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Admissions Process

Application Deadlines

• January 7, 2008: Following Academic Year admissions — Fall

Please note that there are no spring/summer admissions.

Change note: The admission date changed from December 1 to January 7 on this website page as of April 18, 2007. For questions about the deadline change, please email the Graduate Student Coordinator or call (608) 262-3861.

Application Process

1. Read our program overview
2. Visit faculty webpages to identify potential shared research interests
3. Contact faculty to discuss your interests
4. Make visit to UW-Madison (if possible) (contact our Graduate Coordinator if you want to visit)
5. Arrange three letters of recommendation
6. Apply online with the Graduate School (and Complete Departmental Supplemental form)
   • When specifying "Intended Field Study," select:
     • "Cartogr & Geog Info Sys MS" for Master of Science in Cartography and GIS
     • "Geography MS" for Master of Science in Geography
     • "Geography Ph.D." for Degree of Philosophy in Geography
     • * For students applying to the Master’s programs, be sure to check the box indicating that you plan to continue for a Ph.D., even if you have not decided on it or are not planning to at this point. Otherwise, you will not be eligible for some of the financial aid programs.
7. Request GRE scores sent to the graduate school
   • Institution Code: R1846
   • Geography Dept. 2203
8. Request two (2) transcripts from all previous institutions sent to the Department of Geography

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Application Materials

Materials to be submitted to the Graduate School:

• Graduate School online application
• The Supplemental department application form.
• Application fee paid to the Graduate School
• Three (3) letters of recommendation from recent employers or faculty submitted electronically through the application process. Letters of Recommendation are submitted online by your reference instead of directly to the Department of Geography. This process is faster, more secure, and allows for online letter review by the admitting committees. The UW Graduate School, not the student, will send the reference an invitation to submit their letter online. The text of the email sent to the reference will include the applicant's name, the department to which the applicant is applying, and a link to the appropriate submittal form.
• GRE and TOEFL (if necessary) scores sent to the Graduate School  ( Upon admission, international students must fill out a Financial Statement with the Graduate School. )

• Graduate School Address:
• Office of Graduate Admissions
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 228 Bascom Hall
• 500 Lincoln Drive
• Madison, WI 53706-1380

Materials to be submitted in one package to the Geography Department

• Two (2) sets of official transcripts from all universities and colleges you have attended. Send two (2) sets of transcripts to the Geography Department.
• A one or two page "statement of purpose" or "reason for graduate study." For an example of a statement of purpose, see Graduate School example.  It is extremely important t clearly identify your topical or methodological interest within the field of geography. If you know your research topic, please state it in the document. (Note: this may be submitted within the online application if you wish.) [Also see FAQs on purpose statements.]

• Note: Department of Geography web pages will not have a link to the Recommendation form, and neither will the UW Graduate School's admissions web pages. The only person who will have a link to the form will be the reference, and he/she will get this link because the applicant wrote the reference name and email address in the UW Grad School online application.
• After you have submitted your application to the Graduate School, you and the Department of Geography can view a receipt of your Letters of Recommendation through the online status system. Only the UW Graduate School and the Department of Geography admissions committee will be able to view the actual text of the Letter online.

• Geography Department address:
• Gradaute Coordinator
• Department of Geography
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 114 Science Hall
• 550 N. Park Street
• Madison, WI 53706-1491
• 608-262-3861

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Qualifications

The University of Wisconsin—Madison is widely regarded as one of the best public universities in the country, and the Geography Department is considered strong, not only on campus, but also within the discipline. The minimum grade point average (GPA) for admission required by the Graduate School is 3.00 (4.00 scale). Because of strong competition within the Geography Department, our standards are somewhat higher. Applicants with less than a 3.25 GPA should have particularly impressive letters of recommendation and/or scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Other types of excellence may also help a student who lacks a high GPA

Geography is broad and we welcome students with different backgrounds into our graduate programs. We have found that students from different backgrounds do very well in our graduate programs once they have completed breath requirements in geography.

Proficiency with the English language is vital to functioning in the University classroom. Students whose native tongue is other than English need to submit the TOEFL scores along with the application. The TOEFL score for students admitted into this department is much higher than that required by the Graduate School, typically over 615 (paper based test), 260 (computer-based test), or 105 (iTOEFL). An international student, whose native language is not English but wish to be considered for teaching assistantships, need to have taken the speaking part of the TOEFL test and have the score reported on the application. See Frequently Asked Questions for exceptions.

Prospective graduate students who have thought about the details of their graduate study, such as the names of individual faculty members with whom they might want to work, courses they might take, and research that they might pursue, are often at an advantage over students who have not given these matters any thought.

The University has special funds for fellowships for U.S. students from minority groups and we encourage such individuals to apply to our program. Applications from international students are also welcome.

More Information

Read the Geography Graduate Student Handbook for more details

More more information about admission or the application process, please contact the Graduate Student Coordinator, gradschool@geography.wisc.edu or at (608) 262-3861.

FAQ

See Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Graduate Study Applications Process

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