Prospective Students

students meeting in front of a computer

SAGE is home to nearly 40 graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, participating in the research, learning, and outreach activities of the Center. In addition, we support a handful of undergraduate students working on an hourly basis in research activities, computer support, and office administration. Our students span a range of departments across campus, broadly reflecting the affiliations of the SAGE faculty: the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Agroecology, Agronomy, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Forestry, Geography, the La Follette School of Public Policy, Limnology and Marine Science, School of Medicine and Public Health.

For an introduction to Madison and all it has to offer, visit the Welcome to Madison page created by a member of Holly Gibbs' lab.

If you are interested in pursuing M.S. or Ph.D. research at SAGE, we recommend the following steps.

  1. Consider what graduate program, and what potential advisor(s), would be the best fit with your educational and career goals. Not all SAGE advisors advise in all affiliated programs - the list below links to each advisor's research overview, and to the degree-granting programs through which students are advised.

    Prof. Holly Gibbs
    Geography (M.S., Ph.D.)
    Nelson Institute Environment & Resources Program (M.S., Ph.D.)

    Prof. Chris Kucharik
    Agroecology (M.S.)
    Agronomy (M.S., Ph.D.)
    Nelson Institute Environment & Resources Program (M.S., Ph.D.)
    Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (M.S., Ph.D.)
    Limnology and Marine Science (M.S., Ph.D.)

    Prof. Tracey Holloway
    Nelson Institute Environment & Resources Program (M.S., Ph.D.)
    Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (M.S., Ph.D.)
    Civil and Environmental Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.)

    Prof. Greg Nemet
    Nelson Institute Environment & Resources Program (M.S., Ph.D.)
    La Follette School of Public Policy (M.P.A.)

    Prof. Mutlu Ozdogan
    Nelson Institute Environment & Resources Program (M.S., Ph.D.)
    Forestry (M.S., Ph.D.)

    Prof. Jonathan Patz
    Nelson Institute Environment & Resources Program (M.S., Ph.D.)
    Population Health (M.S., Ph.D.)

    Prof. Annemarie Schneider
    Nelson Institute Environment & Resources Program (M.S., Ph.D.)
    Geography (M.S., Ph.D.)

  2. Send a brief email introduction to your potential advisor, accompanied by your resume or curriculum vita, and noting the department to which you plan to submit your application. Feel free to ask us related to your graduate school planning and application process.
  3. Submit an application to the selected program following official departmental guidelines.
  4. SAGE awards funding through assistantships and fellowships to a select number of graduate students, after a highly competitive review process. Most funding decisions are made by individual faculty members in support of specific projects. We look for students with outstanding academic credentials (typically with GPAs over 3.5, and GRE scores in the highest percentiles) and previous research or work experience. We also strongly emphasize communication skills and intellectual maturity in our selection process.