Applied Geography

Graduate opportunitiess

Many problems facing society today have a geographical dimension. By studying Applied Geography at the University of North Texas, you’ll learn how to apply scientific method and spatial and environmental problem solving skills to address situations such as:

• Finding sites for industries
• Identifying cost-effective sites for retailing
• Identifying new sites for public services
• Identifying pollution plumes
• Locating acceptable sites for solid waste disposal facilities

The Department of Geography offers course work leading to a Master of Science degree in Applied Geography and a 15-semester-hour certificate in Geographic Information Systems. You can also take graduate-level courses without enrolling in the degree program.

Gain new perspectives

Our curriculum provides you training in physical and human geography through required course work, research and teaching experiences, and numerous internship opportunities. We house several specialized laboratories for studying archaeological science, earth science, physical geology, cartography, hydrology and GIS. Other facilities are housed in the Institute of Applied Sciences, a center for interdisciplinary research.

Additional insights are provided through interactions and research conducted by faculty members from the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and those who specialize in environmental science.

Many of our faculty members are recognized as experts in their fields. They are engaged in a broad range of research areas such as:

• Ecosystems management
• Medical geography and health care delivery systems
• Natural hazard assessment
• Remote sensing and digital image processing
• Soils geomorphology

Our recent alumni have jobs in the private and public sector involving geoprocessing, GIS development, environmental analysis, hydrogeologic analysis, remote sensing analysis, market area analysis and demographic analysis. The U.S. Department of Labor has identified geotechnology as one of the three most important emerging and evolving fields.

Degree tracks

Applied environmental geology focuses on the configuration and evolution of landforms that shape the Earth’s surface and their societal significance. You will study hazards such as flooding, expansive soils, landslides and coastal erosion.

Applied GIS provides the foundation needed to play a vital role in planning, policy and implementation in urban geography, economic/business development, environmental science and medical geography.

Environmental archaeology prepares you for cultural resource management positions or doctoral programs in archaeology. You will gain a broad geo- graphical, geological and archaeological background.

Urban environmental management trains you to manage the planning and implementation of compliance and ethical strategies necessary for sustaining the urban environment.

Water resources management prepares you for a role in a research or regulatory agency, municipality, water supply district or environmental consulting firm by studying scientific, technical and political aspects of water resources management.

Facilities and laboratories

The Center for Spatial Analysis and Mapping

This facility houses state-of-the-art hardware and software products in support of teaching and research in remote sensing, GIS, visualization, computer cartography, global positioning systems, spatial analysis and environmental modeling.

The Center for Environmental Archaeology

The center maintains fully equipped laboratories in archaeology, geoarchaeology and zooarchaeology. Research includes projects at Upper and Middle Paleolithic sites in Portugal and Ukraine, the 1.7 million- year-old site of Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia, environmental impacts resulting from human colonization in New Zealand, and several projects in Texas.

The Center for Remote Sensing and Landuse Analyses

This unit provides opportunities in computer-aided analyses of remote sensing and spatial information data. Research includes monitoring land and water environments, developing information management systems to assist in decisions about natural resources, and ecosystem-level analyses for land management questions.

The Environmental Modeling Lab

he laboratory develops mathematical models and computer simulations to assess the impacts of anthropogenic stressors on environmental and ecological systems. Research includes linking environmental models to remote sensing and GIS for landscape and regional dynamics, global change effects on tropical ecosystems, and integration of modeling with optical sensors and data acquisition electronics.

Attending UNT

Admission requirements

To enter the program, you will need to meet the admission requirements of the Toulouse Graduate School and the following program requirements:

Degree requirements

Nonthesis option

• 9 semester hours of core research technique courses
• 6 semester hours of courses in a minor concentration
• 1 semester hour of a graduate seminar
• 17 semester hours of course work in a topical area
• 3 semester hours problems in lieu of thesis
• Comprehensive exams

Thesis option

• 9 semester hours of core research technique courses
• 6 semester hours of courses in a minor concentration
• 1 semester hour of a graduate seminar
• 17 semester hours of course work in a topical area
• 6 semester hours of thesis work
• Comprehensive exams
• Oral defense of the thesis

Certification requirements

The GIS certificate program provides the conceptual understanding and technical proficiency necessary to apply GIS in various settings. Fifteen hours of course work are required to complete the certificate. More information on the GIS certification is available from your graduate advisor and at geography.unt.edu.

Financial assistance

Several teaching and research assistantships are available to help you pay for your graduate education. Teaching assistants work in earth science, geology, GIS and archaeology laboratory classes. Research assistantships are often available through faculty research grants. Private industry and various local governments offer numerous internship and job opportunities. For more information on financial assistance, visit financialaid.unt.edu.