Graduate programs
The Department of Geography offers the degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Arts in Teaching, and Master of Science in Teaching (General Social Science). The department also participates in the Earth, Environment, & Society Ph.D. degree.
Areas of primary concentration are urban geography, physical geography, resource management, culture, environment and society, GIS, and cartography. The 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 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.
Admission requirements
For admission to graduate study for the M.A. and M.S. degrees, a student normally should have completed the minimum preparation for an undergraduate major in geography with a 3.00 grade point average in all work. Students with majors in other fields are encouraged to apply. Normally such students are admitted on a conditional basis, with the student required to take courses to remedy deficiencies.
In addition to the general University admission requirements for advanced degrees the student must provide letters of recommendation from three faculty members of colleges previously attended.
Students for whom English is a second language must present a score of at least 550 (paper-based) or 213 (computer-based) in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with their application for admission.