Why study geography?
The MA program develops a concentration in preparation for a career or further study. The student takes courses in several areas of the discipline, as well as at least three courses in an acceptable concentration. Our faculty are integral to graduate studies and have expertise in Human and Cultural Studies with a particular emphasis on Place, Economic Geography, Health and Diaspora, Environmental Policy, Borders and Border Conflicts, and more. Learn more about our faculty on our website.
Admission to Graduate Studies
An applicant seeking to pursue graduate study in the College may be admitted as either a degree-seeking or non-degree seeking student. Policies and procedures of Graduate Studies govern the process of Graduate admission. These may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.
Please consult the Departments & Programs section of the online catalog for information regarding program-specific admissions criteria and requirements. Special admissions requirements pertain to Interdisciplinary Studies degrees, which may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.
Graduate Admission
Applicants without prior training in geography are welcome but are required to improve their basic knowledge of the broad divisions of geography: systematic, methodological, and regional. Courses taken to remedy deficiencies may not count toward graduate degrees. Graduate Record Examination scores (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) are required of all applicants.
Joint Degree application for M.A. and M.U.P
An interdisciplinary program combines in three years the degrees of MA in geography and Master of Urban Planning. Details, including degree requirements, are available in a separate booklet either online or from either of the two departments. Entering students should submit separate applications to each department.
Submit your graduate application online. Send all other requested application materials to the geography department:
The University of Kansas
Department of Geography
Lindley Hall
1475 Jayhawk Blvd., Room 213
Lawrence, KS 66045-7575
Geography M.A. Degree Requirements
The program continues the general training of the undergraduate degree but also provides for concentration in preparation either for employment or further study. The student takes courses in several areas of the discipline as well as at least three courses in an acceptable concentration. The 30-credit-hour minimum for the M.A. thesis program may include 6 hours outside the department and a maximum of 6 hours for the master’s thesis. The M.A. degree requires a proposal defense and a final oral examination. Students with 6 or more hours of Incomplete are denied permission to enroll until these hours are reduced to the allowable limit (5 hours).
| Required Courses: | ||
| GEOG 805 | Perspectives in Geography | 2 |
| GEOG 980 | Seminar in Geography: _____ (Colloquium for 1 credit hour during each of the first 2 semesters of residence at KU) | 2 |
| Two-day (non-credit) orientation before classes begin in the fall semester | ||
| General Requirements: | ||
| One course in Geoinformatics | ||
| One course in Human/Regional Geography | ||
| One course in Physical Geography | ||
| Electives: | ||
| At least 3 courses in an approved area of concentration. (Courses taken to meet the "General" requirement may not be double counted here.) | ||
| GEOG 899 | Master's Thesis | 1-6 |
| Recommended: | ||
| Non-credit 8-hour Responsible Scholarship session held before classes start in the spring semester | ||
Detailed information on departmental regulations is included in Policies for Graduate Study in Geography available on the department's website (http://www.geog.ku.edu).
Joint Degree application for M.A. and M.U.P
This interdisciplinary program combines in three years the degrees of MA in geography and Master of Urban Planning. Details, including degree requirements, are available in a separate booklet either online or from either of the two departments. Entering students should submit separate applications to each department. The joint degree entails 61 credit hours of coursework (39 in planning, 22 in geography) including a thesis.
Urban Planning and Geography have a long history of interaction and connection. Responsible planning in urban communities requires an understanding of the human and physical geographies of these communities, and contemporary planning practice demands familiarity with advanced geographic techniques and information systems. Conversely, expertise in geography—and particularly concentration in urban geography—may require an understanding of and competence to deal with the planning dynamics of urban communities.
The objective of this program is to meet the needs of both Urban Planning and Geography for interdisciplinary knowledge by offering a dual degree program for the graduate student who intends to engage professionally in both planning and geography. The program combines in three years the normal two year Master of Urban Planning (48 credit hours) and the normal two year Master of Arts (MA) degree in Geography (30 credit hours) offered by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Geography Courses Required of All Combined Degree Candidates
| Required | ||
| GEOG 805 | Perspectives in Geography | 2 |
| 1 Geoinformatics course | ||
| 1 Human Geography course | 3 | |
| 1 Physical Geography course | 3 | |
| 1 Electives course | 3 | |
| Two-day (non-credit) orientation before classes begin in the fall semester | ||
| GEOG 980 | Seminar in Geography: _____ (Colloquium for 1 credit hour during each of the first 2 semesters of residence at KU) | 2 |
| GEOG 899 | Master's Thesis 1 | 6 |
| Total Hours | 19 | |
| 1 | The Chair of the Master’s thesis committee must come from the Department of Geography. At least one thesis committee member must come from the Urban Planning program. |
| Students will choose Geoinformatics courses from the following: | ||
| Advanced Cartography and Geovisualization | ||
| Remote Sensing of Environment I | ||
| Intermediate Geographical Information Systems | ||
| GIS Application Programming | ||
| Advanced Geostatistics | ||
| Remote Sensing of Environment II | ||
| Geographic Information Science | ||
| Seminar in Geovisualization | ||
| 2 | Other Geography courses at the 500-level or above may be used to fulfill requirements in this category on the basis of petition. |
| Students will choose Human Geography courses from among the following: 3 | ||
| Topics in Urban/Economic Geography: _____ | ||
| Geography of the Energy Crisis | ||
| Topics in Cultural Geography: _____ | ||
| Cultural Ecology | ||
| Development of Geographic Thought | ||
| Topics in Urban/Economic Geography: _____ | ||
| Topics in Cultural Geography: _____ | ||
| 3 | Other Geography courses at the 500-level or above may be used to fulfill requirements in this category on the basis of petition. |
| Students will choose Physical Geography courses from among the following: | ||
| ATMO 525 | Air Pollution Meteorology | 3 |
| GEOG 521 | Microclimatology | 3 |
| GEOG 531 | Topics in Physical Geography: _____ | 1-3 |
| GEOG 535 | Soil Geography | 4 |
| GEOG 540 | Ecohydrology | 3 |
| GEOG 541 | Geomorphology | 4 |
| GEOG 731 | Topics in Physical Geography: _____ | 1-3 |
| GEOG 735 | Soil Geomorphology | 3 |
| Other Geography courses at the 500-level or above may be used to fulfill requirements in this category on the basis of petition. | ||
Handbook for Graduate Students
Detailed information on departmental regulations is included in Policies for Graduate Study in Geography at the University of Kansas, available on the department's website.