Degree Requirements
Students are assumed to possess a basic knowledge of cartography, geographic information systems and statistics. These prerequisites can be completed by taking the equivalent of GEOG 2000, 2020 and 2100. Incoming students without a background in geography must take or audit NATS 1201-2-3 (E-Systems) and SOCS 1410 (People, Places and Landscapes).
CREDIT-HOUR REQUIREMENTS
There are two options within this degree program:
- course-work track — requires 60 credit hours
- project track — requires 52 credit hours
All students will initially enter the program under the course-work option.
MS-GIS COURSE-WORK TRACK
A minimum of 60 quarter hours is required, including:
- GEOG 3000 Advanced Statistics
- GEOG 3010 Geographic Information Analysis
- GEOG 3040 GPS for Resource Mapping
- GEOG 3130 Advanced GIS
- GEOG 3140 GIS Database Design
- GEOG 3200 Remote Sensing
- GEOG 4000 Fundamental Geographic Perspectives
- GEOG 4100 Application Design & Production
- GEOG 4900 Geography Colloquium
- GEOG 4994 Report
at least 16 hours of geography or geology course work and at least 12 hours of electives. No more than 24 quarter hours will be accepted in transfer from the GIS certificate program.
All MS-GIS students in the course-work track are required to contribute one or more technical reports to the GIS Technical Library. Students will create a portfolio of projects generated primarily from GEOG 4100 Application Design and Production.
MS-GIS PROJECT TRACK
Students interested in pursuing the project option must reach an agreement with a faculty member willing to advise them on a mutually acceptable project.
A minimum of 52 quarter hours is required, including:
- GEOG 3000 Advanced Geographic Statistics
- GEOG 3010 Geographic Information Analysis
- GEOG 3040 GPS for Resource Mapping
- GEOG 3140 GIS Database Design
- GEOG 3150 GIS Project Management
- GEOG 3200 Remote Sensing
- GEOG 4000 Fundamental Geographic Perspectives
- GEOG 4020 Research Identification
- GEOG 4040 Research Methodology
- GEOG 4900 Geography Colloquium
- GEOG 4993 Project
at least 12 hours of geography or geology course work; and at least 8 hours of electives. No more than 24 quarter hours will be accepted in transfer from the GIS certificate program. The identification of a project is the purpose of the one-unit Project Identification course, typically taken during the spring quarter of the first year of attendance.
Students will be required to produce a final project of professional quality demonstrating their ability to apply geographic information science to the chosen area of specialization. The project is done for and with a company, agency, nongovernmental organization or faculty member who is referred to as the client. The project must actually be used by the client and may be predominantly technical in nature or may include a research component.
The project must demonstrate a mastery of one or more of the several geo-technologies. It must require the student to engage in all facets of a project, from design to implementation.
PROJECT PRESENTATION
Each student is required to prepare and present a project proposal and have it formally approved by his/her faculty committee.
FINAL PROJECT EXAMINATION
Upon completion of required course work, proposal approval and the project, each student will undergo a final project examination. This exam is usually about two hours in length. The examination will address the requirements of the project research.