Geographical Sciences
(GEOG)
Abstract
The Department of Geographical Sciences offers graduate study leading to the Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Professional Studies in Geospatial Information Sciences.
The specific research specializations represented by the faculty include:
Human Dimensions of Global Change: Coupled Human and Natural Systems. The Departments ultimate research goal is to advance an integrated understanding of the coupled Earth system including spatially distributed human processes. Our research addresses both fundamental and applied issues in coupled human and natural systems, such as population, socio-economic development, consumption and production, poverty, climate impacts and adaptation, vulnerability and mitigation, as well as the examination of policy options and trade-offs on sustainability. Our scientists investigate both the human socio-economic system and the climate system, and their linkages.
Land Cover,Land Use Change. Land cover and land-use change is a key interface between human and natural systems. Our scientists are world leaders in the remote sensing of land-cover changes. This information is actively combined with human socio-economic data to study past land cover and land use change and to inform advanced modeling of spatially-explicit future scenarios. These methods are actively being used to simultaneously address social, economic, carbon, climate, biodiversity and other aspects of land-use changes. We develop agricultural monitoring systems and look at societal impacts, adaptions and vulnerability to fire, droughts, floods, desertification, and other catastrophic events.
Geospatial Information Sciences and Remote Sensing.Collecting and interpreting geospatial data is central to everything we do as geographers, whether on computers or in the field. From local events to multi-scale processes, our faculty are developing and applying advanced remote sensing capabilities and GI Science that will help us to develop the next generation of GI technologies and understanding of the worlds geography. Our strengths include advanced computer modeling, scientific and geographic visualization, sensor calibration and design, image processing, geocomputing, spatial statistics, and semantic learning.
Carbon, Vegetation Dynamics and Landscape-scale Processes. The department carries out a broad array of research focused on monitoring vegetation dynamics, with a particular focus on mapping and studying human and natural disturbances and their landscape-scale impacts, as well as changes to the earth surface as a result of climate variability. This research involves integration of field-based research with remotely-sensed observations to address key scientific uncertainties. Alterations to the global carbon cycle are changing atmospheric composition and climate with implications for human well-being and a particular focus of our research is on monitoring and modeling the terrestrial carbon cycle with unprecedented sophistication and resolution.
The Department contains several specialized groups, including the Global Land Cover Facility, as well as several smaller groupings of research interests. The Department also has close ties with cross-campus research initiatives, including the Earth Systems Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) and the Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI). ESSIC is an initiative that brings together the Departments of Geography, Geology and Atmosphere and Ocean Science in a Research Institute to further encourage interdisciplinary studies to address contemporary questions in Earth Systems Science. JCGRI is a collaboration between the University of Maryland and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and is dedicated to understanding the problems of global climate change and their potential solutions.
Admissions Information
The Department offers courses of study leading to the Ph.D. degree and the MPS (masters in professional studies in geospatial information sciences). The MPS program is administered separately and has different admission deadlines and requirements than the Ph.D. program. The Department no longer offers an M.A. option. All students are admitted directly to the Ph.D. program.
Ph.D. Program
Admission into the program is strongly competitive. Students may be admitted with either an undergraduate or masters level degree. Minimum requirements are: GPA B (3.0) average in junior and senior year; GRE verbal 160 and quantitative 151; three letters of recommendation, preferably from academic reviewers. For international students, the following additional minimum test scores apply: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) [paper test 600, written portion 5; computer-based test 250; internet-based test 100]. International students who are applicants for teaching assistantships must also pass an International Teaching Assistant Oral Evaluation by the University's Maryland English Institute (MEI).
The Department admits students to our doctoral program that have already completed a masters degree and exceptionally well qualified students who have only completed a bachelor's degree. Admitted students are required to either possess or shall develop a strong foundation in the discipline of Geography. Admission to the Ph.D. program is not limited to students with a Geography degree. Those with degrees in related disciplines such as environmental, physical or biological sciences, anthropology, economics, history and social science are encouraged to apply but may be required to undertake additional background study. Some knowledge of data processing and statistics is necessary for all applicants.
Applicants proposed program of study must clearly draw on the research strengths of existing faculty members. All applicants are strongly encouraged to contact individual faculty members (in person, by phone, or by email) to discuss their research interests and to identify potential advisors. Admission to the doctoral program is dependent on the support of a tenured/tenure-track faculty.
In general, the Department admits between 10-15 students each year into the Ph.D. program. Virtually all students accepted are fully-funded through assistantships and fellowships. While there is no longer a formal M.A. program, a terminal masters degree may be received for qualified students who are unable to complete the Ph.D. program.
Closing date for applications into the Ph.D. program is January 15. Applications are reviewed from December to February for Fall entry; there is no Spring entry. The Graduate School will accept applications up to May 1 for certain visa categories. However, applications received by the Department after January 15 have a reduced chance of being considered for Fall entry and financial aid. The following are required for application into the program:
- GRE General
- 3 Letters of Recommendation
- Undergrad and Grad transcripts
- Statement of Goals and Research Intertests and Statement of Experiences
- International applicants: TOEFL (also MEI oral exam for TAs)
In addition we strongly encourage the following: evidence of contact with faculty members, an example of writing or scholarship, and a current CV.
Masters of Professional Studies in Geospatial Information Sciences
The Master's Degree and Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Information Sciences offers comprehensive training in the key areas of GIS. Applicants can choose between a 31-credit Masters Degree and a 12-credit Graduate Certificate in Professional Studies. See Degree and Certificate requirements below, as well as on the MPS GIS Web Site.
Application Deadlines
Type of Applicant Fall Spring Domestic Applicants; US Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials; International Applicants seeking admissions under A, E, G, H, I and L visas and immigrants
Deadline: January 15
International Applicants seeking admission under F (student) or J (exchange visitor) visas
Deadline: January 15
Application Requirements
See admissions information.
Degree Requirements
Master of Professional Studies in Geospatial Information Sciences (M.P.S.G.I.S.)
The Masters Degree and Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Information Sciences offers comprehensive training in the key areas of GIS, including geographic information sciences, remote sensing techniques, spatial analytical methods, modeling and specialized computer programming tailored to GIS needs. Applicants can choose between a 31-credit Masters Degree and a 12-credit Graduate Certificate in Professional Studies. See more detailed Degree and Certificate requirements, as well as admission requirements and application forms, on the MPS GIS Web Site.
In the MPS program, lectures are delivered across the Internet using advanced audio and video technology. Students are not required to be physically present except for orientation and a final capstone class. Thus, applications are accepted nationally.
A GPA of 3.0 is normally required for admission into this program while rare exceptions can be made. GRE is not required. Students can be admitted into the program with various backgrounds, however, there are some prerequisite requirements that generally must be met. Students with an MPS degree are eligible to apply for admission into Ph.D. programs world-wide, including ours.
Students are now admitted in the Fall and Spring. The deadline for applications for International students is January 15. and for U.S. citizens and permanent residents it is March 15 for Fall and Nov 15. U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have completed the prerequisites, may apply as late as August 1 and February 1 and will be considered as long as there is room in the program.
Master of Arts (M.A.)
NOTE: The Department of Geographical Sciences does not offer a terminal Master of Arts program and will not accept or enroll students for the single purpose of acquiring a Master of Arts degree. Doctoral students may obtain a Master of Arts degree during their course of doctoral study, requirements of which are set by the department See the PhD Handbook. Award of this degree is granted only upon demonstration of a high level of scholastic achievement, not simply for completion of course requirements.
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
The study program is individually designed by the student and a faculty committee. One introductory course (3 cr), attendance at Departmental Seminars (3 cr), quantitative or qualitative methods (3 cr), portfolio assessment (1-3 cr), pre-candidacy reseearch (min. 3 cr), optional elective courses, a dissertation proposal defense, a minimum of 12 dissertation credits after advancement to candidacy, and a dissertation. For those enterinig with a masters degree in geography, the PhD should be completed withing 4 years; For those entering with batchelors or without a geography background, the PhD should be completed within 5 years. Part-time study takes longer, but at least 1 year full-time attendance is required. Students entering with a B.A. or without a Geography background will take one course each in the following areas: Human, Physical, and Methods. See the PhD Handbook for further details.
Facilities and Special Resources
The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is an exceptional location in which to pursue geographic research. Many national and international agencies are within a short distance of the campus, including the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the National Archives, Bureau of the Census, National Institutes of Health, USGS, National Geospatial Imaging Agency, Smithsonian Institution, and NOAA. International and non-governmental agencies are located within easy reach, including the National Geographic Society, the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, World Bank, and many others. Corporations, businesses and nonprofit organizations that use geographical applications are also well represented. Libraries on campus and nearby are unrivaled elsewhere in the world. The University is also located in a region of extraordinary geographic diversity, including two major urban centers (Baltimore and Washington, D.C.), and the superb, continuous section from the Appalachian mountains, through the Piedmont, Coastal Plain, and Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Coast.
Many opportunities exist for students to participate in externally funded research projects. Graduate students find these research programs a rich source of ideas for dissertations as well as providing opportunities to join projects as paid research assistants and, often, identifying openings for employment on completion of their studies.
The Department is housed in over 35,000 sq. ft. on the main College Park campus. Teaching laboratories include facilities for cartography, GIS, and the Turner laboratories dedicated to computer-based instruction, while other facilities needed for virtually any type of investigation are available through collaborations with other departments. There are two primary computer environments, namely PC and UNIX, with over 100 machines dedicated to teaching and graduate research. The research laboratories support UNIX, Linux, and high-end PC machines, including very high performance processors and peripherals and large volume RAID arrays. There are a large number of printers, magnetic disk farms, tape libraries, etc. An extensive range of software is available, including satellite data processing, image analysis, and ESRI GIS packages. Field research, remote sensing, global positioning systems, and other types of equipment are available.
Financial Assistance
Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, and various Fellowships are available. Salary is for 9.5 months per year. Assistants work 20 hours per week. Fellowship recipients have no work assignment. Depending upon resources, the department will provide up to four years of funding, provided the student meets the department's benchmarks (see the PhD Handbook). Applications are made on the University Graduate Admission Application and further information about Financial Aid is given in the Application. Note, residents of certain Southern States without equivalent Geography graduate programs may be eligible to receive tuition at the lower, in-state fee rates.
Contact Information
More detailed information on the MPS and Ph.D. programs can be obtained by reviewing the Department's Graduate Programs Program Web Site. Call or e-mail Assistant Director of Academic Programs for more information. To arrange consultations with the Graduate Director and individual faculty, call the Department at (301)-405-8085.
Assistant Director of Academic Programs
2181 LeFrak Hall
MD
20742
Telephone: (301) 405-8085 or (301) 405-4050
Fax: (301) 314-9299
crossgro@umd.edu
http://www.geog.umd.edu/
