All graduate students are automatically considered for financial departmental aid unless they indicate otherwise. Decisions about financial aid for the coming academic year are usually made during the spring semester, although applicants should be made aware that in some cases, the filling of some assistantship positions may extend into the summer months. Please note that in order to be considered for department aid, applications for admission must be received in one (1) package by the January 2 deadline.  Incomplete applications are NOT considered.

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See Student Resources for more options

Some students are admitted with long term support guarantees from the Department. Master’s students receive a five-year guarantee (2 years for Master’s work and 3 years for Ph.D. work), while Ph.D. students receive a three-year support guarantee. Quite often this guarantee will be fulfilled by the department with appointments such as teaching and project assistantships.

Several types of financial aid are available, including:

Teaching Assistantships
The department typically employs over 20 teaching assistants in the fall and spring semesters. One year-long computer lab project assistantship is also available. Graduate students who are teaching assistants have teaching responsibilities in either seminar or lab settings, and teach under the supervision of a faculty member. Teaching assistants are included in the labor agreement between the state of Wisconsin and the Teaching Assistants Association. A full tuition remission and health insurance benefits are also provided.

Faculty Project and Research Assistantships
Many faculty members have research grants that carry graduate research assistantships. Work performed as a research assistant is primarily to further the education and training of the student under the supervision of a faculty member. Applications for project and research assistantships are made directly to faculty members. Tuition remission and health insurance benefits are included.

Graduate School Fellowships (WARF)
The UW Graduate School holds and annual University-wide fellowship competition. Fellowships are offered to new graduate students and dissertators. It is the responsibility of the Geography Department Graduate Budget and Admissions committee to nominate the Department’s best students for these highly competitive awards. Nomination decisions are usually made in January. Tuition remission, as well as health insurance benefits, are provided with the fellowship.

Extramural Fellowships
Graduate fellowships through foundations and organizations (i.e., National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Fulbright, etc), offer graduate fellowships.

Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship
FLAS fellowships are awarded each year to students interested in the study of specific languages and the regions in which they are spoken. Interested students should contact the appropriate Area Studies program on campus in the fall about application procedures.

Science Hall Project Assistantships
The Cartography Lab, State Cartographer’s Office and History of Cartography Project are additional units in Science Hall that employ graduate students as project assistantships. These positions can carry tuition remission, health benefits and a stipend.

See Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Financial Support

Department of Geography
University of Wisconsin-Madison
144 Science Hall
550 N. Park Street
Madison, WI  53706-1491
(608) 262-2138 Main
(608) 262-3861 Grad Student Coordinator