Diatoms of North AmericaIn 1987, the Phycological Society of America established the Hannah T. Croasdale Endowment Fund. Income generated by the fund's endowment supports the Croasdale Fellowship program to encourage graduate students to broaden their phycological training by defraying the costs of attending courses at biological field stations. The purpose of the award is to garner new phycological skillsets, not necessarily to further research goals. Proposals to study at field stations associated with universities other than those affiliated with the student's home institution are especially encouraged. Fellowship support to attend courses unaffiliated with an academic field station should be requested from the Grants-in-Aid of Research Program.
Eligibility: Applicants must be members of PSA. They must be currently enrolled in a graduate program or formally admitted at the time of the submission of the application.
Awards: Fellowship awards are made in the amount of up to $2,250 and are intended to defray costs incurred in taking the course: tuition, travel, room and board. Awards are made directly to the student or payable to the institution offering the course in amounts up to $2,250 each. In recent years, success rates for the Croasdale have been ~50%, but vary year to year.
Evaluation and Selection: The selection of recipients will be based on the overall fit of the proposed course to the applicant’s future career and research objectives, and the potential of the applicant to benefit from attendance. These qualities will be judged from information provided in the completed application, the applicant's transcripts, and a letter of recommendation from the applicant's major advisor. Applications will be evaluated by the members of the PSA Grants and Fellowships Committee, and will be notified of the committee's decision as soon as it is available.
Application Procedure: All applicants must submit their application using this Jotform portal by January 1 at 11:59 PM PST. A copy of their transcript (unofficial copies are acceptable) must be uploaded using the provided widget in this portal. The student must request a short letter of recommendation from their major advisor. Please have your advisor submit only one (1) copy of this letter to the Committee Chair. Letters of recommendation are due one week after the application deadline on January 8 by 11:59 PM PST.
This portal will send an email to your mentor requesting the letter on your behalf upon final submission but you must confirm their agreement to submit such a letter before submitting your application. Confirmation that your application is complete, including the letter of recommendation, will be provided to you via email from the Committee Chair.
This portal has a save function, allowing you to make edits over time without officially submitting the final version. Please only submit your application once, as multiple submissions will trigger multiple requests to your mentor to submit a letter on your behalf.
Successfully Funded Students and Postdoctoral Researchers: Awardees will be required to complete the PSA Awardee Report within one year of the award announcement.
Letters of recommendation and questions should be directed to the current Committee Chair, Rachael Wade.
