The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum invites funding applications for undergraduate and graduate students to visit and study their collections. 

The deadline for applications is TODAY (April 1st)!!!

Details about the collections study grants and links to application forms can be found here:https://nhm.org/site/research-collections/opportunities

We encourage prospective applicants to contact the relevant curator and collections manager of the collections they wish to visit before assembling proposal materials (see below). Applications should include information on the objectives and significance of the proposed research, the relevance of NHMLA collections to the project, any collaboration with NHMLA curators (if applicable), and the methods used in the research.Awards are made in either partial or full support of travel, lodging, and incidental costs while visiting the NHMLA collections. Individual award amounts can vary, but typically range from $500–$1000, with a maximum of $1500.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is home to four major paleontological collections:
 
The Invertebrate Paleontology collection is among the largest in North America, with particular strengths in Cretaceous and Cenozoic mollusks from the Eastern Pacific. For more information: https://research.nhm.org/ip/ Please contact Austin Hendy at ahendy@nhm.org for further information about the collection.

The Vertebrate Paleontology collection is the fifth largest in the country, with strengths in California, the southwestern portion of the United States, and the northwestern portion of Mexico, and in particular terrestrial mammals, whales, pinnipeds, fishes, sharks and other marine vertebrates from the Cenozoic. Please contact Sam McLeod (smcleod@nhm.org) regarding collection availability. For more information: https://nhm.org/site/research-collections/vertebrate-paleontology

The La Brea Tar Pits & Museum contains collections from one of the world’s most famous fossil localities, recognized for having the largest and most diverse assemblage of late Pleistocene plants and animals in the world. The collections document the Los Angeles biota over the last 50,000 years and include some 3.5 million specimens representing over 600 species of plants and animals. Please contact Aisling Farrell (afarrell@tarpits.org) regarding collection availability. For more information: https://nhm.org/site/research-collections/rancho-la-brea

The Dinosaur Institute houses a world-class collection of Mesozoic tetrapods, including dinosaurs, pterosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, mammals, skin impressions, and eggs. Please contact Maureen Walsh (mwalsh@nhm.org) regarding collection availability. For more information: https://nhm.org/site/research-collections/dinosaur-institute