MA Geography with a concentration in GIS

  •  The program typically requires one to two years of full-time study, although students can pursue the degree on a part-time basis. The department highly encourages students to consider internships to expand their learning experience
  • Students are able to earn an M.A. degree in Geography with specialization in Geographic Information Science after completing 30 credit hours of graduate coursework and a competency portfolio OR a research project.
  • We expect that students have some experience with GIS and quantitative methods (e.g. some university math or statistics).
  • High value benefits: Exceptional number of GIS faculty, regular meetings with faculty advisor as needed, affordable tuition, strong graduate students, access to NCGIA.
  • The GIS degree provides the high-impact experiential learning that develops skills employers are looking for.

Example curriculum to obtain MA in GIS in one-year

  • Fall (13-cr): GEO  504 Geography Seminar (1-cr), GEO 505 Univariate Statistics (4-cr), GEO 506 Geographic Information Systems (4-cr), GEO 553 Remote Sensing (4-cr)

  • Spring (14-cr): GEO 559 GIS for Environmental Modeling (4-cr), GEO 575 GIS Data Science Project Management (3-cr), GEO 590 Census Data and Their Use (3-cr), GEO 655 Scripting ArcGIS with Python (3-cr), GEO 631 Research Guidance (1-cr, to prepare competency portfolio)

  • Summer (3-cr): GEO 741 Geography Internship

Required Courses

Option 1: GEO 500 Introduction to Graduate Geography

              GEO 501 Research Design

              GEO 505* Univariate Statistics 

              GEO 506** Geographic Information Systems              

Option 2: GEO 504 Geography Seminar  

              One (1) GEO methods course (TBD)

              GEO 505* Univariate Statistics 

              GEO 506** Geographic Information Systems

Elective Courses

GEO 519 Transportation

GEO 530 Urban Geography

GEO 551 Cartography and Geographic Visualization

GEO 552 Special Topics in Cartography

GEO 553 Remote Sensing

GEO 555 GIS Algorithms and Data Structures

GEO 556 GIS Design

GEO 557 Thematic Cartography

GEO 559 GIS and Environmental Modeling

GEO 564 Mobility and Flows

GEO 574 Urban Transportation and Land Use Modeling

GEO 575 GIS Data Science Project Management

GEO 591 Introduction to Geographic Information Science

GEO 592 Cognitive Geography and Geographical Cognition

GEO 594 Geographic Information and Society

GEO 597 Geostatistics

GEO 605 Spatial Statistics

GEO 655 Advanced Topics in GIS

Tutorial Courses

GEO 534 Graduate Research Problems (Independent Study)

GEO 631 Research Guidance [used while working on portfolio or project)

GEO 742 Geography Internship

* May be waived from GEO 505 on a case-by-case basis with appropriate prior undergraduate training at the discretion of the DGS or Chair

** May be waived from GEO 506 on a case-by-case basis with appropriate prior undergraduate training at the discretion of the DGS or Chair

 

For more information on this graduate program, please send an email with your request to geog@buffalo.edu