Welcome

We are delighted you are considering applying to our graduate program. You should find all the information you need for the application process on these pages here and through the University Graduate School pages. Please review all information carefully. We assume you have reviewed all this information before you contact us with questions as many of the answers to potential questions are given below, as well as a complete checklist to ensure all necessary information is being sent in.

Deadline for Applications: To be considered for funding please have all application materials to us by January 30th. After this date applications are still accepted but funding decisions will have already been made and so the likelihood of funding does decrease after this time. However there is no official cut off date beyond which we no longer accept applications. We also only admit students for the Fall semesters.

Checklist for applying to the Geography department at UF.

When you are preparing your application to our graduate program please be sure that ALL of the following have been completed and submitted. Please include this checklist in your application materials to show us you have completed all necessary steps.

Name_________________________________

UF ID #_______________________________

Applying to _________Masters, or ________ PhD (must already have a Masters to apply to the PhD program)

1. Application to UF completed and fee paid
2. Departmental Application forms completed
3. Statement of purpose (SOP) completed
4. GRE’s taken and scores submitted to BOTH the University Graduate School and to the Department
5. TOEFL taken and scores submitted to BOTH the University Graduate school and to the Department
6. Transcripts have been submitted
7. Letters of recommendation have been requested (note these can be sent in or submitted online)
8. Contact has been made with prospective advisors and they have preliminarily agreed to work with you (without a potential advisor in the department your application will NOT be considered so contact must be made, in advance, with potential faculty advisors in your areas of interest).
   1. Faculty member(s) contacted are: _____________________________________________

 

Below you will find some additional information regarding frequently asked questions, addresses and available funding opportunities and how to apply for those. Good luck

Applying to the Graduate  Program of the Department of Geography, University of Florida
The following presupposes that you have read our departmental web page, examined the specializations of our faculty, and decided that you want to apply to our program. 

What websites should I visit to obtain practical information on programs and application procedures?
   UF home page:  http://www.ufl.edu/
   Graduate School:  http://gradschool.rgp.ufl.edu
   Graduate Admissions: http://gradschool.rgp.ufl.edu/students/application-and-admission.html
 Geography Department: http://www.geog.ufl.edu

Is the application procedure electronic or hard copy?
Though we hope to go paperless in the future, there are still some required hard-copy documents, such as official transcripts and letters of recommendation.  There are two electronic documents that the Geography Department requires you to prepare. 

How do I get electronic and hard copy application materials?
Admissions Office forms are available on-line for the University and for the Geography department. They be filled out on-line or printed, filled out manually, and mailed. 

Do I apply to the University or to the Geography Department?
You send application materials to both.  

1. The Department makes the most important admissions decisions. 
2. But there are minimum scores for Grade Point Average (GPA) and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) that the University Admissions Office first screens.  
3. Please note:  Everything which you send to the Admissions Office you should also send to the Department.  
4. There are some items that you send only to the Geography Department.   

What are the two mailing addresses for hard-copy materials?

Office of Admissions
POB 114000
201 Criser Hall
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-4000

Dept. of Geography
POB 117315
Turlington 3141
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7315

What do I send to the Admissions Office of the University?
Check out the Admissions Office website, where the application procedures are carefully spelled out.  The major items that the Admissions Office requires are your application form and official copies of your transcripts and GRE scores.  International students have additional requirements.   

What do I send to the Department?  
It is really the Department that decides on your admission and particular care is required to submit the necessary materials.

1. The Departmental Electronic Application Form (EAF).  Fill it out and email it to us (but not to the University Admissions Office).  You should email this as soon as possible, but not until you have your GRE scores, which you must report to us on the EAF.  (You will have to send official copies of GREs in addition to self-reporting on the EAF.)
2. Statement of Purpose (SOP).  Craft a statement about your background and your interests.  It should probably be at least 750 words but no more than 1,500, though nobody will be counting precisely.  Email your SOP along with the EAF.  Make sure your name is at the top of your SOP. 
3. Print out the EAF and the SOP and send a hard copy version to us as well in your application packet. 
4. 3 letters of recommendation.  Have three faculty members who know you fill out the UF recommendation forms and send them directly to the Department.  (If your institution has a centralized mechanism for forwarding applications, the letters may be sent through that route.)   Some applicants may have a former employer included among the referees.  This is appropriate as long as there are references that deal with your academic performance as well.  Current requirements are for hard copy, not emailed versions, of recommendation letters.
5. The University Application Form, official transcripts and GREs.  You will have sent a copy to the Admissions Office AND you must also send a copy to the Department.

Does everybody have to take the GREs? 
Yes.  Both the University and the Department require it, even of international students.

Are there additional requirements for international students?
International students must acquire visas and present evidence of financial solvency.  If they are from countries whose native language is not English, they also have to take the TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foreign Language.  The requirements are specified on the website of U.F.’s International Center. http://www.ufic.ufl.edu/iss.htm

Do I need a Bachelor’s degree (BA or BSc) in Geography to be admitted?
No.   A good percentage of our students come in with a B.A. or an M.A. in some other discipline.   A background in Geography may help establish your credibility.  But to give a hypothetical example:  an applicant from some other field who has very high GRE scores and who has written a convincing statement of intellectual purpose that fits in with our faculty interests is more likely to be admitted than an Geography major with low GREs and an unfocused statement of purpose.   More will be said below about these important criteria.

How specific must I be about my research goals when applying?
Your admission is heavily dependent on what you tell as about your intellectual interests and objectives.

1. You should have a good idea of who you will be interested in working with, although this may well change once you are in the program. You need to be sure that there are faculty in the department that share your research interests.  We strongly encourage interested applicants to contact these faculty members prior to applying to the program and to maintain contact throughout the application process.
2. You must at least know to which of our currently active subfields you wish to be admitted:  Human Geography (Social Geography, Economic Geography, Demography), Natural Resources and Environment, Physical Geography (Climatology, Geomorphology, Hydrology), Remote Sensing and Land Cover Change, Business Geography & GIS.  You should indicate this in your application, which will then be judged by the faculty of that subfield.  
3. You should also have a good idea of the continent and country in which you wish to do your research, although this may change as you realize the full depth of potential locations available within the program.
4. You should also give us an idea of some concrete research questions you are interested in pursuing.   These can all change in the course of your studies. If you appear vague about these research goals in your application, you may not be admitted. 

If I have an Masters in another field, will I still have to get a Geography Masters?
Usually not.  Both UF and the Geography Department are flexible in accepting graduate credits from other institutions and other fields of study.   If your Masters is deemed by your advisory committee relevant for your studies in Geography, you can get 30 credits of that work transferred to UF. 

What determines whether I get admitted?
 The department makes the ultimate decision.  Assuming that you have a decent undergraduate GPA, there are four steps you can take to enhance the likelihood of getting admitted to our department.

1. Get good GREs.  UF does not have minimum requirements.  The department looks more favorable on applicants with a GRE of 1100 or above.   If you are an international applicant whose native language is not English, people may be lenient toward lower verbal scores.  But if your native language is English and you get substandard GREs, the University will not ordinarily admit you.  The department then would have to make a special petition to get you admitted.  It is unfortunate to get admitted under that concessionary cloud.
2. Write a focused Statement of Purpose.   Tell us those aspects of your background that are relevant to a graduate career in Geography and specifically, tell us what research questions interest you, what background you have in those interests, and where you would like to do your research.  The SOP is also a vehicle for you to demonstrate your articulate writing skills.  Spelling and grammatical mistakes can be the kiss of death.  But in your elegance, focus on your specific research interests, not about your generic fascination with the environment, the plight of the oppressed, the beauty of the world or society, or the glories of Geography.  By all means talk about your philosophy, sentiments, and the factors in your personal history that incline you to Geography.  But our faculty are even more interested in what you hope to do as a graduate student.
3. Relate your interests to the interests of our faculty.   Go to the faculty link on the department web page and learn about the research interests of our faculty.  No matter how high your GREs or how brilliant your statement of purpose, you will not be admitted unless at least one faculty member agrees to be the chair of your committee at least preliminarily, until you officially choose an actual advisor.  Faculty look for students whose research interests match their’s.  While there is a general committee that votes to “admit” or “not admit”, they do so based on faculty comments from the declared area of specialty, and potential advisor.  Applicants whose interests are alien to those of the faculty will not “land” an advisor in the admissions process and will not be admitted.
4. Contact faculty before applying.  You are required to contact faculty with whom you are interested in working to ascertain whether your research interests are compatible and whether they will be taking on new students. 

Do I have to send a curriculum vitae?
It is not required.  Faculty learn about you from your statement of purpose.  If you have a CV and wish to send it, by all means email it as an additional attachment along with your EAF and SOP, or send in with your application materials.

I have some pieces of writing that I am proud of.  Can I send them?
Yes.  But please try to keep them reasonably concise.  We receive many applications and most faculty have little time for lengthy reading.

How many applicants are there per year, and what percentage gets accepted?
Generally we receive over 50 applications and inquiries.  About 20% are admitted.  About 70% of those enroll. 

What is the average GRE of those admitted?
The average GRE of our incoming students is generally in the mid to high 1100’s.  Scores in the 1100’s may secure admission (if the statement of purpose interests faculty) but not a fellowship. 

What types of financial aid are available?

1. Alumni Fellowships.  The most attractive forms of financial aid are Alumni Fellowships.   They pay a stipend and entail a tuition waiver.  They are controlled by the University, not the Department.  For us to propose you for one of these fellowships, you would have to have GREs in the high 1300s or above.
2. Title VI Foreign Language Fellowships.  If you are preparing for research in Brazil or Haiti, there are a small number of fellowships available for the study of Portuguese and Haitian Creole.  These are handled through the Center for Latin American Studies.  http://www.latam.ufl.edu.   In addition FLAS awards are also available for African study. To qualify, your statement of purpose must show a genuine commitment to research in one of these languages. (details: http://web.africa.ufl.edu/academic/fellowship.html).
3. McKnight Doctoral Fellowships.  There are fellowships earmarked for African-American applicants.  The URL is http://www.fefonline.org/mdfapply/ 
4. Grinter supplements.  These are small annual grants of two or four thousand dollars.  They come with no tuition waiver and are meant as supplements.  Students whose GREs are decent (e.g. in the 1200’s or low 1300’s) but not competitive for a University Fellowship may get a Grinter Supplement. 
5. Faculty research grants.  Some faculty members have research grants which permit them to hire students as research assistants, who will also receive tuition waivers.  Faculty with such grants will generally allocate them to their own students. 
6. Assistantships.  The most frequent form of financial aid is the Teaching Assistantship or the Research Assistantship.   The recipient works  from 10 to 13 hours a week in exchange for a stipend and a tuition waiver.   Because we have about 50 graduate students enrolled in any semester and about 13 assistantships per semester available, these are highly competitive. Generally the stipend is $15,000 total for the Fall and Spring Semester (with a fee waiver for 9 credit hours each semester), with some additional summer funding available (usually for either Summer A or Summer B, around $2000, plus a 6 credit hour fee waiver).

How do I apply for these types of financial aid?
That depends on the category of aid.

1. You yourself apply directly to the Title VI Foreign Language Fellowships and McKnight Doctoral Fellowships at the same time that you apply to the University and the Department.  Check out the links given above.
2.  For University fellowships and Grinter supplements you fill out the Admissions Office request for financial aid, and the department will decide, largely on the basis of your GREs, whether to put you up to compete in the pool of applicants for these grants. 
3. Teaching assistantships are assigned on a competitive basis based on the existing student body and the incoming students. Masters level students may only teach lab sections (such as GEO2200L: Physical Geography). PhD students may teach lab or lecture sessions and thus have more opportunities for funding.
4. Faculty with available research assistantships decide on these. This is another reason to be communicating with faculty in your area of research as it may provide additional funding opportunities for you.

Are there special forms of financial aid for international students?
Neither the University nor the Department has funds specifically earmarked for international students.  

How many incoming students receive financial assistance? 
This year over half of our incoming students received some form of assistance. 
Additional Funding Sources for Graduate Students

If you have additional questions not covered here, please contact the Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Jane Southworth  jsouthwo@ufl.edu or the graduate secretary Ms. Desiree Price dprice@geog.ufl.edu.   We are expanding this FAQ document and your questions may give us additional materials to include.   Thank you for your interest in our department.

Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Jane Southworth  jsouthwo@ufl.edu
Graduate Secretary: Desiree Price dprice@geog.ufl.edu