Jed Burtt Undergraduate Mentoring Grants

The Jed Burtt Undergraduate Mentoring Grants, offered by the Wilson Ornithological Society, support mentors of undergraduate students engaged in ornithological research. Grants of $1,000 are awarded annually to two projects demonstrating exceptional mentoring and collaboration. Each mentor-student team can receive an additional $2,000 to attend a WOS annual meeting, where students present their findings. This initiative honors Edward H. Burtt, Jr., a notable mentor and past president of WOS.

The Wilson Ornithological Society is pleased to offer grants available to mentors of undergraduate students working in collaboration on an ornithological research project. These grants are named in honor of Edward (“Jed”) H. Burtt, Jr., a Past-President of WOS (1997-1999) and an exemplary mentor of undergraduates during his distinguished career. This grant program began in 2016.
WOS will award annually up to two grants of $1,000 to research projects that demonstrate the greatest capacity of mentoring and collaboration with at least one undergraduate. In addition, each mentor-student team will receive up to $2,000 (i.e., up to $1000 for the faculty mentor and $1000 for the student researcher(s)) to attend a subsequent annual meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Society where the student(s) will present the findings of their grant-supported work. WOS expects the Mentor to supervise participation of the student(s) in the conference, with the goal of enabling the student(s) to get as much out of the experience as possible.

Eligibility

Mentor eligibilityThe Mentor must be a member of the Wilson Ornithological Society at the time of application; must maintain membership through the period during which the research is done; and must be a member in good standing during the year in which the student presents the results at the WOS annual meeting.Receipt of funds supporting attendance at the meeting by both the student(s) and the Mentor will be contingent on the Mentor’s continuing active membership in WOS.Student eligibilityThe student(s) to be mentored must at the time of application be enrolled in an institution of higher education and actively working toward a bachelor degree, but not necessarily at the same institution as the mentor. The mentor could, for example, be an ornithologist working for a not-for-profit organization who mentors undergraduates at a local college. Ideally, applications should come from students not yet in their senior year; however, projects involving work done in the spring/summer immediately following graduation may be considered as long as the proposal includes clear indication that the student is likely to continue work in ornithology in some capacity (e.g., graduate study or employment).Number of awardsEach Mentor-student team is restricted to a single award. No Mentor may be supported by two awards concurrently: a Mentor who received an award for research conducted in a given year (e.g., 2025) would need to wait until the next full application cycle to apply for support of another student (e.g., 2027).
You must be a member of this organization to apply for this award - become a member. The Mentor must be a member of the Wilson Ornithological Society at the time of application; must maintain membership through the period during which the research is done; and must be a member in good standing during the year in which the student presents the results at the WOS annual meeting. Receipt of funds supporting attendance at the meeting by both the student(s) and the Mentor will be contingent on the Mentor's continuing active membership in WOS.

Ineligibility

No Mentor may be supported by two awards concurrently.