The Dr. Stephen F. Lintner Field Research Travel Award supports graduate students whose scholarship on the history of geographic discoveries requires direct engagement with the landscapes, environmental settings, and cultural contexts in which exploration occurred. The program reflects the value of field observation for understanding how explorers encountered terrain, interacted with local environments and communities, and interpreted unfamiliar regions. It is intended for graduate students whose work benefits from on-site investigation of routes, ecological features, landforms, cultural settings, or other place-based elements essential to reconstructing historical experiences of discovery.

Two awards of up to $1,500 each may be granted annually.

This program is open exclusively to graduate students enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program at an accredited college or university and who are members of The Society for the History of Discoveries ( Student Membership is $25). Eligible proposals should clearly demonstrate the importance of field travel to the research question and show how direct engagement with place will strengthen the analysis and interpretation of historical material. Students working in history, geography, environmental studies, anthropology, cartography, or related fields are welcome to apply.

Applications must include

• Research Statement: The statement must be three to five double-spaced pages and should include 1) a description of the project’s significance and methods; 2) an explanation of the specific ways in which fieldwork will advance the research; and 3) a proposed travel plan that identifies key locations to be visited, their relevance to the project, and planned field activities.
• Preliminary budget: The budget must outline projected expenses, noting any other sources of support, and demonstrating that the proposed activities are feasible within the award amount.
• Curriculum vitae (CV): A CV of no more than three pages, including contact information, academic status, and institutional affiliation.
• One Letter of Recommendation: The student’s graduate advisor must  send a letter of recommendation directly to  Cameron B. Strang, Chair of the Award Committee, at cstrang@unr.edu. 

Submission Procedure:  Send all materials as email attachments to Cameron B. Strang, Chair of the Award Committee, at cstrang@unr.edu. The deadline for submission is April 15, 2026. 

Winners of the travel award will be required to share their findings/research with the Society within 12 months of completion of their research trip.  Students may do this by presenting at the Annual Meeting or as part of the Virtual Lecture Series, or through writing a report for publication in Terra Cognita, or through providing an interview for the Society’s YouTube channel.