Geography M.S.
Master of Science - Geography
Degree Specific Credits: 30 credits are required for the thesis and professional paper tracks; 36 credits are required for the non-thesis (portfolio) track.
Required Cumulative GPA: 3.0
For the M.S. in Geography, students may select among a general option with no concentration or concentrations in in Cartography & GIS or Community and Environmental Planning.
- The M.S. degree in Geography (with no option) offers the most flexibility and is appropriate for students who are focused on human or physical geography as well as those who have interests in human-environment interactions, climate change, land-use and environmental planning, community resilience, cartography, GIS, and geospatial analysis. In the General Geography M.S., students may tailor their program to their individual interests once they complete the core requirements.
- Choices in the core and elective credits will be selected in consultation with the graduate committee to support the research program and student's professional goals. Coursework must be approved by the committee no later than the second semester in residence, but earlier if possible. Per Graduate School policy, at least 20 of the total credits must be taken within the major discipline; at least 20 of the total credits must be in coursework and at least half of the coursework credits (minimum 10 credits) must be at the 500 level or above; courses below the 400 level do not count towards the M.S. course requirements; and up to 10 of the 30 credits may be taken as thesis (GPHY 599).
- We just modified this description to make it more precise and relevant to students.
Degree Tracks
For the M.S. in Geography, students are required to complete one of the following tracks:
- Thesis track: Successfully complete and defend a thesis or one or more papers (i.e., articles) of publishable quality before an examining committee.
- Professional Paper track: Successfully complete and defend a professional paper or one or more papers (i.e., articles) of publishable quality before an examining committee. The difference between a thesis and a professional paper is that while the thesis is directed toward advances in the discipline, the professional paper may be directed toward advances in the profession. A professional paper may also consist of one or more papers of publishable quality intended for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
- Non-thesis (Portfolio) track: Requires the successful completion of a portfolio and written and oral comprehensive examinations.
- There is no minimum number of thesis credits that must be taken for any of the tracks.
Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate Research Seminar - Complete one of the following courses, 1 credit per semester: | 2 | |
| Seminar | ||
| Graduate Seminar (1 cr. per semester) | ||
| Seminar | ||
| Graduate Seminar in Wildlife Biology | ||
| Graduate Research Design - Complete one of the following courses: | 3 | |
| Research Design in the Geographical Sciences I and Research Design in Geographical Sciences II | ||
| Conservation and Social Science Methods | ||
| Fundamentals of Academic Research | ||
| Research Design and Research Design Lab | ||
| Graduate Methods Course - Complete one of the following courses: | 3 | |
Quantitative methods | ||
| Environmental Analytics | ||
| Ecological Statistics | ||
| Social Data Analysis | ||
| Statistical Methods I | ||
or STAT 452 | Statistical Methods II | |
Qualitative methods | ||
| Qualitative Methods | ||
Historical or survey methods | ||
Advanced GIS or computer methods | ||
| 3 Additional Credits of Graduate Seminar | 3 | |
| Advanced Physical Geography | ||
| Seminar in Planning | ||
| Seminar GIS & Cartography | ||
| Electives/Thesis Credits | 19-25 | |
Courses to be chosen with your faculty advisor. | ||
| Total Hours | 30-36 | |