Dipterists Society

The Dipterists Society has a Grants and Awards program designed to further education in dipterology, to stimulate collaboration, to support research activities and field work, to recognize important contributions to dipterology, and to promote scientific study and dissemination of knowledge about flies. All grants and awards are focused on furthering the purposes and goals of the organization and supporting our tax-exempt status.

The first 2026 call for applications closed on 9 February 2026. Thank you to all who applied!

To be eligible to apply for Dipterists Society grants, you must be a member-in-good-standing, with dues up to date.

Following are types of grants and awards the Society will be providing:

1. Travel grants: for dipterists to attend scientific meetings or educational opportunities such as identification workshops and field courses.
2. Research grants: for dipterists to address research questions by studying important specimens in insect collections, or collecting or making observations of target species or groups through lab or fieldwork.
3. Merit- or accomplishment-based awards: to recognize the special achievements of an individual or individuals in service to dipterology, or to recognize particularly meritorious research products such as scientific publications. Generally, these are not based upon application, but rather upon nomination to and evaluation by the Board of Directors or an assigned committee.

Announcements of calls for applications will be made here, through the Fly Times, and through the Dipterists mailing list server.

The purpose of our grants and awards program is to further the goals of the organization and support our tax-exempt status by facilitating research and field work, enabling participation in scientific meetings to present and disseminate information to other dipterists, entomologists and the public, providing students opportunities to learn about flies, providing the means for students and non-students to perform meaningful research activities, and rewarding outstanding efforts by students and non-students in publications about Diptera and activities in dipterology. Across these purposes, a further goal is to provide for those recipients who would otherwise not have the means to perform these activities or participate in such Diptera-related events.

Historically, the first grants program of the Society was the Dipterology Fund, which ran from 1995—2010. That program was established from funds left over from the 3rd International Congress of Dipterology, held in Guelph, Ontario, Canada in 1994. Unlike subsequent congresses, the Guelph congress was managed by the organizing committee and a team of volunteers. This avoided the hefty fees of a professional congress organizer. After all the bills were paid, a surplus of over $20,000 remained. Steve Marshall (University of Guelph) proposed that these funds be used to support dipterological research, and the Dipterology Fund was born. A committee was formed and an application process was put in place. Each year up to four grants were awarded, usually to students, to a maximum of CAD $1000 each. The funds ran out in 2010 and the Dipterology Fund was dissolved.

Current call for TRAVEL grant proposals

There are currently no open calls for Travel grants.

For questions, please contact us.

Current call for RESEARCH grant proposals

There are currently no open calls for Research grants.

For questions, please contact us.

Awards

The Society currently has only one merit-based award, the C.P. Alexander Award, established in 1994, and conceived “to recognize the greatest living North American dipterist.” As a lifetime award, this can only be held by a single dipterist at a time, currently Stephen A. Marshall.

Other merit- and accomplishment-based awards will be announced from time to time here, and through the Fly Times and the Dipterists mailing list server.