Monica Cole and Henrietta Hutton Research Grants

What you get

You get about 1,150 EUR (£1,000) for your own field research project abroad. The money pays research costs such as travel and fieldwork. Equipment can take up no more than a quarter of the total. It does not cover tuition fees or living costs. Your fieldwork must start within 12 months of the award and finish within 12 months. The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) hands out four grants each year: two Monica Cole grants for physical geography projects (one undergraduate, one master's) and two Henrietta Hutton grants for projects with a strong social or environmental focus (one undergraduate, one master's).

Who can apply

• Level: You are an undergraduate or master's student.
• University: You are registered at a UK university or college.
• Your project: You run your own independent field research project outside the UK. If it is part of a bigger organised expedition, you must show how your own research stands apart from it.
• Field of study: You do not need a geography degree, but your project must add to geographical knowledge. That means it studies how environments, societies and places interact and change.
• Host country link: You can show that people in the country where you do the research are genuinely involved.
• Membership: You do not need to be an RGS-IBG member.
• What does not count: University teaching trips, volunteer projects, fundraising expeditions and gap-year travel are not funded. You also cannot claim for a project you have already finished.

How to apply

You email the RGS-IBG application form and a one-page CV to the grants office by 23 November 2026. Two referees must send a short reference form by the same date, and for student grants one of them must be your supervisor. An external panel of experts reviews the applications, and the whole process takes up to four months. You may apply for both the Monica Cole and the Henrietta Hutton grant in the same year.

How realistic are your chances?

This is a narrow award. Only UK-registered undergraduate and master's students with a genuine, independent overseas field research project qualify, and there are four grants a year split across physical and social or environmental themes. If your project clearly advances geographical knowledge, is well planned for safety and permissions, and shows real host-country involvement, you compete in a small, focused field. The strength of your research proposal matters more than your grades here.