Sponsored by the Garden Club of America http://www.gcamerica.org, this fellowship was established in 2000 by Mr. and Mrs. Wilmer J. Thomas, Jr. and is awarded annually to an exceptional graduate student to assist with study and research at a leading American institution.

This fellowship reflects and promotes the Garden Club of America's interest in supporting garden history and design, and examining the future of gardens and their unique place in our environment. Today, with growing constraints on all open space, the art of the garden increases in importance. Professionals have expressed the need to focus on American garden history and design, and have expressed dismay at the lack of funding help for talented students.

Project study should have wide scope, such as investigating new techniques of garden restoration; studying how small gardens created by community groups have impacted public gardens; exploring and documenting physical, emotional and spiritual healing properties of the garden; and instigating the development of gardens that use ecological and regenerative concepts, to name but a few possibilities.

Requirements

In addition to the General Submission Guidelines this fellowship requires the following:

• Must be a graduate student studying at an American institution. Selection criteria will include the degree to which the proposed fellowship work addresses GCA objectives,* as well as the excellence of the student's academic qualifications and person.
• A cover letter
• A written proposal for the work to be undertaken (limit 4 pages; proposal must contain an objective, outcome and method)
• A one-page budget for the proposed work
• A current resume
• A letter of endorsement from applicant's faculty advisor, which also certifies enrollment
• Two additional recommendations