Connecting College to Career
Geography students learn powerful concepts, modes of analysis, qualitative, quantitative, and geovisual methods that prepare them to intervene in spatial processes shaping our world. Geographers-in-practice act on urgent global challenges around impoverishment, housing, health and well-being, labor rights, racial justice, immigration, sustainability and more. We connect research to action, in collaboration with policy makers, communities, students and activists.
Undergraduate-Alumni Mentorship
Who better than local alumni to share their college to career stories with current students? Alumni volunteers serve as role models and mentors for undergraduates learning to move intentionally within the professional world.
Professional Development Courses
Offered in autumn quarters, GEOG 492 Career Exploration and Mentorship for Geographers invites students to reflect on past experiences and identify their skills and strengths to find their path forward as geographers. Alumni mentorship and career exploration activities help students develop resilience and build community while making connections between college and career.
In winter quarters, GEOG 491 Professional Development for Geographers prepares students for the job market post-graduation or to acquire an internship. This course makes the process of getting a job more transparent and helps students find ways to articulate their experiences to employers. From skills assessment to resume building to interviewing, this course will cover what students need to know to be successful navigating the job market.
Students pursuing the GIS, Mapping & Society track of the geography major can choose a capstone experience, GEOG 469 GIS Workshop, in their final spring quarter. Working with employers from businesses, non-profit organizations and government agencies, students collaborate with teammates to build their projects from the ground up, then present their results in the Annual Geography Undergraduate Research Symposium!
Internship and Experiential Learning Opportunities
Advisers help students identify and apply for internship opportunities, while department faculty supervise concurrent academic learning. Students gain experience with employers in a wide range of fields, including government, transportation, non-profit organizations, GIS & data analysis, healthcare, environment & sustainability, housing & homelessness, and more.
Besides formal internships, students are encouraged to pursue other experiential learning opportunities to practice their skills outside the classroom. These may include co-curricular research projects, leadership programs or service learning activities.
- The Humanistic GIS Laboratory, directed by Professor Bo Zhao, offers many ways for undergraduates to engage in grant-funded research.
- Plenum Journal of Undergraduate Geography is led by an editorial board of undergraduate students who provide publishing opportunities and community-building activities for all students.
- UW Community Engagement & Leadership Education (CELE) Center provides myriad programs for students to get involved in community-engaged learning, democratic engagement, leadership education, preK-12 student success and place-based initiatives.
Students may earn credit in GEOG 496 Internship in Geography or GEOG 499 Special Studies for any of the above activities, working closely with a department faculty member to make connections with students’ study – and practice – of geography.
Beginning in 2021, the Department of Geography is excited to introduce the Gerald W. Halmo Geography Scholars Program to support undergraduate geography students’ research, volunteering, or other projects that benefit a community and further their development as a geographer in practice! The recipients of this $2,000 award will work with a group or individual(s) who work on projects that produce such a benefit. This work can be an internship but may also be any other working association with community groups or individual(s).