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Master's Program in Geography

This document discusses the graduate programs leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Science (M.S.) degrees in Geography. Within these programs a student may pursue a curriculum that focuses on any geographic specialization, including the techniques, and culminates in the completion of a thesis. In addition, students interested in the techniques may elect the non-thesis Master of Science program.

Chronological List of Masters Degree Steps and Forms 

Program Requirements | Degree Specification | Academic Progress
Areas of Study | M.S. in GIS - Non-Thesis Option

M.A. and M.S. Program Requirements
The following requirements are applicable to the M.A. or M.S. degree with thesis and must be met by students in all areas of study. They are applicable also to students pursuing the non-thesis option in Geographic Information Science, except that 37 credit hours of graduate course work are required and one expanded research paper must be submitted in lieu of the thesis. All candidates must pass a comprehensive examination.

A. Course Work (minimum of 25 course credits, with at least 13 at the 700 level)

B. Residence Requirement
The minimum residence requirement for the Master's degree is two regular semesters of approximately 16 weeks each or the equivalent in summer sessions. Three to six semester hours of work in a five-week summer session constitute a full load; nine to twelve hours of course work constitute a full load in a regular session. The department considers six-thesis credit hours per semester to be a full load. Students on assistantships are expected to be enrolled for a minimum of nine hours of course work during the semester they hold the assistantship.

Six years is the maximum time allowed for completion of the Master's degree. If more than six years are spent in the program, special arrangements must be made with the Graduate School to revalidate credits in courses taken. Comprehensive examinations are valid for two years prior to completion of all degree requirements. Students who do not complete the program within the six-year period become subject to changes in degree requirements adopted up to a date six years prior to his/her completion of the program.

C. Thesis
As soon as possible, normally following the second full semester of coursework, the candidate who follows the thesis option begins the thesis phase of the program. The student's advisor serves as thesis director and, in consultation with the student, selects the second and third members of the Thesis Committee.

Proposal. The student then submits a formal thesis proposal to the committee prior to the defense date. The proposal includes the topic to be investigated, the purpose of the study, the research design; and familiarity with the literature in the area. At the proposal defense, the student, with agreement from the committee, may request either the traditional or manuscript style thesis. The request for a manuscript style thesis shall include the journal name and brief justification explaining the journal selection. Students seeking the manuscript option shall discuss their intentions with their advisor prior to the thesis proposal defense.

Students are encouraged to complete their thesis proposals as early as possible. Students are not allowed to register for GEOG 799 without the approval of a thesis proposal. Any student on assistantship who has not had the proposal accepted by the end of the third semester (or semester in which 25 hours of coursework are completed, if student had been part-time at some point) is not eligible for further funding by the Department.

Thesis committees normally do not meet during the periods between semesters or sessions, nor during the first or last week of any semester or session. The student, therefore, should bear in mind that failure to submit an acceptable proposal well in advance of the end of a semester may lead to a serious delay in obtaining committee approval of the thesis proposal.

Thesis Format. Theses must follow the formats defined by the Graduate School (http://gradschool.sc.edu/thesisdissertation/format.asp). The manuscript style thesis will be composed of at least one manuscript. The content of the manuscript is as typical for submission to the refereed journal article (identified in the proposal) and formatted (i.e. abstract, list of tables/illustrations, page numbering) as defined by the Graduate School. The format requirements include required chapters in the table of contents where these ‘chapters’ may be sections of the manuscript. The student must be first author on any manuscript(s) in the thesis. A manuscript style thesis may include additional chapters (e.g. expanded literature review or appendices).

Availability of Defendable Thesis. The thesis is distributed to the committee members at least two weeks (three weeks for the manuscript style) before the scheduled defense and is available for public review in the department office at least one week prior to the defense.

Thesis Defense. A public defense of the thesis is required before final committee approval, and it must be held at least 30 days prior to graduation.

Deadlines for the deposit of approved theses at the Graduate School are subject to University regulations, and students should consult the published University academic calendar for such deadlines. To graduate during a given semester, it is necessary for a first draft to be submitted to the thesis committee no later than about the mid-point of that semester.

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Degree Specification
The M.S. degree is awarded when the student's program of study includes a majority of coursework in the technical and physical/environmental areas of discipline. The M.A. is awarded when the student's program of study consists of a majority of coursework in human geography or regional analysis. A student in the non-thesis program receives the M.S. degree upon graduation.

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Academic Progress
A student must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress at the end of each semester and maintain a minimal "B" average in all courses and a "B" average in courses at the 700 level and above. Any student who receives less than a "B" in a graduate course will be on probation for the next semester. See the Graduate Program Director for a more detailed document on the minimum expectations for maintaining satisfactory progress. Financial assistance is terminated or reduced for a student who is on probation or who is not progressing satisfactorily. During the preparation of the thesis any student who wishes to use University facilities or to confer with the faculty must be enrolled officially in Geography 799.

A serious or repeated failure to make satisfactory academic progress will result in a student being terminated from the master's program. The student should become familiar with the criteria that determine whether satisfactory progress is being made and whether a student should be placed on probation as they are detailed in the document titled Minimum Expectations for Maintaining Satisfactory Progress in the Masters Program. A student will be notified of termination, in writing, prior to the beginning of classes for a semester. Listed below are the more likely causes for termination:

Areas of Study
The Department has only one program with a specific curriculum, the non-thesis Master of Science in the Geographic Techniques, which is described on the following page. All other programs of study are worked out between the student and his/her advisor according to the general requirements noted under "Program Requirements" above.

The Department offers opportunities for students to work in a wide range of systematic, technical, and regional areas, as indicated by faculty interest and expertise. These include but are not limited to the specializations listed below. Each student will be assigned an interim advisor who will provide guidance on the initial selection of course, but students should select a permanent advisor during their first semester of residence in the Department.

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Master of Science in Geographical Information Science— Non-Thesis Option (Effective Fall 1998)
Students selecting this option must fulfill the requirements listed below and also satisfy academic progress requirements, the residence requirement, the advisement requirement, and the Comprehensive Examination requirement, all of which are detailed in this document. A total of 37 credit hours of course work is required in this option, with a minimum of 19 at the 700 level or higher.

Students must elect this option no later than the semester in which they complete 18 credit hours of course work and before attempting the Comprehensive Examination.

Course Work (a total of 37 credits with a minimum of 19 at the 700 level or higher)

Required Core (13 hours)
GEOG 531 Quantitative Methods in Geographic Research (3)
GEOG 541 Advanced Cartography (3)
GEOG 551 Principles of Remote Sensing (3)
GEOG 563 Advanced Geographic Information Systems (3)
GEOG 740 Research Trends in Geography (1)

Breadth Requirement (6 hours)
Approved course from each area: human/regional and physical/environmental. GEOG 510 may also apply for the human/regional and physical/environmental requirements, depending on the course topic.

Approved Geographic Techniques electives (12 hours)
GEOG 542 Dynamic Cartography (3)
GEOG 552 LiDARgrammetric and Photogrammetric Digital Surface Mapping (3)
GEOG 554 Spatial Programming (3)
GEOG 555 Analytical Cartography (3)
GEOG 562 Satellite Mapping and the Global Positioning System (3)
GEOG 565 Geographic Information System (GIS) Databases and Their Use (3)
GEOG 595 Internship in Geography (3-6)
GEOG 705 Directed Individual Studies in Geography (1-3)
GEOG 706 Selected Topics in Cartography and Remote Sensing (1-3)
GEOG 731 Seminar in Quantitative Analysis in Geography (3)
GEOG 741 Seminar in Cartography (3)
GEOG 751 Digital Techniques of Remote Sensing (3)
GEOG 763 Seminar in Geographic Information Systems (3)
GEOG 805 Directed Individual Studies in Geographic Information Processing (3)
GEOG 841 Advanced Seminar in Cartography (3)
GEOG 851 Advanced Seminar in Remote Sensing (3)
GEOG 863 Advanced Seminar in Geographic Information Systems (3)

Approved electives (6 hours)
Electives can be drawn from within or without Geography with approval of the student's advisor.

Research Paper
The student is required to submit a seminar research paper that demonstrates research and writing skills. The paper may come from a seminar within or outside the technical areas but must include a substantial GIP component. The paper is to be put into a final, polished form similar to what is expected for a Master's thesis. The non-thesis student is encouraged to examine papers submitted by previous students to note what is appropriate as far as topic, scope, length, and style are concerned. The paper will be evaluated by a departmental committee of three faculty, and, if found acceptable, will be bound by the student and filed like a thesis in the Geography Department.

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last revision 4-9-12