Geography

School of Liberal Arts
Indianapolis

Chairperson
Associate Professor Timothy Brothers

Departmental E-mail
geogdept@iupui.edu

Departmental URL
www.iupui.edu/~geogdept/

Graduate Faculty
Degrees Offered
Special Departmental Requirements
Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science
Master of Science in Geographic Information Science
Courses

Graduate Faculty

(An asterisk [*] denotes associate membership in University Graduate School faculty.)

Professor
Catherine Souch

Associate Professors
Timothy Brothers*, Jeffrey Wilson

Assistant Professor
Owen Dwyer*

Director of Graduate Studies
Associate Professor Jeffrey Wilson, Cavanaugh Hall 317, (317) 274-1128

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Degrees Offered

Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science and Master of Science in Geographic Information Science

Special Departmental Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Grades
B (3.0) average or higher.

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Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science

Admission Requirements
Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Recommended minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0. Appropriate work experience also will be taken into account in making decisions about admission. Three letters of recommendation and a personal statement.

Course Requirements
Minimum of 15 credit hours, including a core curriculum consisting of G535, G538, and G539. The remaining couses are to be chosen from G536, G539, and G588.

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Master of Science in Geographic Information Science

Admission Requirements
Undergraduate degree in geography or related discipline. Recommended minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0. Appropriate work experience also will be taken into account when making decisions about admission. Satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examinations, three letters of recommendation, and personal statement.

Course Requirements
A minimum of 30 credit hours including core requirements in GIS theory and methods from three of the following four courses: (G535, G537, G538, G588). All students must take G560 and G539.

Thesis or Research Papers
Students have the option of writing a thesis (G580) or two research papers (G845). Up to 6 credit hours are allowed for a thesis and up to 3 credit hours are given for each research paper.

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Courses

G535 Introduction to Remote Sensing (3 cr.) Principles of remote sensing of the earth and its atmosphere, emphasizing satellite data in visible, infrared, and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Emphasis on practical applications and digital image analysis. A satellite data analysis project is required.

G536 Advanced Remote Sensing: Digital Image Processing (3 cr.) P: G535 or consent of instructor. Advanced remote sensing theory and digital image processing techniques with an emphasis on environmental science applications. Hands-on computer exercises provide significant experience in digital image processing techniques for extraction of qualitative and quantitative information about Earth's terrestrial and aquatic environments.

G537 Computer Cartography and Graphics (3 cr.) Compilation, design, production, and evaluation of maps and related graphic materials. Includes cartometric procedures, symbolization, color use guidelines, map typography, photographic manipulations, computer animation, and geographic visualization techniques.

G538 Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.) Overview of the principles and practices of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Spatial data models, database design, introductory and intermediate GIS, operations and case studies of real-world GIS applications. Laboratory exercises will provide significant hands-on experience. Lecture and laboratory.

G539 Advanced Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.) P: G538 or consent of instructor. Intermediate and advanced topics in geographic information science and spatial analysis techniques using GIS software. This advanced course is for students who seek a greater understanding of this rapidly developing field and to learn how to construct, manage, and analyze their own GIS data and models.

G560 Geography Internship (1-4 cr.) P: graduate level courses in geography and consent of instructor. Faculty-directed study of geographical problems based on an internship experience. Student's area of placement must be related to major field of study. Offered fall, spring, and each summer session. Student may complete more than one internship, but total credit earned cannot exceed 4 credit hours.

G588 Applied Spatial Statistics (3 cr.) P: consent of instructor. Extension of traditional statistical analysis to spatial data. Spatial means and spatial variances, the examination of differences in samples over space, spatial autocorrelation, nearest neighbor analysis, map comparison techniques. Emphasis on practical applications.

G639 Topical Seminar in Geographic Information Science (3 cr.) Applications of geographic information science principles in the collection and analysis of spatial data. Integration of GIS, remote sensing, and GPS technologies. Review of current literature on techniques, theory, technology, and applications with an emphasis on environmental topics. Discussion, laboratory, and research project.

G845 Master's Papers (1-6 cr.) P: consent of instructor. Research papers under supervision of faculty.

G850 Master's Thesis (cr. arr.; 6 cr. max.)** Thesis.

**This course is eligible for a deferred grade.

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