GEOGRAPHY

www.bsu.edu/geog

Cooper Life Science Building 425, 765-285-1776

MASTER OF SCIENCE (MS) IN GEOGRAPHY

This program is designed to provide a solid background in skills such as remote sensing, GIS, and advanced cartography to be applied to various sub-disciplines of geography and allied fields. The demands for skilled work force in these fields continues to expand in industries, business, and government, both locally and nationally. The Internet has paved the way for different types of archived and present data to be available to the public and government in a timely manner. With globalization, employers are looking for people who are skilled in the above fields. An intricate combination of several factors such as growing and changing world economy, changing environment, mobility of multinational corporations, and data availability through various sources have created a major demand for remote sensing and GIS techniques. The specialized courses in remote sensing, GIS, and advanced cartography are designed for students who are interested in handling various types of spatial data.

The Department of Geography is equipped with leading software in remote sensing, GIS and cartography. The department’s experienced faculty members can accommodate the needs of students with varied interests.

Admission requirements

Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate School.

Degree requirements

Requires 30 hours including the research requirement. Undergraduate deficiencies must be fulfilled as needed. Specialized programs apply state-of-the-art technologies such as remote sensing, geographic information systems, and advanced cartography in various subdisciplines of geography, atmospheric science, and allied sciences. The requirements are flexible and allow students to arrange programs of study that will serve as a basis for further graduate study; as preparation for positions in industry, business, and government; or as a way to meet the immediate and changing needs of teachers and educators.

Course requirements

All students must complete 9 semester hours of core courses, 15 semester hours of directed electives, and 6 semester hours of Thesis (THES 698).

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Core requirements

GEOG 610 Geog Thought 3

615 Res Methods 3

618 Quant Geog 3

Directed electives, 15 hours

GEOG 525 Phys Meteor (3)

530 Wea Analysis (3)

531 Glob Climate (3)

532 Clim Change (3)

534 Atmos Hazard (3)

535 Satrad Meteo (3)

540 Cart Vis 1 (3)

542 Intr Rem Sen (3)

543 Adv Rem Sens (3)

544 Adv GIS Anly (3)

545 GIS App Desg (3)

546 Sem Rem Sen (3)

547 Thermo Meteo (3)

548 GIS Sys Desg (3)

549 Synop Meteor (3)

550 Sev Loc Stor (3)

551 Dynamic Mete (3)

570 World Pol Ge (3)

590 F Obs Sev LS (6)

614 Prob Tch ES (3-6)

620 Seminar Geog (3)

625 Spl Tps GIS (3-6)

630 Spl Tps Cart (3-6)

635 Spl Tps R S (3-6)

640 Spl Tps Atmo (3)

680 D A Field St (1-6)

690 Prof Intern (1-3)

695 Rdgs Sp Stud (1-3) 15

Thesis requirement

THES 698 Thesis (1-6) 6

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30 hrs

MINOR IN GIScience

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Core requirements, 6 hours

GEOG 542 Intr Rem Sen 3

544 Adv GIS Anly 3

9 hours from

GEOG 543 Adv Rem Sens (3)

545 GIS App Desg (3)

546 Sem Rem Sen (3)

548 GIS Sys Desg (3)

625 Spl Tps GIS (3-6)

635 Spl Tps R S (3-6) 9

———

15 hrs

GEOGRAPHY (GEOG)

525 Physical Meteorology. (3). Study of the physical processes of the atmosphere with a focus on solar and terrestrial radiation, clouds, and precipitation.

Prerequisite: GEOG 330 or 530; MATHS 165; PHYCS 120 or permission of the instructor.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 425.

530 Weather Analysis. (3) Presentation and practice of synoptic- and meso-scale diagnostic analysis techniques, including a review of satellite and radar remote sensing systems and image interpretation. Introduction to numerical weather prediction.

Prerequisite: GEOG 230 or equivalent.

531 Global Climate. (3) Introduction to the dynamics of the global climate system. Emphasizes the physical processes that force spatial variability in climate, and the feed-back mechanisms associated with global teleconnections and climate change.

Prerequisite: GEOG 330 or 530.

532 Climate Change and Modification. (3) Study of the variability of climate over time and space, and factors involved. Focuses on past climates, modeling of future climates, and modification at local or microscale.

Prerequisite: GEOG 230 or permission of the instructor.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 332.

534 Atmospheric Hazards. (3) Examination of the causes, consequences, and spatial distribution of hazards deriving from or impacting the atmosphere. Both the physical properties and processes of natural hazards (e.g. hurricanes, tornadoes, biochemical) and the human actions and reactions to these hazards will be emphasized at the local, regional, and global scales.

Prerequisite: GEOG 101 or GEOL 101 or permission of the instructor.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 334.

535 Satellite and Radar Meteorology. (3) Study of the platforms and sensors of satellite and radar remote sensing systems used in meteorology and climatology. Emphasis is on satellite and radar products and their interpretation.

Prerequisite: GEOG 330 or 530; MATHS 165; PHYCS 120; or permission of the instructor.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 435.

540 Cartography and Visualization of Spatial Data. (3) Introduction to cartographic methods for the visualization and analysis of geographic phenomena. Principles of design are stressed with particular emphasis on methods for symbolizing point, line, and area elements, and the principles and use of color in cartography. Students produce publication quality maps using an industry standard software.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 340.

542 Introduction to Remote Sensing. (3) Principles of remote sensing and its applications on Earth resources. Topics include the physics of remote sensing, aerial photo interpretation, photogrammetry, multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal infrared remote sensing, RADAR/LIDAR, remote sensing of vegetation, water, and soils.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 342.

543 Advanced Remote Sensing. (3) Digital image processing techniques utilized to analyze remotely sensed data. Topics include remote sensing data collection, image pre-processing, image enhancement, image classification, post classification analysis, and multi-temporal data analysis for change detection.

Prerequisite: GEOG 542.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 343.

544 Advanced Geographic Information Systems Analysis. (3) Examination and use of analysis techniques in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Introduction to basic GIS programming. Diagramming GIS logic and processing flows. Exposure to widely used GIS data models.

Prerequisite: GEOG 240, 265; or permission of the instructor.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 344.

545 Geographic Information Systems Applications Design and Development. (3) Fundamentals of geographic information system (GIS) programming. Develop and implement customized GIS applications. Exposure to widely used GIS software-programming environments.

Prerequisite: GEOG 265, 544; or permission of the instructor.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 445.

546 Seminar in Advanced Techniques in Remote Sensing. (3) Advanced techniques applied to remotely sensed data using state-of-the-art software. Review of current methods of computer and manual interpretation techniques. Includes active participation in classroom presentations.

Prerequisite: GEOG 542, 543; or permission of the instructor.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 443.

547 Thermodynamic Meteorology. (3) Application of physical gas laws such as the equation of state and hydrostatic equation to investigate adiabatic processes and parcel theory as they relate to atmospheric instability and connective development.

Prerequisite: GEOG 330 or 530; MATHS 165, 166; PHYCS 120, 122 or permission of the instructor.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 447.

548 Geographic Information System Design. (3) Principles of Geographic Information System (GIS) design. Implementation of GIS technology. Database and user-interface design. Practical experience applying advanced GIS tools to analyze spatial data. Workshop format requires student-motivated projects.

Prerequisite: GEOG 544.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 448.

549 Synoptic Meteorology. (3) Investigation of synoptic- and mesobeta-scale atmospheric systems, with a focus on analysis and forecasting through the use of satellite, radar, and numerical weather predication technology.

Prerequisite: GEOG 330 or 530; MATHS 165; PHYCS 120 or permission of the instructor.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 449.

550 Severe Local Storms. (3) Survey of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Focuses on storm processes and the forecasting of severe local storm events.

Prerequisite: GEOG 330 or 530.

551 Dynamic Meteorology. (3) Study of the variables that explain four-dimensional atmospheric behavior with primary focus on synoptic-scale processes. Special attention is given to the governing equations and associated approximation and assumption relevant to numerical weather prediction.

Prerequisite: GEOG 330 or 530; MATHS 165, 166; PHYCS 120, 122 or permission of the instructor.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 451.

570 World Political Geography. (3) Analysis of the contribution of physical and cultural characteristics of the nations of the world to foreign relations problems.

Not open to students who have credit in GEOG 470.

590 Field Observation of Severe Local Storms. (6) Field trip to the Great Plains region to observe severe local storms. Begins with two three-hour, on-campus lecture periods, followed by a four-week period of field observation, then concludes with three two-hour, on-campus trip-review lectures.

Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

610 History of Geographic Thought. (3) Focuses on the role of geography in the evolution of the physical and social sciences. Traces paradigms from the premodern period of geography through its emergence as an academic discipline to its present-day applications and theory.

614 Problems in the Teaching of Earth Science. (3-6) Primarily for experienced teachers: discussion and solution of problems teachers have had in teaching the concepts of earth science, physical geography, and geology.

A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned.

615 Research Methods in Geography. (3) Examination of research-related topics relevant to first-year graduate study in geography. Focuses on use of the scientific method in solving geographic problems, although topics such as ethics, integrity, professionalism, philosophy, research project designs, and professional presentations are covered.

618 Quantitative Methods in Geography. (3) A study of quantitative techniques used in geographic research that focus on the solution of spatial problems. Emphasizes geographic and spatial data, geographic research inferences, point pattern analysis, areal association, and factor analysis in geography.

Prerequisite: MATHS 221 or equivalent.

620 Seminar in Geography. (3) Small group discussion of geographic problems selected by instructional staff and depending on students’ interest.

A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned, but no more than 3 in any one semester or term.

Open only to majors in geography and related fields.

625 Special Topics in GIS. (3) Topics chosen from current research areas in applied GIS and from advanced topics in GIS data representation. Possible topics include advanced spatial models and object modeling with geodatabases.

Prerequisite: GEOG 544, 545; or permission of the instructor.

A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned, but no more than 3 in any one semester or term.

630 Special Topics in Advanced Cartography. (3) Advanced study exploring contemporary research in cartographic techniques and production. Topics include trends in cartographic research, academic and commercial sources of cartographic information, and the impact of information technology. Topics vary depending on the needs of the students.

Prerequisite: GEOG 340 or 540 or equivalent.

A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned, but no more than 3 in any one semester or term.

Open only to geography majors.

635 Special Topics in Remote Sensing. (3) Research in remote sensing using advanced techniques applied to a field of study such as land use, vegetation, climatology, agriculture, or environmental problems. Research activities are accompanied by presentations on advanced remote-sensing topics.

Prerequisite: GEOG 542, 543.

A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned, but no more than 3 in any one semester or term.

640 Special Topics in Atmospheric Science. (3) The study of a topic in atmospheric science within the expertise of the instructor. Examples include such areas as land-surface-atmosphere interactions, meso-scale meteorology, hydroclimatology, climate change, and tropical weather and climate.

Prerequisite: GEOG 530.

A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned, but no more than 3 in any one semester or term.

Open only to majors in geography and related fields.

653 Geography of Indiana. (3) A geographic examination of the physical, cultural, and economic diversity of the state. Field experience with assigned projects supplements classroom activities.

680 Distant Areas Field Studies. (1-6) Physical, economic, and cultural geography in areas distant from the campus. Includes seminars arranged during travel.

Prerequisite: permission of the department chairperson.

A total of 12 hours of credit may be earned, but no more than 6 in any one semester or term.

Open only to students in geography, earth science, and allied subjects.

690 Professional Internship. (1-3) Paid or unpaid supervised field and laboratory experience in public or private agencies.

A total of 3 hours of credit may be earned.

695 Readings and Special Studies in Geography. (1-3) Special assigned studies in various sub-fields of geography including readings and research projects.

A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned, but no more than 3 in any one semester or term.