The Department of Geography offers the degrees of Master of Arts and Master of Science in Geography, Master of Science in Geographic Information Science, and a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems. The department also participates in the Earth, Environment, & Society Ph.D. degree.
Areas of primary concentration in Geography master’s programs are urban geography, physical geography, resource management, culture, environment and society, GIS, and cartography. The Geography M.A. and M.S. degrees are in part designed to meet the needs of students preparing for careers in research or administration in government and industry, urban and regional planning, and in secondary education and community college teaching. The Geography M.A. and M.S. degrees also provide a predoctoral program in geography for students planning to take advanced work leading to professional careers in university teaching, research, or public service. Students are encouraged to follow a program that combines breadth of knowledge with depth in one field of interest. Specialized focus areas in M.S. in GIS are remote sensing and digital image analysis, cartography and geovisualization, computer and information sciences, spatial statistics and quantitative methods, and system and data science. The M.S. in GIS equips students with hands-on training in geospatial technologies and professional knowledge to become a GIS professional or advance GIS career. The Graduate GIS Certificate provides an accessible and flexible GIS curriculum for students entering the geospatial industry. All GIS Certificate credits can be used toward the MS in GIS degree to form a stackable GIS training path.