Program Description and Financial Assistance

News

Meet Our Students

Application and Admission

Program Description and Financial Assistance

Graduate Handbook

Recent Theses

Awards

Deadlines and Forms

The Department of Geography offers a number of possible specialties at the graduate level:

  • Agriculture/Cultural-Political Ecology
  • Biogeography
  • Climatology/Meteorology
  • Cultural-Historical
  • Economic Development/Globalization
  • Environmental/Resource Management
  • Geographic Techniques, including Cartography, GIS, and Remote Sensing
  • Gender and Development
  • Geomorphology
  • Land Use Planning
  • Urban Geography

Students have the option to choose a thesis or comprehensive exam (non-thesis) track in the program. The Department requires three courses, which are taken during the first year. All graduate courses are five credits.

  • History of Geographic Thought (580)
  • Research and Writing (GEOG 675)
  • Quantitative Methods (GEOG 571) or Qualitative Methods

Students are also required to take at least two seminars, which are focused and include only graduate students. The Department usually offers two seminars each quarter.

Thesis

In the thesis track, students complete 65 credit hours; this includes 15 thesis credits and 50 course credits at the graduate level, including the seminars and required courses. This leaves five elective courses (25 credit hours) students choose for their course of study. The thesis committee is composed of the major advisor and two other faculty members from the department. The student must successfully defend the proposal, and then the final thesis, in front of this committee. Ideally students will defend their proposal by the end of the first year and the thesis should be complete no later than the end of the second year.

Comprehensive Examination (Non-Thesis)

This track requires the completion of 75 credit hours, including the required courses and seminars. This leaves ten elective courses (50 credit hours). The student completes a program of study that covers three areas—two systematic and one technique or two technique and one systematic. Systematic areas include specializations within human, physical, environmental and area studies, while the technique areas include GIS, remote sensing, cartography and quantitative methods. A set of written exams over the three selected areas completes the degree.