department of Geography and environmental planning
Clubs/Honor Societies
GTU Honor Society
A chapter of Gamma
Theta Upsilon (GTU), the national honor society in geography, is
sponsored by the department. On occasion, guest lecturers from other
colleges and universities are invited to speak to meetings of GTU and
the department..
Awarded to a college senior for use toward graduate school expenses
The Maxfield Scholarship ($1,000)
Awarded to a junior or senior with either career or graduate school aspirations.
The Richason Scholarship ($1,000)
Awarded to a junior or senior with either career or graduate school aspirations.
The Rechlin Scholarship ($1,000)
Awarded to a junior or senior with either career or graduate school aspirations
The Buzzard Graduate Scholarship ($1,000)
Awarded to a continuing graduate student.
Information and application materials may be found on the GTU website at: http://www.gammathetaupsilon.org/scholarships.html. Scholarship application packets from either graduate or undergraduate students must be postmarked no later than Monday, May 31.
Departmental Honors Program
Departmental Honors is the ideal way for students to take away a sense of individual accomplishment at graduation. These students will have completed an intensive research project in their area of interest and have gained a firm grounding for graduate school and the job market.
Admission
To be admitted to the Honors program in Geography, students must present a cumulative grade point average of 3.25, and a 3.50 in their major, or have the consent of their faculty advisor.
Students may be admitted to the program no sooner than the Spring of their Sophomore year.
Credit Hours: Minimum 40 hours total:
Core Requirements (19 units)
Regional Course Requirement (3 units)
Elective Courses (18 units)
Minimum 6 Units of Honors Directed Reading (GEOG 498) and Honors Thesis (GEOG 499), which may also serve to satisfy 6 of the 18 upper-level elective units needed for the major.
This program includes six to nine units in seminars, directed readings, and research projects in the student's major. A senior thesis is required, as is an oral defense.
Thesis proposal: A Departmental Honors Application Form and an attached Honors Thesis Proposal must be delivered to the Honors College Office, Cook Library, room 524, prior to enrolling in this Honors Thesis course. This form is available in the Departmental Honors Handbook.
Most Honors Thesis Proposals are five to six pages, plus a bibliography. They represent the product of a semester of carefully supervised analysis, reading, and research in the Honors Directed Reading. The thesis advisor should be certain that the proposal is feasible in aim and appropriate to the student’s ability and time constraints.
Thesis Committee: The thesis committee is composed of the thesis advisor, two departmental representatives and a visiting examiner. The members should be chosen in consultation with the thesis advisor. Members of the committee are responsible for reading and responding to the thesis and evaluating the student’s work, the public presentation, and the oral examination. At the end of the colloquium, the members must sign the 2 required copies of the thesis, which will be kept in the Special Collections of Cook Library.
Honors Colloquium: The Honors Colloquium is a public defense of the thesis project. The audience is composed of interested students, invited guests, the thesis advisor and the thesis committee members. The advisor will introduce the student to the audience. The studen will then give a brief, approximately 10-20 minute, synopsis of the work, followed by an oral examination by the thesis committee. The typical oral examination lasts approximately one hour.
Final Requirement: An UNBOUND signed original and an additional signed copy of the thesis on WHITE PAPER must be delivered by the student to the Honors College Office in Cook Library, room 524, by the last day of the final exam period.
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