The AAG International Geographic Information Fund (IGIF) offers three types of awards: Student Travel Grants, Graduate Research Awards, and Student Paper Awards. These awards are intended to support full-time students who are currently registered in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at a duly accredited and recognized college, university, or other educational institution located within the United States, and who are working in any area of spatial analysis or geographic information science or systems (SA/GISS).

• AAG-IGIF Student Travel Grants
• AAG-IGIF Graduate Research Awards
• AAG-IGIF Student Paper Awards

AAG IGIF Student Travel Grant

Deadline: December 31, yearly

The Association of American Geographers will award one or more small grants of approximately $500 for the support of student travel to national and international symposia or specialized meetings sponsored by recognized professional organizations supporting activities associated with specific aspects of geographic data analysis and handling and geographic information systems. The term, “support of student travel,” means reimbursement for the cost of transportation, accommodations, meals, and any other cost or expense reasonable related to travel for attendance at such meetings.

The program is designed to support college and university student career development in the academic areas of applied spatial data analysis or geographic information systems (GIS). The award has been financially supported by a generous gift from Laura and Jack Dangermond and the Environmental Systems Research Institute to establish an AAG IGIF Endowment for this unique grant program. The AAG IGIF student travel grant may not be used to supplement scholarship or awards for the same purpose received from other sources.

Eligibility: AAG IGIF Student Travel Grants are available to full-time students who are currently registered in an undergraduate or graduate degree program providing either a degree or explicit specialization in some area of applied spatial data analysis or GIS study at a duly accredited and recognized college, university or other educational institution located within the United States.

Criteria: Evaluation of applications is based on:

• The academic record of the applicant.
• Letters of reference by the advisor and chair.
• The focus and clarity of the applicant’s statement related to her/his career goals as determined by the AAG IGIF Student Travel Grant Committee of reviewers.

Applications: Applications for an AAG IGIF Student Travel Grant must consist of the following

• A letter of no more than three (3) pages in length which may be supplemented, if necessary, by no more than two (2) pages of supporting illustrations. The letter should specifically address how the grant funds will be used. Also, the letter should indicate the career goals of the student and how these funds will assist in meeting those goals;
  
• A letter from the student’s faculty advisor including an endorsement from the chairperson of the applicable department or program;
  
• A brief curriculum vita of the applicant; and
  
• A copy of the applicant’s most recent transcript.

Digital submissions are required.  Please completely enter all information requested on the application cover form, which may be filled out using Adobe Acrobat Reader.  When completed, choose to “save as” this form as a new file with your last name in front of the filename, so it reads “LASTNAME_AAG_IGIF_Form.pdf.”  Then this formmust be submitted electronically along with the rest of your application materials via email to grantsawards@aag.org with “AAG IGIF Application” in the subject line in order for it to be received and processed correctly.  The remainder of your application materials should be compiled and submitted as a single file attachment (preferably also .pdf format) and be saved as “LASTNAME_AAG_IGIF_Materials”.   (If applying to more than one program, you must submit a separate form for each with unique filenames.)

Reports and Acknowledgment: By accepting an AAG IGIF Student Travel Grant you agree to submit a brief (two-page) report to the AAG Executive Director that summarizes your results and documents the expenses underwritten by the grant. You should submit your report within two months after completion of your participation in the symposia or meeting for which funding was awarded. Please acknowledge AAG IGIF support in presentations and publications.

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AAG IGIF Graduate Research Award

Deadline: December 31, yearly

The Association of American Geographers will award one or more small grants of up to $500 to support graduate research proposed by a student in any area of spatial analysis or geographic information science or systems. The award(s) will be presented at the AAG Annual Meeting. The 2007 meeting will be held in San Francisco.

The program is designed to support college and university student career development in the academic areas of applied spatial data analysis or geographic information systems (GIS). The award has been financially supported by a generous gift from Laura and Jack Dangermond and the Environmental Systems Research Institute to establish an AAG IGIF Endowment for this unique grant program.

Eligibility: AAG IGIF Graduate Research Awards are available to full-time students who are currently registered in an undergraduate or graduate degree program providing either a degree or explicit specialization in some area of applied spatial data analysis or GIS study at a duly accredited and recognized college, university or other educational institution located within the United States.

Criteria: Evaluation of applications is based on:

• The problem statement and context of the proposed research within the literature – 20%
  
• Originality and relevance of the research – 30%
  
• Validity and effectiveness of the methodology to complete the research – 25%
  
• Writing clarity and quality – 20%
  
• Faculty endorsement – 5%

Applications for an AAG IGIF Graduate Research Awards must consist of the following: A Proposal of no more than five (5) pages long, single spaced that includes the following:

• Abstract of research intent
• Statement of problem and relevancy
• Context of proposed research in the literature
• Methodology/research design
• Anticipated results and significance of such results
• Schedule of research
• Budget
• A letter of recommendation from a faculty member

Digital submissions are required.  Please completely enter all information requested on the application cover form, which may be filled out using Adobe Acrobat Reader.  When completed, choose to “save as” this form as a new file with your last name in front of the filename, so it reads “LASTNAME_AAG_IGIF_Form.pdf.”  Then this formmust be submitted electronically along with the rest of your application materials via email to grantsawards@aag.org with “AAG IGIF Application” in the subject line in order for it to be received and processed correctly.  The remainder of your application materials should be compiled and submitted as a single file attachment (preferably also .pdf format) and be saved as “LASTNAME_AAG_IGIF_Materials”.   (If applying to more than one program, you must submit a separate form for each with unique filenames.) Reports and Acknowledgment: By accepting an AAG IGIF Graduate Research Award you agree to submit a brief (up to two-page) report to the AAG Executive Director that summarizes your results and documents the expenses underwritten by the grant. You should submit your report within two months after completion of your proposed research. Please acknowledge AAG/IGIF support in presentations and publications.

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AAG IGIF Student Paper Award

Deadline: December 31, yearly

The Association of American Geographers will award one or more small awards of $200 or less in recognition of outstanding student papers in any area of spatial analysis or geographic information science or systems that was given at a national and international conference or specialized meetings sponsored by recognized professional organizations held during the 12-month period prior to the current deadline.

The program is designed to support college and university student career development in the academic areas of spatial analysis or geographic information science or systems. The award has been financially supported by the AAG/IGIF Fund.

Eligibility: AAG/IGIF Student paper awards are available to full-time students who are currently registered in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at a duly accredited and recognized college, university or other educational institution located within the United States.

To be eligible, the paper must have been accepted through the normal approval process for the event. Preference will be given to single-authored papers but it may be authored by more than one person, in which case the lead author must be a registered graduate student from an accredited college or university, and that student must have been or will be the lead presenter of the paper at the specified conference.

Criteria: Evaluation of applications is based on:

• Problem statement and literature review – 15%
  
• Research design and reasoning – 35%
  
• Originality and relevance of the work – 35%
  
• Writing clarity and quality – 15%

Applications: Applications for an AAG IGIF Student Paper Award must consist of the following:

• A copy of the full paper presented at the conference or event;
  
• A letter requesting consideration for the award and indicating the applicant’s present status as a student;
  
• In the case of papers already presented, evidence of the presentation of the paper, such as, for example, a copy of relevant pages of the program or proceedings including clear identification of which specific event at which the applicant presented the paper; OR
  
• In the case of papers yet to be presented, evidence of acceptance of the paper to the specific event selected by the applicant for presentation of the paper, clearly identifying the name and dates of the conference.

Digital submissions are required.  Please completely enter all information requested on the application cover form, which may be filled out using Adobe Acrobat Reader.  When completed, choose to “save as” this form as a new file with your last name in front of the filename, so it reads “LASTNAME_AAG_IGIF_Form.pdf.”  Then this formmust be submitted electronically along with the rest of your application materials via email to grantsawards@aag.org with “AAG IGIF Application” in the subject line in order for it to be received and processed correctly.  The remainder of your application materials should be compiled and submitted as a single file attachment (preferably also .pdf format) and be saved as “LASTNAME_AAG_IGIF_Materials”.   (If applying to more than one program, you must submit a separate form for each with unique filenames.)

Reports and Acknowledgment: Please acknowledge AAG/IGIF support in presentations and publications.

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