This scholarship was created to honor the ideals, scholarship and character of Claude C. Albritton Jr., a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and a Founding member of the Archaeological Geology Division. A major part of his career was devoted to the application of earth sciences to archaeology; and financial assistance to graduate students with this scholarship is a fitting way to help perpetuate his high standards of research. This scholarship is intended to support the field and/or laboratory research of a graduate student pursuing a Masters or Doctoral degree. The research must involve interdisciplinary archaeology-earth sciences concepts and methods. Disciplines and geographic areas are open, but can include geomorphology, pedology, sedimentology, archaeometry, stratigraphy zooarchaeology, and archaeological materials and characterization.

Eligibility: Applications will be accepted from students currently enrolled in a graduate program. Residents of the US and foreign countries are eligible. Membership in the GSA and the Archaeological Geology division are not required.

Awards: Awards will be made the awards committee of the Archaeological Geology Division. Awards are up to $650, which will be sent to the awardee by the GSA following the committee's final selection. More than one award will be made if funds are available. If no meritorious proposals are received, the committee may elect to make no awards for that year. The decisions concerning awards are made solely by the committee and are final.

Evaluation Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated and ranked by committee members based on the following: 1) Scientific merit of the proposed research topic and methodology; 2) Preparation and capabilities of the students, based on the application and two letters of recommendation, and 3) The proposed allocation (not amount) of the grant money.

Allowable Expenses: The grant award may be used only to directly support the student's research as follows: Allowable expenses may include but are not limited to: travel, food, and lodging (during fieldwork only), analytical services (dating, thin section preparation, geochemical or isotopic analyses, etc.), and fully expendable supplies (chemicals, photographic film-processing, sample containers, etc). The award monies may not be used for: tuition, salaries, consultants, communication costs, travel to meetings, word processing services, any permanent equipment, any computer hardware or software, books, copying, printing or binding services.

Schedule and Term: Proposals must be received by March 1. Applicants will be notified by April 15. There is no set term for use of scholarship funds, although it is expected that recipients will normally expend these monies within one year of award.

Proposal: The proposals are limited to no more than 5 pages or 2,000 words, excluding figures and references. These should be double-spaced, with at least 10-point type, and with 1" margins. Figures may be used, but only to convey information that will assist in evaluation of the proposal. References should be limited to those that are essential to clarify the nature of previous works, methods, employed, etc. The proposals should include a clear description of the research problem or questions, its significance, a brief review of previous research, the area of fieldwork (if appropriate), and a clear description of methodology to be employed.