The Cultural Geography Specialty Group conducts an annual competitive award cycle to support the scholarship and service of members in the geographic and geography-adjacent community that operate in the tradition and promotion of cultural geography. We anticipate the award cycle details to be released annually around December and announcing the awardees around the AAG annual meeting. While we invite any and all applicants, we particularly encourage applicants from underrepresented backgrounds to submit their work for funding consideration.
The following awards and grants are annually available:
Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov Paper Award (Open to MAs and PhDs)
The 2023 Award Cycle has closed. Please check back in Fall 2023 for information regarding the 2024 Award Cycle.
The Cultural Geography Specialty Group (CGSG) invites students to apply for the 2023 Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov (Ph.D.) Paper Award. The competition recognizes outstanding work by graduate students pursuing research in cultural geography. The papers are judged on the basis of scholarly merit (quality, rigor, and significance of the argument, findings, and methodical approach), organization, and clarity.
The paper must be given at a professional meeting between February 25, 2022 and March 27, 2023 (in the time since the previous AAG meeting and including the 2022 meeting). Although this paper need not be presented at the 2023 AAG Meeting, students are encouraged to submit papers presented at the national or regional AAG meetings.
The competition is open to any graduate student or recent graduate (since the previous AAG annual meeting) who presents a cultural geography paper from dissertation and/or thesis work and who is a member of the CGSG. Student membership in the CGSG costs $2 per year. Applicants for the paper competition cannot simultaneously apply for the CGSG Research Grants. Please note: Graduate students at all stages of the graduate career (MA or PhD-level) may apply for this award.
**Because our judges provide written feedback with the goal of helping applicants revise and prepare their articles for future publication, we request that these papers be *unpublished* work.**
The award amount is $250. Awards may not be made if no papers are deemed suitable. Entries undergo blind review by a committee of geography faculty members. All applicants – regardless of whether they receive an award – will receive brief feedback from our 3 judges.
For any questions, please email the Awards Director, Christabel Devadoss, at christabel.devadoss@mtsu.edu
Master’s Level and Denis E. Cosgrove (Ph.D.) Research Grant Competitions
The 2023 Award Cycle has closed. Please check back in Fall 2023 for information regarding the 2024 Award Cycle.
The Cultural Geography Specialty Group (CGSG) invites proposals for the 2023 Master’s level and Denis E. Cosgrove (PhD) Research Grant Competitions. The competition aims to provide a measure of support for graduate students to conduct high-quality research projects for their master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation. The grant awards are competitive; applications are judged on the following criteria:
- The scholarly merit of the project [established on the basis of its stated connection to cultural geographic themes; the identification of a specific literature (or literatures) to which this project contributes; the outlining of a clear research question and well-developed methodology]
- The organization and clarity of the proposal
- ***Given the ongoing pandemic conditions, the practical feasibility of this project***
- The qualifications of the student to conduct the proposed work (qualifications are assessed on the basis of coursework highlighted in CV, prior conference/workshop presentations, relevant publications)
The applicant must be a student member of the CGSG at the time of application (student dues are $2), and the proposed project should be part of their thesis or dissertation research. Applicants for the CGSG Research Grant competition cannot simultaneously apply for the CGSG Paper Competition.
This year’s Research Grants will be made at $250 for the MA level and $1000 for the PhD level; they may not be made if no proposals are deemed suitable.
Entries undergo review by the Cultural Geography Specialty Group’s Executive Committee.
**Please note that some of these requirements shifted in 2021**
For any questions, please email the Awards Director, Christabel Devadoss, at christabel.devadoss@mtsu.edu
Grants for Adjunct and Underemployed Scholars
The 2023 Award Cycle has closed. Please check back in Fall 2023 for information regarding the 2024 Award Cycle.
Recognizing that many of these scholars find themselves caught between the need to present at professional conferences in order to present themselves as job candidates and the financial constraints posed by working part-time or temporary contracts that may not provide professional support, the CGSG will offer grants to defray the cost of attending the AAG annual meeting.
Typical application material includes (subject to change):
- A current CV
- 250 to 300-word narrative statement that describes your current position and contextualizes your participation in relation to your professional trajectory. In addition, please state whether or not you will receive any funds to attend the meeting from your employer or other source.
- In the event we receive more applications than we are able to fund, the executive committee of the CGSG will evaluate candidates’ applications based on the following criteria:
- Will the applicant have access to any other sources of support to attend the meeting?
- Does the application clearly articulate how participation in the annual meeting will further the applicant’s professional growth?
- Has the applicant participated in the work of the Cultural Geography Specialty Group in the past?
Cultural Geography Specialty Group 