The Graduate Research Excellence Grants are awarded by the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) and provide graduate students around the globe with funds for evolutionary biology research projects. In this competitive program, recipients gain not only the funds to fuel their creative and impactful research projects, but also the confidence, skills, and experience to help launch them into a future career in evolutionary biology.

About SSE

The Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), founded in 1946, is an international organization of evolutionary biologists. SSE publishes the scientific journal Evolution and co-publishes Evolution Letters along with the European Society of Evolutionary Biology. SSE holds the annual Evolution conference with the American Society of Naturalists and the Society of Systematic Biologists. SSE’s mission is to promote evolutionary biology research, education, application, outreach, and community building in an equitable and globally inclusive manner. SSE aspires to advance knowledge of evolutionary biology for the benefit of science and society and to cultivate and support a global community of evolutionary biologists.

Why support graduate research grants?

The GREG program is a key component of SSE's mission. Each year, we receive many more outstanding GREG proposals than we can fund. In 2025, we received 334 proposals, and were able to fund only 31. This year, with additional revenue from our society-owned journals Evolution and Evolution Letters, we can award up to 50 grants. But with current and increasing cuts to science funding and academic opportunities, we want to provide even more support for students.

How far will my donation go?

Our goal is to expand this year’s GREG program by 20 percent. Awards for graduate students in their first or second year can be up to $2,500. Students in their third year and above can apply for up to $3,500. Your donations go directly to supporting students at a critical time in their career.

Hear from past recipients:

“As a recipient of the R. C. Lewontin Award, I am deeply grateful to the SSE. Strong ideas are not enough if you lack the means to bring them to life. Coming from the Global South, applying for a grant once felt both unfamiliar and intimidating, shaped by the mistaken belief that such opportunities were reserved for scientists I once saw as out of my league. This award challenged that perception. It represents more than financial support: it has enabled me to generate key microCT data for my doctoral research, while also providing something equally valuable, a vote of confidence. That encouragement, that sense that someone believes in your science, can make all the difference for a young researcher.” – Daniel Vásquez-Restrepo

“Receiving the Rosemary Grant Advanced Award provided me with the funds to continue and finish a chapter of my dissertation, and I am incredibly grateful to have received this award. Not only does this award provide me with research funds, but it has strengthened my confidence in my abilities as a researcher and communicator, skills that will undoubtedly carry into my career as a scientist. Receiving this grant from the SSE makes me even more excited to finish data collection and share my findings!” - Hannah Walton

“Funding through the GREG from the Society for the Study of Evolution has supported me during an important phase of my research, helping me advance critical aspects of my dissertation project. This award has also provided opportunities for me to further develop as an independent researcher and prepare for the next stages of my career.” - Stephen Kupchella

“The SSE GREG award has provided significant financial support for my research on homoploid hybrid speciation in Penstemons. Receiving this prestigious award has boosted my confidence as a researcher and strengthened my connection to the evolutionary biology community. I feel truly honored and grateful to have received this award.” - S. Gangothri

“The SSE R.C Lewontin Early Career Award has granted me not just the funds I needed for the first chapter of my dissertation, but the confidence in knowing my experimental design is valid in the eyes of other scientists. This support has empowered me to enthusiastically push through experimental obstacles and to pursue opportunities I would not have felt worthy of otherwise. I can't wait to present the results of my efforts to the society that has made them possible!” - Olivia Weaver