The
graduate program in Geography, University of Missouri-Columbia
Financial
Support
A variety of opportunities for financial
support are available from the Department of Geography:
Additional resources and support programs are available
through the MU
Graduate School.
Teaching
Assistantships
The Department typically has five or six Teaching Assistantships available
to full-time first and second year MA students. TA positions are half-time
responsibilities (20 hours per week) that are usually geared toward
teaching laboratory sections of courses such as Geography 1100 and 1200
(Regions and Nations of the World), GIS I, and Computer Cartography.
Applications for TA positions must be submitted by February 1 for assistantships
available the following fall semester. Assistantships carry a nine-month
stipend, course fee waiver, and eligibility for student health insurance
subsidy. Summer funding is often available for qualified TAs. Assistantships
may be renewed for a second year upon demonstration of satisfactory
performance during the first year and significant progress toward degree
completion.
Research
Assistantships
Several Research Assistantships are awarded each year for full-time
graduate students to work on research projects or work associated with
the Geographic Resources Center or faculty grants. Often these involve
skills in remote sensing and/or GIS. Applications for RA positions must
be submitted by February 1 for assistantships available the following
fall semester. Assistantships carry a nine-month stipend, course fee
waiver, and eligibility for student health insurance subsidy. Assistantships
may be renewed for a second year upon demonstration of satisfactory
performance during the first year and significant progress toward degree
completion.
Notes about Assistantships
Teaching and
Research Assistantships are considered half-time appointments, and constitute
a 20 hour per week time commitment. These responsibilities, in conjunction
with 9 hours of coursework, constitute at least a full-time job. RAs
and TAs are not permitted to hold outside employment.
Fee
Waivers
A student may qualify for a waiver of course
fees through the Graduate
Student Tuition Waiver Program when the following requirements are
met: the student holds a Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant appointment
of at least quarter time in either the Department of Geography or another
degree-granting program; the assistantship held carries a qualifying
job title (as defined by the Graduate Faculty Senate); and the student
maintains "good academic standing." The fee waiver of any
student whose grade average falls below 3.0 is revoked. In addition,
termination of an assistantship at any point during the semester (including
withdrawal from the university) results in loss of a pro-rated amount
of the fee waiver's value. In this case, the student will be billed
for the balance of the educational fees assessed for that semester.
Scholarships
The Department of Geography awards a number of scholarships
to qualified students each year:
| The Komen Fellowship |
 |
Established in 2003, The Abe and
Ida Komen Fellowship provides a $1000 stipend to an outstanding
Geography graduate student. The Department scholarship committee
selects recipients during the Winter Semester. |
| Field Research Award and A.P. Green
Award |
 |
Small grants of $200
or more are awarded annually on a competitive basis to graduate
students engaged in field research. Proposals are evaluated by the
Department scholarship committee during Winter Semester. These awards
are made possible by funds from the Jesse Wheeler Endowment and
the A.P. Green Foundation. (application
form) |
| Conference Travel Awards |
 |
The Department strongly encourages
graduate students participation in professional meetings such as
the regional and national meetings of the Association of American
Geographers. Financial support is available from the MU Graduate
Professional Council, supplemented by the Geography Department
through the Wheeler Endowment. Department
travel funds application |
| Further Grant Possibilities |
|
The Geography Department also strongly supports
and facilitates students' applications to a variety of external
funding opportunities. Among the programs that our students have
had success with is the EPA
Star Fellowship program.
Students interested in international opportunities for research
should strongly consider applying for a Fulbright
award |
| |
|
Fellowships
A variety of supplemental fellowships are competitively
available from the Graduate School each year (details).
These awards are provided in addition to the Assistantship stipend.
Returning Peace Corps
Volunteers Fellows/USA program
The MU Geography Department is very pleased to be
a participant in the Returning Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV) Fellows/USA
program. This program offers Peace Corps Volunteers who have returned
home a $7000 annual stipend toward financing their graduate education.
(details).
Graduate
Student Health Insurance
Health insurance programs are available to all
graduate students, and those holding qualifying assistantships or fellowships
are eligible for reduced rates. Consult the Graduate
School web site for further details.
Desk Space, Keys, Mailboxes
The Department attempts to accommodate every
graduate student who requests desk space. Teaching Assistants typically
have offices in room 9 , and Research Assistants are assigned desk space
in room 2. A graduate student without an assistantship should direct
a request for desk space to the Department Chair.
Each graduate student has a mailbox in Room 2, and is issued keys to
this room, to the Jesse H. Wheeler Library (Room 102), and to an exterior
door of Stewart Hall. The Department's Administrative Assistant orders
keys and maintains key records, thus all key questions should be directed
to her. An absence from the university of longer than one summer semester
requires the return of all department and building keys, to be reissued
if necessary at a later time.
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