Undergraduate Scholarships

Leonard Research & Educator Fellowships

The Earth & Planetary Sciences Department supports undergraduate student research and teaching, primarily through the Leonard Fellowships. 

Leonard Research and Educator Fellowship Applications for the Fall 2026 semester are due Friday, April 10, 2026 by 12:00pm (noon). No late applications will be accepted. 

Award:

Each student award will consist of a $3000/semester stipend, with up to an additional $1000/academic year to be used for research expenses* (*see additional research funding subsection for application instructions). A maximum of $6000/academic year is available for each student, with a maximum of 3 semesters** of funding in total during your time at UNM (**see eligibility requirements). Consultation with a Research Mentor to define a topic is a required part of this application (any EPS faculty member, research professor, or lecturer may serve as Advisor for undergraduate research). This is a competitive grant evaluated by the quality of your proposal.

Eligibility:

Students will be selected for Leonard Fellowships based on their research proposal and response to application questions (details below), academic standing, and degree to which they will benefit from the research experience. To be eligible for one of these awards, students must meet the following requirements:

• You must be a declared major (1^st or 2^nd) in EPS or ENVS.
• Be in good academic standing per UNM policy.
• You must have successfully completed MATH 1512 (formerly MATH 162), MATH 1430, OR an equivalent course (ex. MATH 1512 is equivalent to MATH 1510 at CNM) and either EPS 301/302 or ENVS 330 or ENVS 320L, at the time of the award.
• You must enroll in either EPS 491 (Problems, 1-3 credit hours), EPS 493 (Independent Study, 3 credit hours), or EPS 495 (Senior Thesis, 3 credit hours) for the semester of the fellowship with your Research Advisor as instructor of record.
• You are eligible for a maximum of 3 semesters of support in total from the Leonard fellowship program across the Research and Educator categories; for example, you may apply for:
  • 3 semesters as a Research Fellow,
  • 2 semesters as a Research Fellow + 1 semester as an Educator Fellow, OR
  • 1 semester as a Research Fellow + 2 semesters as an Educator Fellow

Apply to the Leonard Research or Educator Fellowship using the electronic forms linked here:

Leonard Educator Award Application

Leonard Research Award Application

Templates for the Leonard Fellowship Application CV and Budget:

Example CV

Budget Template

List of Departmental Scholarships