College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: geoggsc@iu.edu

Departmental URL: https://geography.indiana.edu/

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Apply electronically for admission: http://graduate.indiana.edu/admissions/apply.shtml/

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy. 

Special Departmental Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Grades

B (3.0) average or higher; B in core courses.

Master of Arts Degree

Admission Requirements

Undergraduate major in geography or its equivalent. Applicants not meeting this requirement may be expected to take addi­tional work.

Fields of Study

Cities, Development and Justice; Climate and Environmental Change; Food and Agriculture; Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing; Water Resources.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 30 credit hours, including a core curriculum consisting of G500, G501, and two of three methods courses: G588, G576, or either G538 or G535. In addition, each student should select one topical field of concentration and com­plete a minimum of 9 graduate credits in that field.

Thesis or Research Papers

Students have the option of writing a thesis (G850) or two research papers (G845). Up to 6 credit hours are allowed for G850 and G845 and up to 3 credit hours are given for each research paper.

Final Examination

Oral examination covering the topic of specialization, the thesis or research papers, and other aspects of geography.

Master of Science Degree

Admissions Requirements

Undergraduate major in geography, environmental science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, or equivalent. Ap­plicants not meeting this requirement may be expected to take additional work.

Fields of Study

Cities, Development and Justice; Climate and Environmental Change; Food and Agriculture; Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing; Water Resources.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 30 credit hours, including a core curriculum consisting of G500, G501, and two of three methods courses: G588, G576, or either G538 or G535. In addition, each student should select one topical field of concentration and com­plete a minimum of 9 graduate credits in that field.

Thesis or Research Papers

Students have the option of writing a thesis (G850) or two research papers (G845). Up to 6 credit hours are allowed for G850 and G845 and up to 3 credit hours are given for each research paper.

Final Examination

Oral examination covering the topic of specialization, the thesis or research papers, and other aspects of geography.

Master of Science in Geography with Specialization in Climate and Environmental Change

Requirements are the same as for the M.S. in Geography, with the additional requirement of a minimum of 9 graduate credits in the field of climate and environmental change. Suitable courses include but are not limited to:

• GEOG-G 505 Ecological Climatology
• GEOG-G 532 Physical Climatology
• GEOG-G 540 Topics in Environmental Geography
• GEOG-G 544 Climate Change Impacts
• GEOG-G 550 Field Methods in Physical Geography
• GEOG-G 551 Physical Hydrology
• GEOG-G 552 Tree-Ring Science
• GEOL-G 577 Topics in Climatology
• GEOG-G 588 Applied Spatial Statistics
• GEOG-G 589 Advanced Geospatial Data Analysis in Python
• GEOG-G 602 Topical Seminar in Climate, Land, & Environmental Change 

Master of Science in Geography with Specialization in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing

 Requirements are the same as for the M.S. in Geography, with the additional requirement of a minimum of 9 graduate credits in the field of geographic information systems and remote sensing. Suitable courses include but are not limited to:

• GEOG-G 535 Environmental Remote Sensing
• GEOG-G 536 Advanced Remote Sensing: Digital Image Processing
• GEOG-G 538 Geographic Information Systems
• GEOG-G 539 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
• EAS-G 584 GIS Applications in Geology
• GEOG-G 588 Applied Spatial Statistics
• GEOG-G 589 Advanced Geospatial Data Analysis in Python
• GEOG-G 639 GIS and Environmental Analysis

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Admission Requirements

Candidates who enter without a Masters will earn one before progressing to the Ph.D. 

Fields of Study

Cities, Development and Justice; Climate and Environmental Change; Food and Agriculture; Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing; Water Resources

Course Requirements

A minimum of 90 credit hours, including a core curriculum consisting of G500, G501, and two of three methods courses: G588, G576, or either G538 or G535.  A dissertation, defended and approved by the student's research committee, is also required.  Each student must select a major within the field of geography chosen from the fields of study listed above. Stu­dents must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours beyond the M.A./M.S. in the major. The dissertation must be written in the major field of study within geography.

Minors

At least one outside minor required. It should be closely related to the internal major and must be chosen from approved pro­grams of study outlined in this bulletin (unless exceptions are approved by the University Graduate School).

Qualifying Examination

Written and oral, covering the areas of concentration, other aspects of geography, and the tentative dissertation problem. In order to be recommended for candidacy to the PhD in geography, the student must pass a qualifying examination. At the time of examination, the student should have at least 60 graduate credits (including transfer credits) toward the PhD unless provided exemption from this requirement by their committee. Exemption from the 60 graduate credit requirement should be provided in writing to the DGS and/or Graduate Coordinator.

Research Proposal

The proposed research for the dissertation must be approved by the research committee.

Final Examination

Oral defense of the dissertation.

Ph.D. Minor in Geography

The requirements for the Ph.D. minor in geography are flexible. A student’s specific program should be developed in consultation with the minor-field advisor in geography. Typical fields include Cities, Development and Justice, Climate and Environmental Change, Food and Agriculture, Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing, and Water Resources. A minimum of 9 credit hours of course work.

Ph.D. in Geography with Specialization in Climate and Environmental Change

Requirements

Requirements are the same as the Ph.D. in Geography, with the additional requirement of a minimum of 12 credit hours in Climate and Environmental Change beyond the M.S. in Geography with a Specialization in Climate and Environmental Change. Suitable courses include but are not limited to the list that appears under the course requirements for the M.S. in Geography with a Specialization in Climate and Environmental Change (above).

Ph.D. in Geography with Specialization in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing

Requirements

Requirements are the same as the Ph.D. in Geography, with the additional requirement of a minimum of 12 credit hours in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing beyond the M.S. in Geography with a specialization in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing. Suitable courses include but are not limited to the list that appears under the course requirements for the M.S. in Geography with a specialization in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing (above).

Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing

Students must be enrolled in a degree program and must complete a minimum of 15 credit hours in geographic information systems and remote sensing coursework including:

1. Both GEOG-G535 Environmental Remote Sensing and GEOG-G538 Geographic Information Systems.
2. GEOG-G536 Advance Remote Sensing or GEOG-G539 Advanced Geographic Information Systems.
3. One course (3 cr. hrs.) selected from:
   • GEOG-G588 Applied Spatial Statistics
   • GEOG-G589 Advanced Geospatial Data Analysis in Python
   • EAS-G584 GIS Applications in Geology
   • SPEA-E518 Vector-Based Geographic Information Systems
   • SPEA-E519 Applied Remote Sensing of the Environment
   • SPEA-E529 Applications in GIS
   • SPH-R580 GIS and Spatial Data Applications in Public Health
   • SPH-E660 Spatial Epidemiology and Disease Mapping
   • GEOG G639 GIS and Environmental Analysis