Graduate Programs

The graduate program in geography consists of an MS degree in Geography and a PhD. degree in Geospatial and Environmental Analysis. The MS degree develops specialists for academic, agency and industry positions though emphasis on:

  • Making appropriate use of methods for geographic inquiry to determine, to analyze, and to interpret spatial and temporal patterns and processes
  • Identifying debates and gaps in the current literature to define an original research question
  • Conducting research, collecting primary or secondary data, defending, and presenting their findings in publishable form

At the doctoral level, the emphasis is on preparation for research careers with agencies or in academia:

The M.S. in Geography is designed to prepare a student for a variety of careers as a geographer in business, government, research and planning organizations, teaching, or for doctoral studies. The geography program is intended to provide a student with a well-defined research focus as well as allowing maximum flexibility to explore personal interests by taking courses in cognate disciplines. The geography curriculum involves the completion of 30 semester credit hours, of which six hours are devoted to research, writing, and defense of a thesis. A non-thesis option is also available.

Our department offers exceptional faculty expertise in the following fields:

  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • remote sensing
  • biogeography
  • climatology
  • meterology
  • dendrochronology
  • mountain and tropical environments
  • paleoenvironments of the Caribbean and the Americas
  • political ecology
  • international development
  • medical geography
  • cities and urbanism
  • socio-cultural geography
  • landscapes and remote sensing

For more information, contact the Head of the Graduate Program, Lisa Kennedy Phone:(540) 231-1422.

Eligibility

The graduate program is open to qualified students holding a Bachelor's degrees from accredited colleges. Nongeography majors are encouraged to apply. Requirements include a B average in junior and senior years and satisfactory GRE and TOEFL scores. Each incoming graduate student's background and interests will be considered in developing individual programs and course requirements.