| Program name: | Master of Arts in Geography (Nonthesis Option) |
|---|---|
| Type of program: | |
| The program will be offered at: |
| Existing courses required for completion of program: (list each individually, one course per line, with course number, title, and credit hours) | |
|---|---|
| 3350:505 Geographic Information Systems | |
| Courses new to university offering required for completion of program: (list each individually, one course per line, with course number, title, and credit hours) | |
| Deletion of required courses | |
| Existing courses which can be used as electives in program: (list each individually, one course per line, with course number, title, and credit hours; if options exist, list by option) | |
| 3350:507 Advanced GIS
3350:520 Urban Geography 3350:522 Transportation Systems Planning 3350:528 Industrial and Commercial Site Location 3350:533 Introduction to Planning 3350:536 Urban Land Use Analysis 3350:542 Thematic Cartography 3350:544 Applications in Cartography and GIS 3350:547 Remote Sensing 3350:548 Advanced Cartography 3350:549 Advanced Remote Sensing 3350:550 Development Planning 3350:571 Medical Geography and Health Planning 3350:595 Soil and Water Field Studies 3350:632 Land Use Planning Law 3350:633 Comparative Planning 3350:680 Advanced Spatial Analysis | |
| Courses new to university offering which can be used as electives in program: (list each individually, one course per line, with course number, title, and credit hours; if options exist, list by option) | |
| 3350:515 Environmental Planning | |
| Deletion of elective courses | |
| Change in number of elective credits | |
| Current: 21, New: 24 - Change in electives | |
| Change in number of required credits | |
| Current: 18 New: 21 | |
| Change in number of credits required for degree | |
| Current: 39 New: 45 | |
| Change in other degree requirements | |
| Change in admissions requirements for direct admits | |
| Current requirements: Proposed requirements: | |
| Change in admissions requirements for students using intercollege transfer | |
| Current requirements: Proposed requirements: | |
| Change in admissions requirements to a graduate program | |
| Current requirements: Proposed requirements: | |
| Implementation Plan | |
| This program change will go into effect for students beginning graduate studies in Fall 2000. Current graduate students may choose to follow new requirements with the permission of the Department Chair. | |
| Additional program requirements: | |
| Other information: | |
| Resource statement: | |
| Web components statement: | |
| Rationale: | |
| Changes in the degree requirements for the MA Geography, MS Geography, and MA Geography/Urban Planning are proposed to offer improvements in graduate education in the Department of Geography and Planning. Because the proposed changes provide more consistency among our graduate degrees, the same rationale is included for each degree.
* Standardize the number of credits (at 45) and offer a thesis option in each of the departmental master's degrees. Currently, the thesis option is available only in the MA in Geography and the degrees have variable number of credits. * Increase the research, writing, and data gathering skills required to complete each of the master's degrees offered in the department. Few of our recent graduates have opted for the thesis option, and we feel many of our students are not being adequately prepared in techniques and skills for modern research. The proposed change will be accomplished through the requirement of more seminars for all degrees, except the MA Geography non-thesis, which already required two seminars. * Increase the competence of all graduate students in Geographic Information Systems, an important new methodological area for both geographers and planners, by requiring students in all graduate degrees to complete our basic course in this area (3350:505). * Create a parallel structure for concentration areas in each of the three degrees: GIS/Remote Sensing, Environmental, and Urban/Economic. * Create a more logical set of core requirements and concentration areas for elective courses for each degree. * Limit the number of independent study credits to 3 and the number of thesis credits to 15 for any degree. This proposed change seems to allow the appropriate number of independent study and thesis credits, and will restrict students from accumulating too many such credits. These proposed changes will allow master's students in Geography and Planning to be better prepared for employment or further doctoral training upon graduation. | |
| Bulletin description: | |
| Master of Arts in Geography
Nonthesis Option A minimum of 45 credits, to include no more than 3 credits of independent study (3350:698) * Core Requirements (21 credits) 3350:505 Geographic Information Systems 3350:581 Research Methods in Geography and Planning 3350:583 Spatial Analysis 3350:596 Field Research Methods 3350:687 History of Geographic Thought 3350:600,601,602 Seminar (6 credits) * Electives (21 credits) Seven courses with at least 4 from either the Environmental concentration or the Urban/Economic concentration GIS/Remote Sensing 3350:507 Advanced Geographic Information Systems 3350:540 Principles of Cartography 3350:542 Thematic Cartography 3350:544 Applications in Cartography and GIS 3350:547 Remote Sensing 3350:548 Advanced Cartography 3350:549 Advanced Remote Sensing 3350:680 Advanced Spatial Analysis Environmental 3350:515 Environmental Planning (New course) 3350:533 Practical Approaches to Planning (New title) 3350:571 Medical Geography and Health Planning 3350:595 Soil and Water Field Studies 3350:632 Land Use Planning Law Urban/Economic 3350:520 Urban Geography 3350:522 Transportation Systems Planning 3350:528 Industrial and Commercial Site Location 3350:536 Urban Land Use Analysis 3350:539 History of Urban Design and Planning (New title) 3350:550 Development Planning 3350:633 Comparative Planning Any course taken outside the department must be approved in advance by the student's Graduate Advisor or the Department Chair. |