent to admitted students after their admission notification.

Graduate

Kaufman Graduate Student Scholarship

Purpose

To provide supplemental summer funding to support research for Mason graduate students who have previously participated in programs offered by the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC).

Eligibility Criteria

  • Applicants must be enrolled in a MS or PhD program in any department at George Mason University
  • Applicants must spend the awarded funds prior to graduation; graduate students graduating in the spring or summer of the year in which they apply are ineligible.
  • Applicants must have attended, or be currently attending, an SMSC course or training program. This includes any formal SMSC course, at any level (high school, undergraduate, graduate, or professional).

Award Funding

Applicants may request up to $5000.00 for any combination of travel, equipment purchase, or living expenses.

Application Materials

A complete application must include the following components: Student Information Form with CV (File 1), Research Proposal (File 2), and a Letter of Recommendation from the student’s academic advisor (File 3, submitted separately). We will only consider complete applications.

All submitted materials must be single spaced, 11-point Arial font, with 1-inch margins and in PDF format. Applicants should use the following format for the filenames of these materials:” Lastname_Kaufman_Student Information” and “Lastname_Kaufman_Proposal”.

File 1 – Student Information Form attached as a pdf document

  1. Student Information (fill out required information)
  2. An Abstract of the proposed research, 250-character limit (total, including spaces)
  3. A Curriculum Vitae (CV), including educational information, GPA, prior presentations, and publications (4-page limit)

File 2 – Project Proposal

Proposal Template attached as a separate pdf document. Do not add any personal identification to this document (i.e., no name nor your advisor’s name). The filenames will be anonymized prior to review.

  1. Two-page proposal describing the research that will be done during the period of the award. See the linked document for details.
  2. References cited (no page limit)
  3. Budget and justification

File 3 – Reference letter – Sent as a separate file by advisor/mentor

One letter of recommendation from the research advisor to be submitted via email to SMSC at [email protected] by 8:00 a.m., Monday, February 23, 2026. The letter should address all relevant aspects of the student’s proposal. Please ask your advisor to use the following format for the email’s subject line: “Letter of Recommendation for Applicant’s Last Name”.

Criteria

The grant applications will be double-blind reviewed and judged on the following criteria, based on the eligibility criteria set forth in the descriptions for each award:

  • completeness of the application,
  • idea originality,
  • rigor of research methods,
  • feasibility,
  • budget justification,
  • contribution to the field and impact on career, and
  • academic performance and achievements during graduate or undergraduate study.

Recipients of the fellowships will be informed by email before March 20.

How to Apply

Students must submit the following materials by 8:00 a.m., Monday, February 23, 2026, by email to the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) at [email protected]. Please include “Kaufman Scholarship” in the subject line of the email.

Awardee Responsibilities

As a condition of this award, the awardee will share their progress in one of the following formats in the following academic year:

Contacts

Amy Fowler – [email protected] (ESP) – Grad Program Director, Runs department scholarships

Daniel Hanley – [email protected] (Biology)

Claude Victor (Levi) Van Sant – [email protected] (SIS)

Joe Kolowski – [email protected] (SMSC)

Professional

Financial support may be available for a few selected professionals to attend our conservation training courses. Scholarship awards will cover the course fee, food, and lodging.

When applying to a course check the box labeled “I’m interested to be considered for any relevant SMSC scholarships.” If this box does not appear, that indicates there are no scholarships available for the course to which you are applying. To be considered for a scholarship, you must apply to the course before that course’s posted “apply-by” date.

Professionals from certain countries are eligible for a reduced course fee which will automatically be reflected during the registration process.

Please contact [email protected] for more information.

Contact Us

1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630