The James R. Welch Scholarship was established in 1990 in honor of James R. Welch of Montana Geological Materials in Billings, Montana, who passed away from a heart attack while collecting fossils at Glass Mountain, a Permian fossil locality in Texas. This scholarship supports graduate-level students conducting research on invertebrate macrofossils.
Applicants must be actively engaged in field research and fossil collecting to be considered for the scholarship. Emphasis is placed on hands-on fieldwork, with funds intended primarily to support the collection and preparation of invertebrate macrofossils.
The James R. Welch Scholarship provides an annual award of $1,000, along with a one-year renewable Associate Membership in the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences (AAPS).
Applicants are not required to be current members of AAPS to apply.
Starting in 2021, applicants from outside of the United States must have a bank account in their name, that will accept wire transfers from the United States of America. AAPS will no longer mail award payments in the form of a check to other countries.
If you are interested, you may apply by sending a letter of application regarding the focus of your studies, and thesis subject, what you need the funds for, and what you plan on doing as a career.
You must submit the following for your application to be complete.
1. A letter of application outlining your project as noted above, including a summary outlining what the funds will be used for
2. A letter of recommendation from one or more of your professors or advisors
3. A current C.V. or college transcript
4. A current photograph of the applicant, which can be emailed, but it must be at least 400 pixels X 600 pixels
Applications must be received by December 31 to be considered for the following calendar year. Incomplete submissions, those missing required documentation, or submissions received after the deadline will be rejected. Please email your application to Jon Porter at jonporter314@gmail.com, or mail it to AAPS at 13170 Central Avenue SE, Suite B, Box 501, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123.
The Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences (AAPS) is a public charity under IRS section 501(c)(3). As such it is exempt for income tax purposes and is permitted to receive tax-deductible gifts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Service. AAPS is also able to receive tax deductible bequests for estate tax purposes. Donations to any of our scholarships and grants are totally tax deductible here in the United States. 100% of all scholarship and grant donations are used for those purposes only. Specimens donated for our annual auction may also be tax deductible. Please check with your accountant or estate planner.
Recipients
| Recipient | Year | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Varriale | 2002 | Johns Hopkins University |
| Sofya L. Low | 2003 | Harvard University |
| Michael Zuykov | 2004 | St.Petersburg State University |
| Karen Waggoner | 2004 | Texas Tech University |
| René Anne Shroat-Lewis | 2006 | University of North Carolina |
| Joshua Slattery | 2009 | Univerity of South Florida |
| Ashley A. Dineen | 2011 | University of Wisconsin |
| Matt Jarrett | 2012 | University of South Florida |
| Katya Larina | 2013 | Brooklyn College |
| Christopher Aucoin | 2014 | University of Cincinnati |
| David F. Wright | 2015 | Ohio State University |
| Jennifer Bauer | 2016 | University of Tennessee |
| Sarah Sheffield | 2016 | University of Tennessee |
| Selina R. Cole | 2016 | Ohio State University |
| Shannon Brophy | 2018 | CUNY Brooklyn College |
| Russell D. C. Bicknell | 2019 | University of New England |
| Annaka M. Clement | 2020 | North Dakota State University |
| Nicolas Nomenjanahary | 2021 | University of Mahajanga, Madagascar |
| Samantha Arsenault | 2022 | Hawaii Pacific University, Hawaii |
| Cariad Williams | 2023 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Trevor H Rempert | 2024 | Case Western Reserve University |