Geography Education Networking Initiative for Underrepresented Scholars

Two people pose for a photo while working on computers The Geography Education Networking Initiative for Underrepresented Scholars (GENIUS) is a three-day workshop designed for rising third- and fourth-year students, including first-generation college students and others who are underrepresented in geography-related fields. The program provides support and mentoring to help participants prepare strong applications for graduate programs in geography and similar fields. During the workshop, students will receive guidance on crafting application materials and navigating the admissions process, from contacting potential advisors to making financial decisions about graduate school. Participants will also join a growing network of GENIUS alumni who are pursuing their goals in geography and beyond.

Applications are open for GENIUS 2026!

May 27-29, 2026, University Park, Pa.
Inbound Travel: May 26
Outbound Travel: May 29

Funding

Students will receive travel support, hotel rooms in State College, and some meals while attending.

Qualifications

Successful applicants to GENIUS will demonstrate that they:

Identify as a member of a group that is underrepresented in geography and/or related academic or industry careers
Intend to apply to graduate school in geography (or related fields)
Are available to come to State College, Pennsylvania, traveling inbound on May 26 and outbound on May 29, 2026

About Genius

Group of genius workshop participants and mentors posing in front of trees

The workshop will help students begin to build professional networks that will support them throughout their careers. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with peers and scholars from across the United States and Canada. By the end of the workshop, participants will have crafted an email introduction to potential advisers, developed a curriculum vitae highlighting their achievements, and written a personal statement for graduate school applications. Additionally, students will identify up to five graduate programs of interest and explore funding options to help cover application costs.

Designed to support first-generation college students and others navigating the graduate application process, the workshop provides guidance from mentors, Penn State Geography faculty, and current graduate students. Participants will engage in both group and individual mentoring and have the opportunity to collaborate with peers on their application materials.

Read about the 2023 inaugural GENIUS workshop >>

Co-organizers

Emily Rosenman

Emily Rosenman is an urban and economic geographer who researches the connections between finance, urbanization, and inequality. Her work is motivated by the aim of understanding relationships that produce both wealth and impoverishment, with particular attention to the uneven geographies of financialization and racialization that characterize contemporary urban life.

Joshua Inwood

Joshua Inwood is a professor of geography and holds a joint appointment with the Rock Ethics Institute. His work is focused on race, processes of racialization, racial capital, and the Civil Rights Movement and the U.S. South.

Ida Djenontin

Ida Djenontin is a human-environment geographer with empirical research interests at the intersection of environmental governance and sustainable development. Her primary regional expertise in the field of Environment and Development Geography is sub-Saharan Africa.

Questions?

If you have questions about the workshop or applying, please contact Josh Inwood (jfi6@psu.edu) or Emily Rosenman (ekr5260@psu.edu).

Past Workshops

GENIUS 2025 Workshop

May 28-30, 2025, University Park, Pa.

Mentors: Ida Djenontin- Penn State, Belén Norona- Penn State, Madelaine Cahuas - University of Minnesota, & Solange Muñoz at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville

GENIUS 2024 Workshop

May 13-15, 2024, University Park, Pa.

Mentors: Ida Djenontin- Penn State, Belén Norona- Penn State, & Rachel Bok- University of Toronto

GENIUS 2023 Workshop

May 10-12, 2023, University Park, Pa.

Mentors: Beverley Mullings- University of Toronto & Akira Drake Rodriguez- University of Pennsylvania

Department of Geography