Pathfinder Grant (formerly The Exploration Fund Grant)

Who can apply: Graduate and post-graduate students and early-career scientists from any discipline, conducting field-based research. The scheme was renamed from the Exploration Fund Grant, so a search that still returns the old name is pointing at this scheme. The Club prints no nationality rule for this grant, so none is asserted… What is funded: Grants typically range from USD 2,500 to USD 5,000 for field research. Funding can be used for travel, field equipment, research expenses and other costs essential to the fieldwork. Recipients are welcome to become Explorers Club members afterwards; membership is not required to apply and there is no application fee. Deadline: 31 August 2026, 6:00 pm ET. Round: 2027 field season cycle.

Read the full call and apply on the official page: The Explorers Club, official page.

Who can apply

• Graduate and post-graduate students and early-career scientists from any discipline, conducting field-based research. The scheme was renamed from the Exploration Fund Grant, so a search that still returns the old name is pointing at this scheme. The Club prints no nationality rule for this grant, so none is asserted here. The Explorers Club states that its grants do not pay for visas, immunisations, tuition, salaries for students or faculty, or institutional overhead. Two letters of support are required and the Club will not accept them by email; the letter writers must upload them through the application form itself, and an application missing either letter is not reviewed. A written report and a statement of expenses, with copies of major receipts, are due no later than six months after the fieldwork ends.

Stage dates

Dates come from the funder's page for this round. When a round closes, the next round's dates replace these once the funder publishes them.

See all current funding opportunities