MAGIC

Attention all geospatially-inclined students, faculty, and professionals in the greater Memphis area:

Please join us for the inaugural Memphis Area Collegiate Geospatial Showcase!

• Memphis area students (undergrad and graduate) will give 15-minute presentations on GIS-related projects in a competition to win scholarships/awards.

• A panel discussion will focus on careers involving GIS, with audience questions encouraged.

• Anyone interested in GIS is encouraged to attend, to support the students who are presenting and to connect with geospatial professionals in the Memphis area.

• Admission is free!

The showcase event offers an opportunity for college undergraduate and graduate students to demonstrate their GIS proficiency to an audience of GIS professionals in order to earn financial assistance towards their education and/or research, thanks to our generous members and sponsors. In this year’s event, MAGIC will grant $2,500 in scholarships and/or awards (depending on the student’s eligibility) in a competition open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Students from any college or university in the greater Memphis area will be welcome to participate, and participants will give a 15-minute presentation on a GIS-related project they’re working on. 

Eligibility and Requirements

• The applicant must be an undergraduate or graduate student currently enrolled and in good standing at a college or university in the area served by MAGIC.

• The applicant must be enrolled Full-Time or at a minimum must have completed at least 12 credit hours in consecutive semesters. Graduate students taking fewer hours will need to provide a note from an advisor confirming their good standing.

• The applicant may be from any academic discipline; however, the project undertaken must involve GIS.

• The applicant must submit a completed application (available here). Please include a photo (jpeg) of yourself so we can feature you and your project on our website.

• The applicant must be available to give a 15-minute presentation on his/her work. In-person presentations are highly encouraged.  The Education Committee will review requests to present virtually on a case-by-case basis.

• MAGIC will be given permission to use the resulting project materials, copies of the materials, or reference the materials, to promote the scholarship program and to advance the mission of MAGIC. Actual ownership of resulting materials will remain with the applicant.

• MAGIC Board members, Education Committee members, and their immediate family members are ineligible to apply.

• Preference will be given to projects based in the Mid-south area.

dates and Evaluation

• Written applications must be submitted by Wednesday, March 27, 2024.

• The MAGIC Education Committee will evaluate and score all written applications based on the information provided by the applicant and select the scholarship finalists, who will be notified by Wednesday, April 3, 2024.

• Finalists must give a 15-minute presentation outlining their project/work during the Memphis Area Collegiate Geospatial Showcase on April 12, 2024, 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM. An additional 5 minutes will be allowed for questions.

• Presentations will be evaluated and scored by the MAGIC Education Committee. The MAGIC Board of Directors will award scholarships, based on the recommendations of the Scholarship subcommittee. The Board reserves the right to withhold scholarships if requirements or eligibility are not met.

• The announcement of the awards will be made at the closing of the Showcase event on April 12.

• Disbursement schedule is at the Board's discretion.

Scoring criteria for both the written application and presentation are available here.

Purpose

Education is a central component of the Memphis Area Geographic Information Council’s (MAGIC) mission. The purpose of the MAGIC Academic Scholarship program is to encourage and support students’ education through the completion of commendable GIS projects. MAGIC hopes to award one $2000 scholarship annually, available to any qualifying undergraduate student enrolled in a college or university in areas served by MAGIC.

Our generous members and sponsors have made it possible to offer academic scholarships since 2013. We are proud to support the new generation of GIS professionals through our Student Scholarship Program.