An independent student expedition supported by the University will typically go through the following phases:

• Phase 1: deciding on a place to go, the research topic(s) and the team required
• Phase 2: networking to consolidate the plan and the team, seek permissions and find host-country team members
• Phase 3: writing proposals and applications for funding
• Phase 4: organising other fundraising activities
• Phase 5: undertaking the work abroad, usually in the summer vacation
• Phase 6: writing reports and publications
• Phase 7: follow-up activities

Many students who undertake their own independent expeditions have already gained experience through the commercial expeditioning or adventure sector. This may be either in a gap year or as part of a previous long vacation.

There are many organisations in this business, including:

• Raleigh International
• Gapforce
  • Trekforce
  • Greenforce
• Madventure
• Frontier
• Earthwatch
• Operation Wallacea
• GVI: Global Vision International
• Coral Cay Conservation

You will usually have to pay substantial fees to join. Some offer the award of a skills qualification in addition to the experience gained.

We do not have the resources to support you if you choose to join an expedition with this sort of organisation. The same is true of large archaeological digs.

Please be assured, however, that this in no way reflects our views on the quality of the experience that you should have on such trips. Because of their long-term commitment to particular projects and localities, and use of professional team leaders, such expeditions can provide you with beneficial experience and generate valuable research publications.

• Dr Emma Pearson (Committee Chair): School of Geography, Politics and Sociology; representative for Humanities and Social Sciences
• Dr Rachel Carr: School of Geography, Politics and Sociology; representative for Humanities and Social Sciences
• Dr Richard Bevan, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences; representative for Science, Agriculture and Engineering
  
• Dr Peter Middleton: Institute of Cellular Medicine; representative for Medical Sciences
• Dr Georgia Giannopoulou: School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (Harry Collinson Travel Scholarships)
• Mr Chris Walton: University Safety Office
• Mrs Kelly Lovelock: University Insurance Office
• Irena Rencesova (Committee Secretary): Deputy Team Manager, Student Financial Support

1. Name of expedition: make the destination, aim and year of the expedition explicit in a few words. Do not include ‘Newcastle University ' in the title.
2. Title and name of leader/applicant: make it clear if the expedition leader is not a student registered at Newcastle University. Give the name of a Newcastle team member as the applicant.
3. Student number: the nine-digit number on your smart card.
4. School: provide your full school name, and not an acronym. 
5. Degree programme/year of study: give the name of your degree and year of study.
6. Newcastle address: your address during term time. It should not be care of a School or other unit in the University, and should be for the person named in point 2.
7. Telephone and mobile phone: for the person named in point 2.
8. University email address: for the person named in point 2.
9. Host country (ies): the name of the country (ies) to be visited; only the UK is excluded.
10. Departure date: undergraduates must not plan to leave before the end of the third term.
11. Return date: continuing undergraduates must return in time to attend the whole of their School’s Welcome Week at the start of the next academic year.
12. Names of Newcastle University team members: only include full team members (as opposed to advisors. The list may include postgraduates. State if any members are related to the applicant and/or other Newcastle University team members.
13. Number of host country counterparts and their roles (see also point 28): the intended number of full team members (as opposed to advisors) from the country you are going to visit. State if any members are related to the applicant and/or other Newcastle University team members.
14. Number of other team members and their roles (see also point 28): people who are not covered under points 12 or 13 above; they may or may not be from other UK universities. State if any members are related to the applicant and / or other Newcastle University team members.
15. Total funds required: an estimate of your total costs, as detailed in point 31.
16. Background (250 words): describe how your project has arisen, for example, through citations of earlier published work or the recent activities of individuals or organisations mentioned in points 24-26. If appropriate, explain how your project fits into any wider agenda in the host country, and/or any larger research programme which it is designed to complement.
17. Aim (20 words): what is the unifying ‘big idea' behind your plan?
18. Objectives (60 words): the precise questions or propositions that you will address through the collection of new data in the field. It should be obvious how the objectives relate to your aim in point 17. If they are to be tackled successively, list them in order, or, if appropriate, list them in order of their importance in achieving your aim.
19. Study area (s) and map of study area (200 words): append maps on one side of A4 indicating the whereabouts and local geography of your study area(s) in the host country. Explain why you are going to work there, for instance by relating its attributes to your aim in point 17 and/or objectives in point 18, by reference to previous or current work, or on the basis of literature consulted or contacts listed in points 24-26 on such things as access, living conditions or safety issues.
20. Methods and equipment (300 words): describe your research methods in sufficient detail to show how you are going to address your objectives in point 18. If possible, do this by citing literature giving full details. Make sure your methods cover the collection of data necessary for each and all of these. Conversely, do not include any protocols not directly relevant to any of your objectives. Indicate your equipment requirements, and state whether you are able to borrow any items from the university and/or host country institutions. Major items requiring purchase should be specified individually in 31.
21. Travel and accommodation (100 words): how you are going to reach and, if necessary, travel between or within your study area(s). Describe the accommodation arrangements for all phases of your trip.
22. Timetable (1/2 of A4 page): a plan of different phases of the expedition, from departure from UK to return, with dates. A chart with a calendar axis may be a useful way of doing this. Ensure you include a sufficient number of weeks to complete all your planned research.
23. Expected outcomes (100 words): identify immediate outputs (such as local language pamphlets), local benefits (such as training, new opportunities, outreach activities), and contributions to wider agendas and/or larger ongoing projects in the host country. If the research will be used in a dissertation/assessed University work, please also note this here.
24. Literature cited: all the literature sources (including authoritative websites) that you mention in points 17-22. Do not list any that you do not cite and/or have not actually read.
25. Host country contacts: the names, designations and organisations of local advisors, with a brief indication of their role in helping you with your plans. Be explicit about the actual or likely sources of counterparts, especially if you cannot yet name them in point 28. Append copies of key communications indicating the extent of local collaboration. 
26. Advisors in UK/elsewhere: the names, designations and organisations of advisors in the University, the UK or further afield, with a brief indication of their role in helping you with your plans.
27. Host county permissions: state whether you need special visas or research permits, and from where, to carry out your work or any particular parts of it. Explain how you will obtain these, either directly or via people mentioned in point 25. Append copies of key communications indicating any progress so far.
28. Expedition members (200 words each – see also points 13 and 14): relevant details for all expedition members, including the main applicant, and named host country counterparts if known: name, sex, age, occupation (give degree programme and stage for students), previous travel, expedition or field research experience, language proficiency, first aid qualifications, etc. Your counterparts are likely to be crucial in acting as translators of national or local languages, as well as for logistics. Use this section to emphasise experience and qualities relevant for your expedition and why the Committee should fund you/your team.
29. Preliminary risk assessment (250 words): the main personal risks you are likely to encounter. Comment on how you intend to minimise each one, and take the action necessary in case of a mishap. You should refer to your team's first aid capabilities, casualty evacuation plans, and any other emergency provision. Please also fill out the attached University Risk Assessment form in as much detail as possible. If your proposal is given provisional endorsement in February, you will be required to (i) attend a risk assessment briefing with the University Safety Office, (ii) prepare a full Risk Assessment document, and (iii) submit this for checking by both your School Safety Officer(s) and Expeditions Committee. Only after you have complied fully and satisfactorily with these formalities will you be offered University support in the form of a full expedition endorsement, funds and insurance cover.
30. Social and environmental impacts (150 words): expeditions with cultural or sociological aims are particularly difficult to implement because groups of people and/or political issues are often the subjects of study. The ethical and methodological issues raised by such situations are discussed further in guidelines for proposals in the social sciences. Most expeditions have the potential to be socially intrusive or disruptive at the local level. We expect you to show that you have some insights into the social and cultural norms in your study area and the host country in general. Your physical presence in the study area could also have environmental consequences. You should indicate how you expect to be able to minimise such effects.
31. Itemised budget: a full list of the funds required under headings such as pre-expedition, international travel (including freight/excess baggage, visas), local travel, accommodation, food, costs for counterparts/translators/guides, equipment, insurance, consumables, post-expedition, and contingency. Include details where applicable.
32. Fundraising plans:the extent of your personal contribution to expedition funds. You should also give a list of organisations, trusts and any other funding sources to which you are applying, including those within the University and your School. Where applicable, include funding deadlines and when you expect to hear the outcome. Outline plans for any fundraising events with estimates of their potential value.
33. Referees: one (or both) of your nominees should be able to comment on the quality and value of the research, lead a team, relate to host country nationals, network with the research community, etc.

All applications will be considered by members of the University Expeditions Committee and must be received by the last Friday in January.

If there are no applications of sufficient merit in any one year, awards will not be made.

Successful applicants must submit:

• an interim Expedition report in the form of an academic poster by 6 October in the year of the expedition
• a final written report by 31 January of the year following their expedition

In addition to the academic poster, the Expeditions Committee will expect an additional page to be submitted listing sponsors, the full expedition budget and expenditure, and any specific changes from work originally approved by the Committee.

Funded expedition students are expected to participate fully in the ‘Celebrating Research Scholarships and Expeditions’ presentations held during the November following their expeditions.

Some expeditions have objectives requiring field work with a cultural or political focus, taking a group of people and/or a social issue as subjects for study. Such projects raise particular problems. Here, we alert you to some of the questions that you need to consider right from the start. Failure to do so is likely to result in the referral or rejection of your proposal by the Expeditions Committee, the RGS-IBG and other funding bodies.

Managing personal relationships

Expedition plans will almost always relate to the host country nationals whom you will work with and among, and whose goodwill and cooperation is critical to your chances of success. But your relationships with people in fieldwork have a quite distinct character if you embark on a social scientific project. You are not developing personal relationships as an aid to enable you to study something else. Instead, those people you develop relationships with are the subject of your study, or a big part of it. Special ethical and methodological implications flow from this, and these issues have now attracted a large literature. You will be expected to show in your proposal that you have made yourself familiar with this and adjusted your plans accordingly.

Ethical issues

Ethical issues in social scientific projects may include some or all of the following:

• intrusiveness
• sensitive fields of enquiry
• wider political considerations
• gender issues
• relations between the researcher and researched
• sharing and crediting of knowledge
• the team status of counterparts/translators
• payments or other rewards for information given

There is considerable scope in fieldwork for your presence and purpose to be misunderstood. For instance, there may be anxiety about whether your notebook is going to be passed on to government officials or the police. The onus is on you to minimise the scope for such misunderstandings by being open, honest and realistic about the aims of your work. Section 27 of the proposal form gives you the opportunity to discuss these points, amongst others.

Methodological issues

Methodological issues centre around the nature of social knowledge generated in the special kind of encounters that constitute field research in the social sciences. Many questions in this connection hinge around the concept of 'reflexivity'. Reflexivity embraces the idea of a continual auto-critique in which you:

• scrutinise the implications of your own activities
• question your own impact on the setting you are studying
• address the unavoidable limitations of your own understanding

Being reflexive means thinking about your own contribution to the social relationships which are the cornerstone of social scientific fieldwork. Section 17 of the proposal form gives you space to deal with these issues.

Team size

Because social and cultural expeditions are potentially disruptive of other people's lives, it is unlikely that approval would be given to large groups. You will need to justify the number in your team (including counterparts/translators).

Suggested reading

• Bell, D, P Caplan and W Karim (eds) (1993) Gendered Fields. Women, Men and Ethnography. London: Routledge.
• Burgess, R G (ed) (1984) Field research: a sourcebook and field manual. London: Unwin Hyman.
• Burgess, R G (1984) In the field: an introduction to field research. London: Allen and Unwin.
• Cotterill, P (1992) Interviewing women, issues of friendship, vulnerability, and power. Women's Studies International Forum 15(5), 593-606.
• Hammersley, M and Atkinson, P (1983) Ethnography: principles in practice. London: Routledge.
• Kobayashi, A (1994) Coloring the field: gender 'race', and the politics of fieldwork. Professional Geographer 46(1), 73-80.
• Okely, J and Callaway, H (eds) (1992) Anthropology and autobiography. London: Routledge.
• Rhodes, P (1994) Race-of-interviewer effects: a brief comment. Sociology 28(2), 547-558.
• Ribbens, J (1989) Interviewing an 'unnatural situation'. Women's Studies International Forum 12(6), 579-592. Rosaldo, R. (1986) Culture and truth. London: Routledge.
• Scheper Hughes, N (1992) Introduction (pp.1-30) to Death without weeping: the violence of everyday life in Brazil. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Watson, C W (ed) (1999) Being there. London: Pluto.

The Expedition Committee's major activity in February each year is to assess proposals from student applicants. Screening is a paper exercise. There are no interviews. As a result of screening, a proposal can be:

• provisionally endorsed: given in writing for attaching to further applications to potential sponsors
• referred: proposals can be re-submitted by a specified later deadline for possible endorsement
• rejected: proposals will not receive any backing from the University, and may not display 'Newcastle University' or its logos in any promotion, expedition literature or websites

Provisional endorsement comes with an offer of funds and insurance, subject to the conditions set out below. Amounts awarded to expeditions vary in the range £200-£2,500, depending on quality, the number of students involved and demand. We prefer to support undergraduates, but taught-course Masters (such as MSc, MA) students can also apply. In general, we make larger awards to expeditions in the humanities and social sciences, as these disciplines are less well-funded by outside organisations than those in science and medicine. It is usually essential to apply elsewhere for additional funds, and/or to organise your own fund-raising activities.

Conditions placed on provisionally endorsed expeditions

Only when the Expeditions Committee is satisfied that there is full compliance with all of the following, will the University's full endorsement, funds and insurance cover be provided.

• The expedition name should include the words 'Newcastle University' and its official logos should be used in any expedition literature or website.
• Expedition bank accounts should not include the words 'Newcastle University' in the account name.
• Expedition members must receive instruction from the University Safety Office, enabling them to prepare a full risk assessment. This has to be checked and signed off by the relevant person in all the Schools in which the students are taking degree programmes and the Expeditions Committee.
• Interim and final reports are required, respectively in early October in the year of the expedition, and 31 January of the year after the expedition. Read more about preparing your interim and final reports.
• As an expeditioner, you may be asked to present at an event in the University's public lecture series, usually in the November following the expedition.

All expeditions must meet one or more of the following criteria:

• travel to a research site that involves unusual endeavour or hardship
• living and/or conducting research in a physically challenging environment
• conducting research in an environment where there are language difficulties

In addition, an expedition must have a duration of at least three weeks.

Expedition proposals need to show that:

• the topic to be investigated is worthwhile, an independent piece of research, and can be tackled in the time available (usually part of the summer vacation)
• the destination is appropriate and feasible
• the activities involved are legal and safe
• the team from the UK has sufficient experience and can benefit from the expedition experience
• any official permissions required are being actively sought
• people in the host country locality are willing to collaborate and are likely to benefit from the work done

The Expeditions Committee wants to support any good expedition plans, but please note the following details.

• Students completing their studies before the intended start of a planned expedition are not eligible to apply (but they could join a team including other registered students).
• Expeditions planned around research in any discipline to any destination by any taught-course student, but especially undergraduate teams, will be considered for support.
• Expeditions centred on endurance aims (eg scaling peaks), or development aid (eg building a school) are not eligible.
• Single individuals can apply provided that they have good overseas counterpart arrangements in place. Please note that individuals may not be able to apply for some sources of external funding which are only available to team expeditions, eg Royal Geographical Society.
• Data collected on expeditions may be used as the basis for BA, MA, BSc, MSc research projects, but only with the prior permission of the degree programme director(s) concerned.
• MPhil and PhD students are excluded from applying to this scheme but may be included as a member in a team led by a BA, MA, BSc or MSc student. Involvement of family members is not permitted.
• Integrated studies in more than one discipline are welcome but so are single discipline pursuits. Some UK team members may be students from other universities or may not be students at all, but in such cases all forms of University support will be limited to members who are registered students at Newcastle University at the time of the expedition.
• Substantial involvement (as distinct from catalysis) by members of the University's academic, research or technical staff, or by external organisations in the planning and/or execution of an expedition, reduces its value as an independent student activity and is likely to result in the rejection of a proposal.
• Projects in the social sciences often need special attention to be paid to the ethical and cultural impacts of the research. See the additional guidelines for social sciences proposals.
• It is customary for each team member to make a personal contribution (usually in the region of £200-£500) to the expedition budget. It is also routine for expedition budgets to include provision for host-country counterparts' full travel and subsistence costs.

The Harry Collinson Travel Scholarship was established in memory of Harry Collinson, Chief Planning Officer of Derwentside District Council, who was tragically killed in 1991. The Scholarship Fund was endowed by a generous donation from the Harry Collinson Memorial Fund, which was raised by his friends and former colleagues. Mr Collinson was a graduate of Newcastle University, BA Land Use Studies, 1968.

The Harry Collinson Travel Scholarship is awarded annually to enable a student or group of students to pursue a project on an environmental topic in a developing country.

Any current undergraduate or postgraduate student can apply for an award. Scholarships range in value from £250 to as much as £1,000.

To apply, please complete the Expeditions Application Form and Guidelines: 2020 (Word: 87KB).

You are encouraged to apply to your Head of School and Faculty Dean of Undergraduate Studies, asking them to make contributions of funds or loaned equipment. As a result of other bequests, some schools are able to award annual vacation or travel scholarships for overseas activities by students.

Some expedition teams have received invaluable support and assistance from Newcastle graduates from overseas now employed within their own country. If you want to explore the potential for links with our alumni in the country you intend to visit, please contact the International Office.

Royal Geographical Society

Expedition teams should apply for approval and funding from the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers: RGS-IBG). Solo expeditions are not eligible and plans need to have a significant geographical (ie spatial) component to gain their approval or support.

The RGS-IBG screening process provides a rigorous gold standard for UK expeditioning activity. Success can yield substantial grants. There are two deadlines each year: towards the end of January and end of June. Check for exact dates as late applications will not be considered.

Geography Outdoors exists solely to give advice and support to prospective expeditioners. It holds a number of training events each year. Details of these and the guidelines and application forms for Geographical Fieldwork Grants and other awards are available on the Royal Geographical Society website. The Robinson Library holds a set of RGS-IBG publications relating to expeditioning.

Funds from professional societies and charities

The precise topic you would like to address during an expedition, especially if its aims are scientific, socio-economic or medical, may make it eligible for funds from professional societies or specific charitable trusts.

Consult your Degree Programme Director and other members of staff in your school about such sources of funds. The Royal Geographical Society website also has a comprehensive list of other funding sources.

Letters offering approval or financial support from the Expeditions Committee and the Royal Geographical Society have a positive influence on the likelihood of other funds being awarded. In general, the more organisations that you have behind you, the more likely it is that yet more support will be forthcoming. It is important to keep all potential sponsors fully and continuously informed of your progress – for example, on finding counterparts, gaining permission, loaning equipment, receiving funds.

Expedition leaders endorsed and/or funded by the University should submit an interim report in the form of an academic poster after completion of the field work by mid-October in the year of the expedition.

We provide all reseach scholarship and expedition students with detailed requirements for posters in mid-August. At least one presentation will also be available during the late summer to advise on poster design and production.

Your poster should give:

• a clear statement of the expedition's original aims and objectives
• an outline of research procedures, results obtained
• conclusions drawn under each objective and details about any additional objectives, relevant results obtained and possibilities for future work

Expedition students should also prepare for the Committee an additional page report listing sponsors, expedition budget and a summary of any specific changes from the work originally approved by the Committee, reflecting on what had worked well or not so well in their expedition, and any unexpected or unusual encounters or difficulties.

A final report should be submitted by 31 January in the year following the expedition.

General layout

The Final Report should not exceed 10,000 words and should follow these guidelines:

• text size must be similar to 12 point Times New Roman or 11 point Calibri
• use 1.5-line spacing
• separate paragraphs with a blank line
• use margins of at least 2.5 cm on all sides
• number all pages

Chapter titles should be brief but relevant. Take particular care to be consistent in the formatting of headings for sections and subsections within chapters (ie centring, capitals, bold/italics, underlining, etc).

A numbering system for headings may clarify layout (eg 1: chapter; 1.1: section; 1.1.1: subsection).

Pictures, diagrams, graphs and tables should be placed appropriately in the text and given a legend (title) and a sequential number through which it is referred to in the text.

Give both the vernacular name and the Latin binomial of all biological species when they are first mentioned in the text. Afterwards, use one or the other consistently. Try to avoid acronyms.

Cover and/or title page

The title should be short, informative, easily remembered, and preferably identical to the original name of the expedition. A line-drawing, painting or photograph may improve presentation. Include the lgos or names of all sponsors, or show them on the acknowledgements page.

Summary (abstract)

This should fit on one side of A4 (ie 300-400 words), and state the project's main objectives and achievements. In the case of an expedition to a country where English is not widely used, you may want to include an additional version of this section in the appropriate language.

Contents

A list of chapter titles, followed in each case by all their component parts with their page numbers. All pages should be numbered, including those containing only tables, figures or images.

Acknowledgements

Thank all sponsors and supporters of the expedition for their assistance. Mention by name those individuals who played a crucial role in the initiation and execution of the project, or in helping to produce the report.

Introduction

Explain how the expedition came about. Include brief references to previous work concerned with the topic and/or locality central to the expedition. Re-state the objectives of the expedition.

Background

Give a detailed review of all relevant information available on the subject(s) of study.

Methods

Describe all the techniques used to obtain the results reported. Give sufficient details to allow both the exact replication of the work and some appreciation of the reliability of the results.

Results

Set out the results as clearly as possible making full use of tables, graphs, maps, diagrams and images. Give the results of named statistical procedures in relevant table or figure legends or in the text. You may find it convenient to have separate sections dealing with each objective of the expedition.

Other observations

Present any additional information that is relevant to the main themes of the expedition but does not relate directly to any of the original objectives.

Discussion and recommendations

The conclusions you draw from the results should be reviewed in the light of past work and any likely future eventualities. Assess the reliability of results and the generality of conclusions. Make constructive suggestions about how further work might proceed in the future, mentioning any new techniques or study areas that should be used, with reasons.

References

You must give full references to all literature cited in the text. If the report is unpublished, please indicate the organisation for which the report was prepared, and how it may be obtained.

Appendices

A series of appendices should contain any information which, although not essential to an understanding of the main body of the report, would be useful or interesting to a specialist. Appendices may be appropriate for recording such things as:

• full systematic species lists (perhaps with local names)
• records of how all personnel spent their working time during the expedition
• lists of names and addresses referring to people or organisations from whom you obtained help
• a detailed breakdown of the projected and actual budgets for the project
• health and medical advice

Some examples of expedition reports involving research in science, medicine and humanities:

• Papua New Guinea
• Kenya Samburu
• Tanzania
• Zambia 2008 – Global Nurse Migration
• Greenland 2008 – West Greenland glacial survey
• Kyrgystan 2009 – Nomadic settlement (PDF: 6MB)

Expedition reports from 2010:

• Brazil 2010 – Black carbon in Amazonian soils (PDF: 749KB)
• Canada 2010 - Glacial moraine survey (PDF: 7MB)
• Bosnia & Herzegovina 2010 - Balkanism repackaged? (PDF: 4MB)
• Iceland 2010 – Jokhulhlaup project

In 2011 Expeditions Committee funded expeditions to:

• The Maldives
• Norway
• South Africa

In 2012 Expeditions Committee funded expeditions to:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Honduras
• The US Virgin Islands

In 2013 Expeditions Committee funded expeditions to:

• Mexico
• The British Virgin Islands
• Uganda

In 2014 Expeditions Committee funded expeditions to:

• Turkey
• Dutch Antilles
• Barbados
• Brazil

In 2015 Expeditions Committee funded expeditions to:

• Greenland
• Argentina
• New Zealand
• Ethiopia

In 2016 Expeditions Committee funded expeditions to:

• Fiji
• Chile
• Svalbard
• Tanzania

In 2017 Expeditions Committee funded expeditions to:

• Nepal
• Costa Rica
• Svalbard

In 2018 Expeditions Committee funded expeditions to:

• Cyprus
• Spain

In 2019 Expeditions Committee funded expeditions to:

• Greenland
• Peru
• Russia

Newcastle University is one of the leading universities in the UK for conducting independent expeditions to destinations all over the world for research objectives, but also in the pursuit of adventure.

All University expedition reports are archived in Special Collections in the Robinson Library. The Robinson Library has a full list of reports going back to 1948. Please contact the library for more details.