The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) offers an annual Fellowship worth up to £8,000, for geographical research in the Middle East and other arid regions of the world as a memorial to Sir Wilfred Thesiger. The fellowship supports research into either the physical geography of arid and semi arid environments, or the human dimension of arid and semi arid environments.
The aim of the award is to support outstanding field research in arid/desert environments, with a priority for research within the Middle East, reflecting Thesiger’s interests and the regions he visited.
The fellowship is supported with the kind generosity of His Majesty Qaboos bin Said al Said, Sultan of Oman.
The application deadline is 23 November.
Eligibility
The main objective of the research must be to advance geographical knowledge of arid environments.
Applicants must have held a doctorate for at least 3 years and have a proven research record beyond their PhD.
Applicants must be affiliated to a higher education institution. This can be anywhere in the world.
The project should include fieldwork.
Individuals or groups can apply – but the Principal Investigator (PI) of any project must make the application.
If funding is being sought for a component part of a larger project, the sub-project should be free-standing with its own objectives.
Equipment costs should not comprise more than 10% of the total budget.
Conference attendance will not be funded.
Institutional overheads will not be funded.
Salaries for research staff are not eligible for funding (but replacement costs for teaching assistance to free up research time of the principal investigator may be considered).
