Accelerated MA in Geographic Information Science

The master’s degree in Geographic Information Science requires the completion 10 graduate course credits, two of which are taken during the senior year and two of which are completed during the summer between the senior year and the fifth year. Three of the 10 credits are devoted to the completion of a master’s research project. The breakdown is as follows:

Senior year: Geog. 397 : Advanced Topics in GIS plus one additional 200- or 300- level course approved by the BA/MA Advisor. Candidates for the fifth year program are also required to develop a master’s research proposal, with a signed statement of support from two faculty sponsors who will act as the advisor and the reader. The proposal must include a three-semester work plan. See the Departmental Requirements section for details on timing.

Summer following senior year: a one-credit internship in Geographic Information Science and a one-credit directed research project associated with the master’s research project. This project is focused on database development for the Master’s project, and may be linked to the internship project. Typically, this course is completed off-campus. However, it requires frequent communication with the student’s advisor. Details of the mechanism for this communication must be included in the project proposal.

Fifth year: six graduate course credits (three per semester), of which one credit each semester will be devoted to the completion of the master’s research project. In April the student will be required to give an oral presentation of the findings of the master’s research project, along with other students in the GIS and GISDE masters programs. In addition, the student must submit to the BA/MA Advisor, by the end of the spring semester, a publication quality paper, associated with the project, certified by the student’s advisor and reader.

Of the six courses not associated with the master’s project and internship (taken during the senior and fifth years), a minimum of four must be directly associated with Geographic Information Science and two may be electives associated with the application area of specific interest to the student.

Departmental Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the fifth year MA program in Geographic Information Science, the student must complete a BA with a major (or second major) in Geography at Clark and meet all university requirements for entry into the fifth year program. In addition, the student will have needed to have completed Geography 190 Introduction to GIS, Geography 297 GIS and Local Planning, and Geography 397 Advanced Topics in GIS by the end of their senior year.

In accordance with these requirements, students who have declared their intention to apply for the fifth year program must submit a formal application to the Graduate School of Geography by October 15 of their senior year. Then by April 1 of the senior year, it is necessary to submit to the Geography BA/MA Program Advisor, evidence (such as a current transcript) that all course requirements will be met, and an approved Master’s Project proposal, signed by a Geography faculty advisor and a reader. The reader can, with the approval of the Geography BA/MA Program Advisor, be a faculty member from outside Geography. Final offers of admission will be made by the Graduate Dean.

Lab Fee

Because of the very heavy costs associated with hardware and software licensing in the GIS and Image Processing area, students will be required to pay a lab fee of $1000 per semester (fall and spring) during the completion of their fifth year program.

Contact Person

The Geography BA/MA Program Advisor is Professor Ron Eastman; 508-793-7336; reastman@clarku.edu.