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West Lakes Division of the American Association of Geographers (WLDAAG)

Student competitions

All WLDAAG students presenting at the conference are eligible to participate in the Student Presentation Competition with cash awards and certificates for the top three oral paper and poster presentations by undergraduate and graduate student’s category.

Within each competition, undergraduates will be judged separately from graduate (M.A./M.S. and Ph.D.) students. When registering for the conference students who are presenting their research will see a menu option to select whether or not they wish to participate in the competition, and if so then whether they are entering the paper or poster competition. Students who enter papers and posters in the competition will present on Friday, November 2 so that the results of the competitions can be announced at the evening banquet.

Student Competition Categories

  • Doctoral or Master’s Poster: First ($100), second ($75), and third ($50) place
  • Doctoral Presentation: First ($100), second ($75), and third ($50) place
  • Master’s Presentation: First ($100), second ($75), and third ($50) place
  • Undergraduate Poster: First ($100), second ($75), and third ($50) place
  • Undergraduate Presentation: First ($100), second ($75), and third ($50) place

Each oral presentation or poster will be judged on organization, clarity of visual presentation, content, and significance.

AAG Council Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper at a Regional Meeting:

Graduate students who enter the WLDAAG annual student oral presentation competition will also be considered for the AAG Council Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper at a Regional Meeting, if they are a current student in a Master’s or Ph.D. program in the West Lakes Division, and a current member of the AAG. The prize for this award is $1,000 in funding to be used toward registration and travel costs to attend the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The oral paper topic must be recent and original work completed by the student as primary and first author. The awardee will be required to make arrangements with the WLDAAG Treasurer and the AAG national office to be reimbursed for expenses related to registering for and traveling to the AAG National Meeting.