Student Expeditions
Our student-led expeditions are a great opportunity to travel and while developing your independent research.
Student-led expeditions
Overseas student expeditions have become a central feature of both our human and physical geography degree programmes. Students plan and organise expeditions independently, and use them to collect the data needed for undergraduate dissertations.
Expeditions give you are a great opportunity for independent research and travel with a purpose.
Recent expedition destinations include:
- Greenland
- Chile
- Svalbard
- Iceland
- Italy
- Barbados
- USA
Develop key skills
Not only are our expeditions central to our undergraduates producing high-quality and original dissertation research. They help you to develop key skills that are valued by employers, including: team-work; budget management communications skills
Expeditions are also an excellent spring-board for postgraduate research, once students are bitten by the fieldwork bug!
Expedition Handbook
More information on our expeditions can be found in our Expedition Handbook (PDF 3.97MB)
The Newcastle University Expeditions Committee (ExCo) encourages and supports expeditions outside the UK, which are led by students and focused on their research.
ExCo can provide financial support for student-led expeditions outside of the UK. Projects need to independently organised and worthwhile, and activities must be safe and feasible. The two main sources of funding are:
The expedition committee can also offer advice on planning your expedition. More information on ExCo and the support it can provide is available at Student Wellbeing
The closing date for University Expedition Funding applications is the last Friday in January.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Sonia Stonehouse was a secretary in the Geography department at Newcastle
When Sonia passed away in 2007, her family established the Sonia Stonehouse Expedition Fund to support overseas fieldwork for dissertation research.
Through the fund we are able to award up to £1500 to geography undergraduate students undertaking overseas fieldwork.
Applications are reviewed by a panel of academic staff on the basis of:
- quality of research
- depth of planning
- logistics
- health, safety and ethical issues
Eligibility
The fund is open to all F800, L701 FH82 and LK74 stage 2 students to help support overseas fieldwork for their final year dissertation. Individuals may apply, but the committee particularly encourages expedition teams of 2 or more students. Similarly, preference will be given to proposals that demonstrate one or more of the following:
- valuable experiences for Newcastle students and their counterparts from the host country
- the least possible exposure to predictable risks
- promotion of the University's and the School’s name
- a lasting positive impacts for the locality and/or the host country
- academic ability, energy and commitment to their studies
- financial circumstances
Application procedure
The Sonia Stonehouse Expedition Fund Committee will select and award funding for students to undertake overseas expeditions only when and where it is safe and responsible for them to do so.
Grants will only be awarded and funds released where full risk assessments, UK Government, FCDO and in-country guidance is clear that it is appropriate for the proposed fieldwork to take place.
- Read a background to the Sonia Stonehouse Expedition Fund eligibility (PDF: 69.8KB).
- Apply via the Sonia Stonehouse Expedition Fund application form (Word: 88.1KB), which should be filled in according to the guidelines.
The closing date for applications is the last Friday in April.
In additional to Newcastle University funding, students can apply for financial support for their expeditions from a variety of external funders. A list of some of the main opportunities is given below, but this by no means exhaustive. Students should search for additional funding sources, including any grants specific to their topic (e.g. awarded for work in a particular country or focused on a specific aspect of geography) and to their background (schemes may be available for students from particular regions or countries).
Royal Geographical Society with IGB
Supports UK-led research teams, carrying out geographical field research and exploration overseas. The main grants open to undergraduate students are the Geographical Fieldwork Grant and Henrietta Hutton Research Grant.
More information: hwww.rgs.org/in-the-field/in-the-field-grants/students/
The Gino Watkins Memorial Fund
Aims to inspire and guide enterprising, particularly young, people towards exploration and research in the polar regions
www.spri.cam.ac.uk/about/funding/ginowatkins/
Gilchrist Educational Trust
Supports a number of British expeditions, with teams of three or more members, proposing to carry out research of a scientific nature in another country.
www.gilchristgrants.org.uk/
Andrew Croft Memorial Fund
Supports the advancement and education of young people, by the provision of grants in support of Arctic expeditions.
www.acmf.org.uk/
The Alpkit Foundation
Supports people working in the outdoors, including expeditions and school groups. Can provide both financial assistant and discounted equipment.
www.alpkit.com/foundation#
National Geographic Young Explorers Grants
Provides support for people aged between 18 and 25 to conduct projects in research, conservation, and exploration.
www.nationalgeographic.org/funding-opportunities/grants/