Scholarship Opportunities for Dragonfly Students
Scholarship funds as graduate support can help reduce some of the financial burden so students focus their efforts on their coursework and in achieving their student goals. Project Dragonfly, along with key donor partners, offers several partial scholarships each year.
NOTE: All but one of the awards below are ONLY OPEN to current graduate students who have been enrolled in AT LEAST THREE semesters in a Dragonfly master’s degree program. Past awardees can apply again; however, they will have to show how their new application is different and above and beyond their first winning application. We hope you consider applying!
These funds can be used to cover tuition and other course-related costs. Since 2009, Dragonfly students have received $31,000 in scholarship funds. We also offer some further ideas on Helping Fund Your Degree. Learn how these scholarships are supporting Dragonfly students to further conservation and shared action in the fields of inclusion, diversity, environmental justice, and other related fields on our winners page.
Dragonfly award applications open in March and are due April 1. Awardees will be contacted in May. Additional awards supported by the Department of Biology or other donors set their own dates and awarding schedule. Availability of funds varies by year. See each scholarship below for details.
If you are interested in becoming a scholarship donor, please contact Jill Korach at korachjk@miamioh.edu or contribute to our ongoing Dragonfly scholarship here.
Scholarships for Dragonfly Students
The Audubon Miami Valley (AMV) has been a local chapter of the National Audubon Society in Butler and Preble county Ohio USA since 1976. AMV works to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.AMV in collaboration with Project Dragonfly, supports educators who live in the Miami River Valley USA and who advocate environmental stewardship and global understanding. The AMV Rosie Bloom Scholarship, named for local Audubon Society charter member and nature advocate Rosie Bloom, supports local educators who advocate environmental stewardship and global understanding. The AMV, in collaboration with Miami’s Project Dragonfly, has awarded over 26 partial scholarships to Dragonfly graduate students since 2009.
Eligibility: The AMV Rosie Bloom Scholarship helps support Earth Expeditions (EE) field course participants who live or work in Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana. First-year and current students are eligible to apply.
Project Dragonfly programs work to inspire positive ecological and social change. Created in 2021, the Dragonfly scholarship supports Dragonfly students earning either a M.A. in Biology or a M.A.T. in the Biological Sciences who are committed to furthering the fields of inclusion, diversity, environmental justice, and other related fields using innovative and relevant approaches to conservation. Priority will be given to students from historically underrepresented populations, including Black, Latinx, Native American, all abilities, and inclusive of gender identities. Allies are also welcome to apply.
Each award recipient (we expect to award 2 scholarships annually) receives up to $1000 toward their current graduate studies along with ongoing support from program advisers, student mentors, and peers. Awarded scholars will work with their graduate advisers to support their master’s project plans and how to best engage the Dragonfly network of support.
In 2024: Current Advanced Inquiry Program students may apply.
The José Pareja-Wendy Tori Global Conservation and Field Scholarship is awarded to accepted master’s students in the Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP) or Global Field Program (GFP) with a clear, demonstrated interest in conservation science, field studies or environmental education. This award will provide partial funding to be used for EE related costs. The award is made possible by José I. Pareja and Wendy P. Tori, natives of Peru, who were a part of the GFP/AIP team at its inception in 2008. Past winners are not eligible to receive scholarship grants. José was also one of the founding GFP/AIP team members and currently, they are both active faculty members of Earlham College. Drs. José I. Pareja and Wendy P. Tori, in collaboration with Miami’s Project Dragonfly, have awarded 15 partial scholarships since 2013.
This scholarship is open to current Dragonfly students working toward their either the M.A. or M.A.T. graduate degree. First-year students are not eligible to apply.
Pelecanus Inc., a non-profit organization co-founded by AIP graduate Austin Parker and his brother Taylor, created the Carrie R. Wilson Memorial Scholarship in 2021. Carrie Wilson, who served as Dean of Students of the University of San Diego Law School, believed in community inspiration through direct and intentional action, and this scholarship honors her memory as a “heartfelt gift to make the world a better place.” This $2000 scholarship will be awarded annually to one Dragonfly student each year.
To be eligible for this award, students must be actively enrolled in a Dragonfly graduate academic program (the AIP or the GFP), in good academic standing, and have completed a minimum of 3 credit hours. New students are not eligible to apply. Applicants who contribute to growing diversity within the conservation sector (people of color, people with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions and identities) are strongly encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to students who demonstrate financial need.
John L. Vankat, professor emeritus, taught and researched plant ecology at Miami University for 31 years. A consummate researcher, Vankat directed field studies from Alaska to Belize, focusing his post-retirement research on the forests, woodlands, and shrublands of the American Southwest. This award, which was established in his honor, is supported by Miami's Department of Biology and supports field research in terrestrial plant ecology by undergraduate or graduate students in any department or program. May be used to offset the costs of equipment, supplies, or travel.
1. Download, then complete, a copy of this application form.
2. Download a copy of your unofficial transcript to include with your application.
3. One letter of recommendation is a required component of the application.
4. Provide a one-page description of the proposed research project that includes the relationship to the student’s degree program and a brief budget that states how award funds would be spent.
Send your application materials as an email attachment and arrange to have your letter of recommendation sent to: Biology Department Scholarship Committee, c/o Darlene Davidson, davidsmd@miamioh.edu, by April 12, 2024.
Richard Howard, a 1938 graduate of Miami University, was a plant taxonomist, a prolific researcher, botanical collector, photographer, and writer, whose speciality area was the islands of the Caribbean. This award, which was established in his honor, is supported by Miami's Department of Biology and supports undergraduate or graduate student research in botany or environmental science with a preference for research in the Caribbean.
1. Download, then complete, a copy of this application form.
2. Download a copy of your unofficial transcript to include with your application.
3. One letter of recommendation is a required component of the application.
4. For Research Awards only, provide a one-page description of the proposed research project and include the estimated budget for the project.
Send your application materials as an email attachment and arrange to have your letter of recommendation sent to: Biology Department Scholarship Committee, c/o Darlene Davidson, davidsmd@miamioh.edu, by April 12, 2024.
Charley Harper was a Cincinnati-based modernist wildlife artist who shared his love of animals, science, and the natural world through highly stylized geometric art, which was often graced with his trademark humor and whimsy. This award, which was established in his honor. is supported by Miami's Department of Biology and supports undergraduate or graduate students in the biological sciences who demonstrate a talent and interest in the arts. Awards are based on academic merit and financial need.
1. Download, then complete, a copy of this application form.
2. Download a copy of your unofficial transcript to include with your application.
3. One letter of recommendation is a required component of the application.
Send your application materials as an email attachment and arrange to have your letter of recommendation sent to: Biology Department Scholarship Committee, c/o Darlene Davidson, davidsmd@miamioh.edu, by April 12, 2024.
The Botany Department, along with Drs. Wilson and Eshbaugh, in collaboration with Project Dragonfly, believe in supporting students who practice environmental research with a global focus. To this regard, T.K. Wilson and W. Hardy Eshbaugh set-up a scholarship fund to support AIP or GFP graduate students actively participating in globally-relevant botanical or conservation projects. This fund is possible in part due to Dr. T.K. Wilson, a leader in Bahamian floral biodiversity studies, and Dr. Hardy Eshbaugh, a pioneer in the field of ethnobotany (people's use of plants) working in many global locations. These emeritus professors exemplify a model for what is possible in international scientific botanical research and global partnerships. This scholarship can be used toward relevant course costs.
1. Download, then complete, a copy of this application form.
2. Download a copy of your unofficial transcript to include with your application.
3. One letter of recommendation is a required component of the application.
Send your application materials as an email attachment and arrange to have your letter of recommendation sent to: Biology Department Scholarship Committee, c/o Darlene Davidson, davidsmd@miamioh.edu, by April 12, 2024.
Graduate Student Travel Fund: In some rare occasions, Miami’s graduate school is able to help offset some of the costs (up to $150) to present a poster or paper at a conference, to receive an award, etc. This form opens in August each year. When open, see the application form for details.
Graduate Student Achievement Award: The Graduate Students' Achievement (GSA) Award is intended to recognize significant achievement in any research or creative activity by full or part-time graduate students making satisfactory progress in their degree program. Dragonfly students can apply for this award though know that past history shows most awardees are Ph.D. students. See Achievement Award for details.
Marjorie Post Farrington Scholarship: This $1,000 scholarship will be awarded by the Graduate School for the academic year to a graduate student in any area of study. The award is based primarily on merit and secondarily on financial need. See the Farrington award webpage for further details.
"Maintaining the wild is a complex task requiring the work of many. I am thankful and proud to be the recipient of the Audubon Rosie Bloom Scholarship because it helped make traveling to Kenya more feasible." -Amanda Badger, EE Kenya 2014
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