Application Requirements

• One to two-page application letter that discusses the candidate's qualifications and future aspirations.
• The name and email address of two references. At least one reference must be faculty in the Geography & Environmental Sciences department from whom the applicant has had at least one class.
• Unofficial CU Denver transcript.
• Please include contact information (e-mail and mailing address).
• Please send completed applications as one consolidated PDF document to GES@ucdenver.edu with the subject line “Rodgers Scholarship”.
• Only electronic applications are accepted.

Eligibility

• Only Junior or Senior Geography majors are eligible for this scholarship.
• 3.0 GPA overall.
• Previous winners not eligible.

Awards

Depending upon quality of applications, several scholarships of up to $1,000 each will be awarded. Awardees will be notified by e-mail.

Fall 2023 Deadline: October 31st

The Rodgers Undergraduate Geography Major Research Opportunity Scholarship is designed to cover field and/or research expenses and travel for research and conferences for Geography Major Undergraduates who undertake scholarly research in collaboration with a Geography faculty member. Students will be expected to gain experience presenting project results at the CU Denver Research and Creative Activities Symposium (RaCAS – usually in April) and/or at the Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Division of the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting (usually in late Sept/early Oct), and/or other professional meetings of relevance.

Eligibility

• CU Denver geography undergraduate major working toward a baccalaureate degree in geography
• Minimum of 15 semester hours of completed course work with a cumulative CU grade point average ≥ 3.0
• Though not required, students are encouraged to work with their faculty advisor to submit a UROP application or any other funding source to complement the funding from the Rodgers Research Scholarship.
• Though not required, the application would ideally link to a departmental honor’s thesis, or an independent study.

Application Requirements

The student principal investigator is responsible for submitting the complete application. Applications submitted without the required faculty mentor’s support letter are incomplete. Late or incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Please include the following in the application:

1. Contact information (for all on application): name, student ID, email address
2. Project Title
3. Project Objectives, Introduction & Background, Project Description, Works Cited, Timeline (two pages maximum).
4. Proposed Budget with Justification
5. Unofficial Transcript
6. Name of faculty advisor with brief letter of support.

Considerations

Funds for projects involving human subjects, animal care and/or risk cannot be distributed until Animal Care, Human Subjects, has obtained a waiver or approval from the University of Colorado Denver Human Subjects Research Committee, the Risk Management Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and/or CU Denver Risk Management.

Awards

Approximately 2-3 scholarships are awarded each spring semester. Projects may begin as early as April in the current academic year. Awards are limited to $750 per individual student project and up to $1500 for a student- developed team project, with each student limited to $750. Awards will be distributed through GES.

Allowable expenses for proposals include student travel, materials, supplies, and/or a stipend for the time needed to conduct the research (preference is given for travel and research expenses). All expenses must be identified in the Application with Budget Description Detail. Funds requested for travel and/or student stipends must be clearly justified in the budget narrative. Travel to the GP/RM AAG need not be included as this is funded for students through other mechanisms.

Deadline: Monday, March 4th, 2024

Evaluation

The Rodgers Research Opportunity Scholarship is designed to provide the flexibility needed to meet diverse educational needs of undergraduate students from GES. Selection criteria include: quality of proposed project, student learning potential, faculty collaboration and mentoring, budget justification, academic record, project potential for presentations and published papers, and overall writing ability (including organization, grammar, and spelling).

• Quality of Proposed Research/Creative Work - problem definition, background, objectives, methodology, writing, reasonable timeframe
• Bibliography - evidence of previous work that supports this project, references
• Budget Details and Justification - budget details, justification to attain goals, budget feasibility
• Student Learning Potential - original and creative contribution, significant learning experience, conference, results presentation, paper, etc.
• Faculty Collaboration and Mentoring - extent of collaboration and mentoring, ongoing collaboration, student support
• Academic Record – PI’s (and Co-PIs’) academic background, transcript evaluation, relevant coursework, GPA, etc.