Student Support Opportunities 

Welcome to the student section of the Paleontological Society website! The Society provides essential services to members through publications, grants, and an ever-increasing involvement in the annual Geological Society of America meetings. This involvement provides a place where students, both new and experienced, can feel welcomed and get to know their colleagues in professional and social settings.

A few of the initiatives that students should be aware of include:

  • Paleontological Society Student Research Grants, awarded each year in the amount of $1200.
  • The Paleontological Society GSA Student Poster Award. This competition, held each fall at GSA, is open to undergraduate and graduate student members of the Paleontological Society. The winner of the competition, which will be judged by a panel of professional paleontologists, will receive a $250 prize and prizes will be awarded for runners up as well. All current student members who submit posters to the conference will automatically be entered into the competition, as well as students who become members at GSA.
  • Paleontological Society Geoscience Policy Internship [at the American Geosciences Institute]. The Paleontological Society supports two of its student members to become Geoscience Policy Interns at the American Geosciences Institute each summer.  The interns are immersed in the policy-making process in Washington, DC, where they observe, study, and report on how policy making intersects with and affects the geosciences.
  • The Student Ambassadors Program. The Paleontological Society seeks to support undergraduate students interested in a career in paleontology who plan on attending the national Geological Society of America meeting. A limited number of grants are available to offset travel costs: $1,000 if the student is presenting original research at GSA and $500 if the student is just attending the meeting. 

  • Paleontology in the Parks Fellowship Program. The Paleontology in the Parks Fellowship Program is designed to foster collaboration between members of the Paleontological Society (PS) and the National Park Service (NPS) by working together to help address fossil project needs in parks across the United States. Paleontological resources are known from 283 NPS units, whereby fossils are documented in situ, preserved in museum collections, or recorded in cultural contexts.

Mentorship Opportunities

On to the Future

The OTF Program awards partial travel scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students, and recent graduates studying in the geosciences, to attend their first GSA Annual Meeting.

Paleontological Society Mentors in Paleontology Career Luncheon

This luncheon for students (undergrad, graduate, and post docs welcome) features a panel of mentors representing a variety of colleges, universities, museums, and government agencies. They will offer advice about preparing for a career, and comment on the prospects for current and future job opportunities.

Paleontological Society Co-Sponsored Courses

Stratigraphic Paleobiology Field Course

Learn how to apply modern stratigraphic principles and quantitative analytical methods to the analysis of the fossil record.

Taphonomic and Ecological Processes in Tropical Environments

The 5-week course will focus on graduate-level research in taphonomy and ecology of late Quaternary to Recent environments of the San Salvador Island (Bahamas), including both marine and terrestrial settings.

Job Announcements

The Paleontological Society lists job announcements from a wide range of sources.
Click here to view current listings.

AWG/PS Winifred Goldring Award

The Association for Women Geoscientists and the Paleontological Society co-sponsor the annual Winifred Goldring Award competition. The award, which consists of a $2000 cash prize and membership in the Paleontological Society and AWG for tenure of the awardee’s schooling, will be presented to an outstanding female student pursuing a career in paleontology. The award is named for Winifred Goldring, a pioneering woman paleontologist, who became State Paleontologist of New York State in 1939 and the first female president of the Paleontological Society in 1949. Please see the AWG website for application instructions: https://www.awg.org/page/ScholarshipsandAwards 

AWG/PS Undergraduate Excellence in Paleontology Award

The Association for Women Geoscientists and the Paleontological Society co-sponsor the annual AWG Undergraduate Paleontology Award. The award, which consists of a $1000 cash prize and membership in the Paleontological Society and AWG for the tenure of the awardee’s schooling, will be presented to an outstanding female undergraduate student pursuing a career in paleontology. Please see the AWG website for application instructions: https://www.awg.org/page/ScholarshipsandAwards