The Detlefsen Field Study Award (SD6460)

The Detlefsen Field Study Awards intended to support geography graduate students in their thesis or dissertation research. The awards are intended to cover fieldwork costs (i.e. field and/or archival research), including transportation and room and board costs.

When Bernard “Bernie” Detlefsen passed away at the age of 89, he named the Department of Geography in his will. Why geography? His interest in places and maps goes back to his elementary school years and was reinforced by his travels while in the military. A high school dropout, he worked as a freighter deck hand, refrigeration serviceman, grocery clerk, and machine tool operator, among other jobs, before joining the Army in 1941. He was involved with classified atomic bomb missions in 1946 and eventually served 20 years with the Corp of Engineers. After retiring from the Army, he returned to Texas and enrolled at Southwest Texas State University, graduating in 1964 with a degree in social science education. He completed a master’s degree in education in 1968. Bernard then taught for the Texas Department of Corrections until his retirement in 1992.

Eligibility Criteria:
Be registered as a graduate (M.A.G., M.S., or Ph.D.) student in a Texas State’s Geography Department
Submit a single document that includes:

1. Fieldwork Proposal Narrative
2. Proposal Budget
3. Curriculum Vitae (two pages)

An Advisor Letter of Support must be sent by the recommender, not the applicant

Recipients of previous Field Study Awards are ineligible to apply with the exception that previous winners at the Master’s level may apply for the Ph.D. level award

Fieldwork must be conducted during the dates specified in the proposal. Any anticipated significant changes must be approved by the Chair of the Scholarship and Awards Committee