Geographic Information Sciences for Development and Environment

The Master of Arts program in Geographic Information Science for Development and Environment (GISDE) teaches students to become professionals in careers where they apply the world’s most advanced computer mapping and spatial analysis technologies to address crucial issues concerning socioeconomic development and environmental science and policy.

A program in collaboration with IDCE and Clark University’s School of Geography, the GISDE program is unique is a variety of ways. It focuses specifically on applications of geospatial technologies to problems of sustainable development and the environment, such as:

• Public health and environmental justice

• Global change and earth system monitoring

• Land use change

• Food Security and humanitarian assistance

The Idrisi and Clark Labs Advantage

Clark University produces the GIS software, Idrisi, which thirty-five thousand professionals use worldwide. It is the only academic institution in the world with a successful 20-year history of GIS and remote sensing software development. Therefore, GISDE students have a unique opportunity to learn the analytical power of raster GIS using Idrisi.

The GISDE Experience

GISDE alumni pursue their passions concerning sustainable development and environmental protection in meaningful careers where they apply hi-tech skills that they learned in the GISDE program.

Numerous opportunities exist for students to conduct collaborative research with IDCE faculty as they pursue their research on issues such as water quality, land use change, and global climate change the world over. Many GISDE students have co-published findings of their research with faculty members in respected journals in the field.

Local Partnerships: Putting Theory into Action

The collaborative research projects of IDCE graduate students and faculty reflect their interdisciplinary approach to issues of environment and development. Many projects build upon partnerships between IDCE and community or governmental organizations around the United States and the globe, including in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Somalia, Ghana, India and Senegal.

Locally, environmental and community groups often invite IDCE to undertake key community building projects, as well as data gathering and analysis. This allows IDCE faculty and students to put theory into practice right in the neighborhood. By helping to facilitate participatory sessions and building collaborations, students see Worcester neighbors taking action, setting priorities, and maximizing into their human capital and governmental resources. Students hone their analytical skills through GIS mapping of land parcels for development or preservation and through monitoring water quality.

For more information about current Research Activities going on at IDCE, visit www.clarku.edu/departments/idce/researchActivities.cfm.

About Geographic Information Sciences for Development and Environment

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