In addition, our students have secured Research Assistantships in several UW programs, including the Center for the Study of Demography and Ecology(CSDE), the Simpson Center for the Humanities, Harborview Medical Center, the Evans School of Public Affairs, the Jackson School, the Center for Social Science Research and Computing (CSSCR), the School of Public Health, Departments of Health Services and Family Medicine, Civil Engineering, and the UW Office of Undergraduate Education.

Students and faculty have also worked hard to extend the funding opportunities beyond these state funded TA and faculty funded RA positions. Graduate students have been awarded university-wide fellowships, including University of Washington Graduate School Dissertation Fellowships, FLAS Fellowships, and Graduate Recruitment Fellowships. Over a dozen of our students have been funded over the past ten years by the Department of Family Medicine, and two have received fellowships from the Department of Health Services in their prestigious Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Predoctoral Fellowship Program. Several other students have also been in the Department of Health Services' selective Doctoral Opportunities Program. In addition, our students have earned prestigious national level awards such as NSF Graduate Fellowships, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Fieldwork Grants, Fulbright Awards, Social Science Research Council Awards, InterAmerican Foundation Grants and Luce Fellowships.

The Funding Cycle

FUNDING DECISION TIMELINE
(ALL DATES APPROXIMATE)

We have approximately the following resources to allocate:

• 17 full-year TAships (one-third of which are reserved for recruiting new students)
• Several (up to 6 in a given quarter) one quarter TAships
• 2-4 recruitment fellowships, depending on our success in competing for Graduate School funds
• 3 other grad student appointments: undergrad adviser, Lead TA, Writing Center Tutor

December 15 - February 15

• Outside applicants are reviewed by Graduate Admissions Committee
• Current students update records and inform the department of their interest in TAships
• Executive Committee determines the extent of continuing commitments to current students based on initial recruitment offers

February 15 - April 15

• Grad Admissions Committee recommends 5-8 names for outside TA/RA offers
• Faculty has a week to consider these recommendations
• Faculty votes on initial outside offers
• Outside TA/RA offers made; students have until April 15 to make decision
• Faculty begin Annual Review of internal students (takes two faculty meetings)
• Faculty rank internal applicants via a vote, based on outcome of Annual Review
• Continuing commitments ratified via letter of re-appointment
• Faculty rank internal applicants for other UW funding sources: CSDE, CSSCR, etc.

April 16 - April 30

• Responses to outside offers arrive; sometimes new offers made
• CSDE, FLAS, other funding decisions announced
• Faculty vote on full-year offers made to internal students

After April 30

• Adjustments made as new funding becomes available, and as students change their basis of support. These changes are continuous throughout the year.
• Continuing graduate students notified of awards for the following academic year

Financial Support

The department offers financial support to selected qualified applicants, including teaching and research assistantships. Foreign Languages and Area Studies Fellowships are available for area studies. All tuition fees (excluding the student activities fee) will be waived for such appointments.

Teaching assistantships are usually allocated in May for the academic year beginning in Autumn Quarter. In order to be considered, the application for assistantship, complete with all other materials necessary for admission, must be on file in the department by January 15. Applications for assistantships are obtained from the department.

Positions are allocated according to merit (academic achievement and quality of service) and the teaching requirements of the department. The department endeavors to provide teaching experience for as many well-qualified students as possible. Reappointment is contingent on maintaining high standards of performance and satisfactory progress toward a degree. However, a student should not expect to be supported for more than two years at the M.A. level and another two or three years at the Ph.D. level. At any one time, approximately 30% full-time graduate students hold teaching assistantships and 20% have fellowships or research assistantships.

Research Support and Opportunities. Most graduate students pursue their research both inside and outside the department through a variety of means: Research Assistantships and other forms of institutional support from outside the department; internships for applied research in both the public and private sectors; and participation in faculty research projects.

Support for Job Searches: The department attempts to help students find employment in both academic and non-academic settings through the formal means listed below. These are in addition to informal contact with faculty members, which often proves to be the most effective way to obtain reliable, up-to-date information about present and future jobs.

* A notebook of current college teaching job descriptions, available in the departmental office, Smith 408
* A list of alumni jobs and interested employers, available from the Geography Advising Office.
* Updated internship and employment opportunity bulletin boards, on the fourth floor of Smith Hall and outside the advising office, Smith 415
* Work-study positions, available by applying to the UW Office of Financial Aid by March 1 of the year prior to the one in which you wish to be employed. Such jobs commonly pay around $14 an hour.