Geography M.A.

Students in the M.A. program emphasize the human geographic subfields, including the human aspects of environmental geography. M.A. students use a humanities (qualitative) or social science approach in their studies.

Departmental strengths related to the M.A. degree include cultural-historical geography, cultural-political ecology, economic development and globalization, gender and development, agriculture and food studies, urban geography, and environmental planning and sustainability. Students pursuing an M.A. degree in Geography may also earn a GIS. 

Geography M.A. Courses & Degree Requirements

View Degree Requirements in the Official Academic Catalog

Complete a minimum of 40 credit hours. A maximum of two courses (up to 8 credit hours) may come from outside of the Geography Department.

In this two-year program, M.A. students may choose from three options for their culminating research experience: thesis, practicum, or capstone research project.

Students also pursue required and elective coursework, which includes two seminars of the student’s choosing. The first year emphasizes coursework and the development of a research question or project objectives under the guidance of the student’s selected faculty supervisor. Students take the research and writing course in their first fall semester to help prepare them for the research-based culminating experience. Students defend their thesis, practicum, or capstone research proposal at the end of the second semester to their advisory committee.

Any remaining courses are taken in the second year along with credit hours for pursuing their culminating research experience, conducted under the mentorship of the student’s advisory committee. The thesis, practicum, or capstone project defense and the advisory committee’s final approval typically occur in the student’s fourth semester. Because the master’s is our highest degree, our graduate students receive considerable careful and focused attention from our accomplished and award-winning faculty.

Geography Graduate Courses & Resources

Graduate Geography Courses

Graduate Handbook

Graduate Student Directory

Thesis Forms

• 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.
• 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.