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 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 SHD (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:

• Statement of research objectives: describing the project’s significance and the specific ways in which fieldwork will advance the research.
• Proposed travel plan: identifying key locations to be visited, their relevance to the project, and planned field activities.
• Preliminary budget: outlining projected expenses, noting any other sources of support, and demonstrating that the proposed activities are feasible within the award amount.
• Curriculum vitae (CV): limited to 2–3 pages, including academic status and institutional affiliation.

Winners of the travel award will be required to share their findings/research with the Society within twelve 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 a written report in Terra Cognita or through an interview for the Society’s YouTube channel. 

The Lintner Field Research Travel Award is designed to support emerging scholars who seek to ground historical research in the physical, environmental, and cultural settings that shaped exploration and discovery.

If you have questions regarding the Field Research Travel Award, contact Cameron Strang, cstrang@unr.edu.