Description

The Pathfinder Grant, administered by The Explorers Club and previously known as The Exploration Fund Grant, supports graduate and post-graduate students and early-career scientists pursuing transformative field research. The program funds work across disciplines, from remote wilderness and ocean environments to cultural discovery. Its goals are to expand knowledge, advance scientific discovery, and help researchers use their expertise to investigate important questions and test innovative ideas.

Supported work includes wildlife conservation, forest management, climate change, archaeology, biodiversity, and cultural research. Past projects have examined polar kelp forests, threatened shark and ray populations, ancient rural life, and aquifer biodiversity. The Club prioritizes expeditions addressing ambitious research questions over survey data, taking the uniqueness and rarity of collected data into account.