Departmental Unit № 1
Department of Geography
PhD in Geography
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Full tuition waiver + 9-to-12 month living stipend (~$27,000–$33,000/yr) + comprehensive health insurance guaranteed through Teaching Assistantships (TA), Research Assistantships (RA), and University Fellowships.
Fall Priority Deadline: December 15
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 92 minimum or IELTS 7.0 minimum
MS in Geography (Thesis Track)
100% Full Funding on Thesis Track!
Funding Reality: UW-Madison Geography has one of the best records in the US for fully funding MS thesis students via Teaching Assistantships (TA) in physical geography and GIS labs!
Application Deadline: December 15
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (2 Profiles)
Prof. Qunying Huang
Associate Professor of Geography
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
She uses artificial intelligence to combine satellite photos with live social media posts, generating instant maps during hurricanes that show emergency rescue teams exactly which city streets are flooded.
Core Research Topics: Spatial data science, GeoAI, social media spatial analysis, real-time flood disaster mapping, remote sensing, spatial big data computing.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Directs the Spatial Data Science and Computing Lab. Fuses real-time geotagged social media feeds, traffic sensor feeds, and satellite Earth observations using deep learning to create live, dynamic maps of flood inundation during hurricanes.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: GeoAI, spatial big data, Natural Language Processing (NLP) for location extraction, Google Earth Engine, Python (GeoPandas, PyTorch, rasterio).
Recruiting Context: Premier leader in spatial big data and disaster mapping. Very active in hiring students with GIS and programming skills.
Candidate Match:
GISGeoAIRemote SensingFlood ModelingPython
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your background in GIS, remote sensing, and Python scripting applied to spatial data science and real-time flood disaster mapping in the GeoDS Lab."
Prof. Christian Andresen
Assistant Professor of Geography
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He flies drones and uses satellite photos in the Arctic to watch giant lakes suddenly drain into the ground in mere hours as underground frozen permafrost melts.
Core Research Topics: Arctic wetland hydrology, drone & satellite remote sensing, surface water dynamics, permafrost thaw lake drainage, geospatial analysis.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Tenure-track Assistant Professor! Directs Arctic Landscape and Hydrology Lab. Uses multi-scale drone photogrammetry and satellite image time series (Planet, Sentinel) to study rapid lake drainage, wetland drying, and flood hydrology in thawing permafrost landscapes.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: UAV Drone photogrammetry, high-resolution satellite imagery, Google Earth Engine, field hydrological sensors, GIS spatial time series.
Recruiting Context: Tenure-track Assistant Professor with high hiring urgency and active NSF Arctic research grants.
Candidate Match:
Remote SensingGISHydrologyGeography
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Highlighting your background in GIS, remote sensing imagery, and wetland hydrology, connecting directly to his drone and satellite monitoring of surface water dynamics."
Departmental Unit № 2
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies / Civil and Environmental Engineering
PhD in Environment and Resources
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Tuition waiver + stipend (~$28,000/yr) + health insurance.
Fall Priority Deadline: December 15
GRE Policy: Not required
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 92 or IELTS 7.0
MS in Environment and Resources (Thesis)
Funded on Research Track
Funding Reality: Thesis MS students can be funded via TA or RA appointments.
Application Deadline: December 15
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (1 Profiles)
Prof. Anita M. Thompson
Professor of Biological Systems Engineering and Nelson Institute
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
She designs agricultural and urban drainage systems that soak up heavy stormwater, stopping flash floods and preventing farm fertilizer from turning city lakes green with toxic algae.
Core Research Topics: Watershed hydrology, stormwater runoff management, urban and agricultural water quality, non-point source pollution, sediment and phosphorus transport.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Investigates how agricultural management practices and urban permeable pavements reduce stormwater runoff volume, mitigating flood peaks and preventing toxic phosphorus and sediment from polluting lakes and rivers.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Hydrologic watershed monitoring, automated water samplers, nutrient wet-lab spectrophotometry, GIS catchment spatial modeling.
Recruiting Context: Extensive state and USDA grant portfolio for graduate students.
Candidate Match:
HydrologyFlood ModelingWater QualityEnvironmental PollutionGIS
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Connecting your GIS spatial hydrology and water quality lab testing background with her research in watershed stormwater runoff and agricultural pollutant reduction."