Bachelor of Arts/Master of Science in Geographic Information Science, BA/MS

Who is Eligible

Students majoring in geography, global environmental studies, earth system science, economics, international development and social change, or environmental science and policy can apply to the accelerated B.A./M.S. program in Geographic Information Science.

Requirements

To be eligible for the fifth year M.S. program in GISc, a student must meet all university requirements for entry into the fifth year program, as well as have completed Geography 190 Introduction to Geographic Information Science , Geography 206: Vector GIS cience, GEOG 293 - Introduction to Remote Sensing , and

In accordance with these requirements, students who have declared their intention to apply for the fifth year program must submit a formal application to the Graduate School of Geography by May 1 of their junior year. It is necessary to submit to the Geography B.A./M.S. Program Advisor, evidence (such as a current transcript) that all course requirements will be met, and an approved master’s thesis proposal, signed by a Geography faculty advisor and two Geography faculty readers. One reader can, with the approval of the Geography B.A./M.S. Program Advisor, be a faculty member from outside Geography. Final offers of admission will be made by the Graduate Dean.

Program of Study

The M.S. degree in Geography specializing in Geographic Information Science requires the completion of 10 graduate course credits, two of which are taken during the senior year and two of which are completed during the summer between the senior year and the fifth year. Three of the 10 credits are devoted to the completion of a master’s research project. The breakdown is as follows:

• Senior year:
  GEOG 296
    / GEOG 397 - Advanced Raster GIS  (please note prerequisites for GEOG 397  are GEOG 190: Intro to GIS  and GEOG 206: Vector GIScience ) and
  GEOG 293 - Introduction to Remote Sensing
   . Candidates for the fifth year program are also required to develop a master’s thesis proposal, with a signed statement of support from two faculty sponsors who will act as the advisor and the reader. The proposal must include a three-semester work plan. See the Departmental Requirements section for details on timing.
• Summer following senior year: a one-credit internship in Geographic Information Science. This internship is focused on database development for the Master’s thesis. Typically, this course is completed off-campus. However, it requires frequent communication with the student’s advisor. Details of the mechanism for this communication must be included in the thesis proposal.
• Fifth year: six graduate course credits (three per semester), of which one credit each semester will be devoted to the completion of the master’s research thesis. In April the student will be required to give an oral presentation of the findings of the master’s research thesis, along with other students in the GIS and GISDE masters programs. In addition, the student must submit to the B.A./M.S. Advisor, by the end of the spring semester, a publication quality paper, associated with the thesis, certified by the student’s advisor and readers. A credit in Directed Research is required for the the final summer.

Of the six courses not associated with the master’s thesis and internship (taken during the senior and fifth years), a minimum of four must be directly associated with Geographic Information Science and two may be electives associated with the application area of specific interest to the student.

Lab Fee

Students are required to pay a one-time Program Fee of $1,000 which is assessed in the first semester of graduate study. In addition, students in the Geography GIS program pay a $500 lab fee in both fall and spring semesters because of the very heavy costs associated with hardware and software licensing in the GIS and Image Processing area.

Graduate students also pay a $15.00 activity fee in the fall and in the spring semeter and a one-time Enrollment Fee of $100 in the first semester of graduate study.

Contact Person

(Signature required on Accelerated Degree Program Advisor Form)

Professor John Rogan

School of Geography

Jefferson Academic Center, Room 104

(508) 793-7562

jrogan@clarku.edu