Admission Requirements
For admission to graduate study for the Master of Science in Geographic Information Science (MS in GIS) degree, a student normally should have completed the minimum preparation for an undergraduate major in geography or GIScience related fields with a 3.00 grade point average in all work. Students with majors in other fields are encouraged to apply. Normally such students are admitted on a conditional basis, with the student required to take courses to remedy deficiencies.
The prerequisites of the program are Geog 380, Geog 496, and Geog 488 or equivalents.
In addition to the general University admission requirements for advanced degrees, the student must provide letters of recommendation from three faculty members of colleges previously attended. Applicants are also required to submit a GIS portfolio that highlights their prior GIS training or experience.
Students for whom English is a second language must present a score of at least 550 (paper-based) or 213 (computer-based) in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with their application for admission.
Degree Requirements
Students will plan a program of study with an adviser and other members of the supervisory committee during the first term of residence (the first term after admission to the program). The program of study must include a minimum of 45 graduate credits. Of these, a minimum of 32 graduate credits must be in geography, to include 6 credits of Geog 509 (GIS Practicum), 10 credits of core geography courses, 8 credits in core GIS competency courses, 4 credits in non-GIS, topical courses, at least two courses (6-8 credits) from one of the five specialized geospatial data science focus areas, and 9-11 elective credits to meet the 45 credits required by the program.
Students in the program must complete a project-based practicum. The practicum requires the presentation of the student’s practicum project into a topic approved by the student's graduate committee, which may include a community partner. The practicum represents an original contribution to knowledge in the field of GIScience and normally involves working with a community partner. A final oral presentation of the project and a project report are required for completion of the degree.
The School follows the University requirement for minimum and continuous enrollment.
The program consists of coursework in the following areas:
Core GIS Competency Courses
Geog 590 | GIS Programming | 4 |
Geog 575 | Spatial Database Design and Applications | 4 |
Geog 597 | Advanced Spatial Quantitative Analysis | 4 |
Total Credit Hours: | 8 |
Non-GIS Topical
4 credits of graduate-level non-GIS courses (with approval of the committee)
Specialized Geospatial Data Science Focus Area
Take two courses in one of the focus areas:
Area 1: Remote sensing and digital image analysis
Geog 580 | Fundamentals of Remote Sensing | 4 |
Geog 581 | Digital Image Analysis I: Introduction | 4 |
Geog 582 | Digital Image Analysis II: Advanced Remote Sensing | 4 |
Geog 577 | Photogrammetry and LiDAR | 2 |
Area 2: Cartography and geovisualization
Area 3: Computer and information sciences
CS 520 | Object-Oriented Programming & Design | 3 |
CS 547 | Computer Graphics | 3 |
CS 554 | Software Engineering | 3 |
Geog 575 | Spatial Database Design and Applications | 4 |
Geog 590 | GIS Programming | 4 |
Area 4: Spatial statistics and quantitative methods
ESM 566/CE 566 | Environmental Data Analysis | 4 |
ESM 567 | Multivariate Analysis of Environmental Data | 4 |
Geog 597 | Advanced Spatial Quantitative Analysis | 4 |
Area 5: System and data science
CS 541 | Artificial Intelligence | 3 |
CS 542 | Advanced Artificial Intelligence: Combinatorial Games | 3 |
CS 543 | Advanced Artificial Intelligence: Combinatorial Search | 3 |
CS 545 | Machine Learning | 3 |
SySc 514 | System Dynamics | 4 |
SySc 525 | Agent Based Simulation | 4 |
SySc 527 | Discrete System Simulation | 4 |
SySc 531 | Data Mining with Information Theory | 4 |
SySc 535 | Modeling & Simulation with R and Python | 4 |
SySc 540 | Introduction to Network Science | 4 |
SySc 552 | Game Theory | 4 |
SySc 575 | AI: Neural Networks I | 4 |
Total Credit Hours: | 6-8 |
Students may need to complete additional courses to meet the prerequisite requirements for a course. Please check with the instructor before registering.
GIS Practicum
Core Geography Courses
Electives
Graduate-level GIS courses or seminars:
G 525 | Field GIS | 4 |
Geog 507 | Seminar: Speaker Series | 1 |
Geog 576 | 3D Terrain Analysis & Visualization | 2 |
Geog 594 | GIS for Water Resources | 4 |
Total Credit Hours: | 9-11 |
Other elective courses may be approved by the committee.