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Thank you for your interest in the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Our top ranked programs provide a vigorous education with some of the top researchers and educators in the nation. Whether you are interested in pursuing an undergraduate degree, a master's degree, a doctoral degree, or certificate in the earth and mineral sciences and engineering, we have a program for you. Thank you for considering us for your education. 

Undergraduate Students

• Visit our How to Apply webpage

Resident Graduate Students

• Visit our How to Apply webpage

Online Graduate Students

• Visit the Online Geospatial Education website for more information

Department of Geography Undergraduate student scholarships

• The Jeff Gockley Memorial Award
• The Balmat Family Scholarship in Geography
• The G.D. Richardson and Kathy LaSauce Undergraduate Scholarship in Geography, in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• E. Willard Miller Award in Geography

Other sources of financial support

• Undergraduate students may apply for departmental Academic Enrichment Support for research and travel opportunities.
• Undergraduate students may use GeoGraphics Lab's student research poster printing program for technical support to print posters for presentation at conferences.
• College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Financial aid for undergraduate students
• University Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring opportunities and funding
  • Erickson Discovery Grant (named for emeritus professor of geography/Penn State president Rodney A. Erickson)
  • Undergraduate Research Conference Presentation Support
• University Student Engagement Network (SEN) Grant Program

Penn State Resources

• Penn State Career Services now offers Virtual Career Services, including meetings with career counselors; mock interviews; workshops; online job fairs, and more!
• Nittany Lion Careers – log in to to attend virtual events, search and apply for jobs and interviews, and more.

Other Resources

• American Association of Geographers Jobs & Careers resources
• More AAG Career Resources
• Practicing Geography: Careers for Enhancing Society & the Environment 
• AAG Guide to Geography Programs – detailed information on geography programs throughout the U.S., Canada, and Latin America
• American Association of Geographers (AAG): https://www.aag.org/jobs-careers/
• American Geographical Society (AGS): https://www.americangeo.org/
• American Planning Association (APA): https://www.planning.org/careercenter/
• American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS): https://www.asprs.org/
• Ecological Society of America (ESA): https://www.esa.org/
• Keystone GIS (formerly PaMAGIC): https://www.pamagic.org/
• North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS): https://nacis.org/
• Pennsylvania Geographical Society (PGS): https://thepgs.org/
• United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF): https://usgif.org/
• Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA): https://urisa-portal.org/ 

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Connection (UROC) offers research and professional development opportunities in the Department of Geography. These opportunities allow undergraduate students to gain valuable research experience and technical skills through collaboration on projects within the department and supervised by faculty and/or graduate students, as well as 1-3 credit hours to apply towards graduation.

GEOG 495 Internship provides a mechanism to award credit for geography-related internships. Per University policy, students are awarded 1 credit for each 45 hours of effort; per department policy, students may earn 1-4 credits per experience.

GIS E-Education Job Postings | running list of job and internship opportunities in the field of geography.

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) | the REU program, funded and run by the National Science Foundation, provides research opportunities for undergrads in a variety of fields. Among these fields are Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and Earth Sciences. These positions are open only to U.S. citizens/permanent residents. Students graduating in May are not eligible.

Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring (UFRM) | fellowships and research are a great way to fund and further your education. The University Fellowships Office is the dedicated office to support Penn State students looking to apply for the variety of available fellowships and research opportunities.

City Semester Pittsburgh: Urban Sustainability | City Semester Pittsburgh is a unique learning experience for Penn State students of all majors and backgrounds who would like spend a semester learning about Pittsburgh’s urban dynamics. While participating in the program, students will intern with a prominent community partner and take an engaging online course in sustainability. Students will further explore real-world issues in climate action, architectural design, clean energy, landscape architecture, urban equality, education, and more.

SEED Semester at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center | Get outside and off campus for your spring semester! The forests, fields, and creeks of Penn State’s outdoor education field lab, Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, become your classroom for this full-semester experiential journey of outdoor leadership and environmental interpretation courses. The SEED Semester (previously called the Discovery, or “Block” Semester) has been providing transformative engaged scholarship experiences for Penn State students since 1979. Graduates of the program have gone on to work as park naturalists, environmental educators, corporate team building facilitators, high ropes course instructors, classroom teachers, park researchers and managers, and university faculty. You’ll spend your days with like-minded classmates engaging in real world, hands-on experiences teaching children and families about the natural world. You will work side-by-side with our experienced outdoor educators, team building facilitators, and naturalists to gain a holistic set of outdoor leadership skills.