One of my favorite aspects of my work as a professor is advising graduate students.  I primarily advise master’s and PhD students in both geography and in Latin American Studies, and frequently, in Arid Lands Resource Sciences.  Given my own background as an urban planner and aide to the mayor, prior to becoming a full-time faculty member, I am committed to working with my students to achieve their professional goals, whether they be to become a tenure-track faculty, teach in a community college setting, join a non-profit organization, work for a government agency, or other calling.  I encourage my students to publish their research (or co-publish papers with me, as appropriate), be active in our professional organizations (e.g., American Association of Geographers, Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers, Latin American Studies Association).

 

In geography, I advise students in the fields of human-environment geography, water governance, political ecology, climate vulnerability and adaptation, small-scale agriculture and agrarian transitions, environmental/climate justice, energy justice, and critical water studies.  While many of my grad students have a similar regional focus to mine—Mexico, Central America, Latin America, or US-Mexico border/Southwest US—others do research in other global regions.

 

In Latin American Studies, our students can earn dual degrees in Law, Public Health, Public Administration, and Journalism, along with their Master’s in Latin American Studies. Many of my students work on issues relating to immigration, border environment, border justice, climate vulnerability and adaptation in the Mexico-US border region, small-scale production (agriculture, fishing), or transboundary climate and water governance/collaboration. 

 

I have supported over a dozen graduate students as research assistants on research grants in the past and many have funding as teaching assistants. My graduate advisees have earned NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement funding, Fulbright support, CONACyT (Mexico’s science & technology funding), UA Water Sustainability fellowship, grants from AAG (Association of American Geographers) specialty groups and internal UA funding, including from the Center for Latin American Studies’ Tinker Foundation funding and the College of SBS Research Institute (SBSRI).

 

Prospective Students

If you are interesting in discussing studying with me at the University of Arizona, feel free to email me (mwilder@email.arizona.edu). I would enjoy meeting you to discuss our common interests.