PhD - Doctor of Philosophy in Geography

Geography is the study of human use and interaction with the Earth and the identification of spatial and temporal variation in natural and human processes. Geography uses principles of mathematics, social science, and natural science to analyze and interpret change in the environment. Many geographic studies require a combination of field, laboratory and computational work. Geography plays an important role in urban and land use planning, resource evaluation, environmental analysis, education and cartography. Majors in Geography develop a background in regional geography, resource geography, geographic information science, physical geography, and in statistics and disciplines related to geography like geology, forestry, and anthropology. Course offerings combined with excellent facilities and supportive electives allow students to develop particular interests such as resource management, environmental analysis, land use planning and cartography/geographic information systems/remote sensing. The program has an applied orientation, placing emphasis on the application of geographic information science to environmental and resource utilization and problem solution. Master’s degree candidates may elect a thesis or non thesis option. Geography participates as one of the minors in Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies degree programs. One foreign language is required for the PhD degrees. Areas of Concentration: Geographic information science Physical geography Resource geography