Great New Opportunities for Geography and Anthropology Students

The Department of Geography and Anthropology is very happy to announce a new set of opportunities designed to enhance the experiences of our students here at UW-Eau Claire.  With financial support from the permanently endowed Simpson Fund, we encourage geography and anthropology majors and minors to participate in a variety of high impact and professionalizing experiences.  These unique financial perquisites of being a student in our department are intended to make a variety of valuable learning and research activities more accessible and to acknowledge student accomplishments.

Students should work with their advisers and departmental mentors to take meaningful advantage of these and all programs our department and university have to offer.  Following is a breakdown of what the Simpson Fund now makes possible.

Research
Our students may request up to a total of $1000 per year to support student-faculty collaborative research related costs and/or conference presentation travel expenses not fully met by ORSP (Office of Research and Sponsored Programs) funding – see Student Travel for the Presentation of Research Results.  Details and specifics are outlined on the application form (see below).

Learning Abroad
Students who will study abroad in a semester- or year-long international program may apply for $500 to defray the costs of this experience.  Geography and anthropology students are encouraged to also apply for other scholarships available through the Center for International Education.

GTU
The Department is happy to pay the lifetime membership fees ($40) for all qualified geography students who wish to join the GTU (Gamma Theta Upsilon, the International Geographic Honors Society).  See Dr. Weichelt with any questions about the Society and about joining.

Departmental Honors
The Department of Geography and Anthropology is in the final stages of establishing procedure for recognizing students with departmental honors.  This is different from the University Honors program.  Departmental honors provides especially motivated or inspired students a high professional goal within the discipline and a chance to be recognized for achieving it.  Generally, the requirements will be to conduct collaborative research, publically present the results, and write them up in a thesis while maintaining a 3.5 grade point average in the discipline and overall.  In addition to being recognized at graduation, students who fulfill the requirements for departmental honors will receive a $500 award from the department in the last semester before graduation.  Students are encouraged to apply for departmental honors as soon as they are interested and eligible.  An application form will be available shortly.

How to Apply
Detailed instructions and eligibility for all of these programs is explained on the APPLICATION FORM – After you log in, go to the Start New Form tab and select Geography and Anthropology Dept from the drop-down menu, and open the Simpson Fund Proposals form.  On the first page that opens up, click on Student Development.  You may save and close the form to work on it later.  If you have any questions, see your advisor.

Background on the Simpsons
Col. George Simpson Sr. was one of UW-Eau Claire’s 20 original faculty members and was a professor of geography from 1916-1951.  To learn more of the Simpsons and the bequest that allows us to offer these opportunities, click here. And here.

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