Geography Graduate Degrees

The Geography Department offers master's degrees (M.S. and M.A.) that prepare students for professional positions in government and the private sector, or to pursue a Ph.D.

The program has many strengths, including its flexibility, the close working relationships between faculty members and students, and interdisciplinary connections with International Studies, Environmental Studies, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

The department has approximately 20 graduate students, most of whom receive financial aid from the department or elsewhere on campus.

Geography Graduate Courses & Resources

Graduate Geography Courses

Graduate Handbook

Graduate Student Directory

Thesis Forms

• Thesis Proposal Defense Form [PDF]. Students should take this form to their thesis proposal defense, which should take place by the end of their first year, or no later than the fifth week of their third semester (excluding summer). This form is to be signed after the thesis committee approves the proposal, then delivered to the department's Administrative Specialist.
• Thesis and Dissertation Services. Students must follow Thesis and Dissertation Services instructions on completing the thesis. They should familiarize themselves with the requirements and deadlines as soon as they start to write their thesis. The following two forms are required for the defense and must be submitted to the Graduate Chair.
• Arrangement for Oral Defense [PDF]. This form must be delivered to the department's Administrative Specialist and distributed to committee members at least 14 days before the date of the oral thesis defense. The final copies of the manuscript must be in the hands of your committee 14 days before the date of the examination.
• Report of Oral Thesis Examination and Dissertation Defense [PDF]. This form must be delivered to the department's Administrative Specialist, who will send it to the college, as soon as all parts of the oral defense are complete and the final content of the thesis is approved.
• Exit Survey. Complete this form within one week of adviser's signing of Oral Thesis Examination report.