BS_Geography

Bachelors degree and prior cumulative GPA of 2.8 or better
Acceptable GRE scores (most of our students have a combined verbal/quantitative score of at least 1150)
All applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the TOEFL and score better than 550 (paper-based) or 213 (computer-based).

Additionally, admission into the program is dependent on the availability of a geography faculty member to serve as major advisor in the topic area of the student’s research emphasis. Students are encouraged to contact directly those faculty members whose research interests overlap with their own.

Deficiencies

All students in the graduate program must have a basic background in both human and physical geography, as evidenced by at least two courses in human geography and two courses in physical geography, with a “B” or better grade in all courses used to demonstrate proficiency in geography. The transcripts of students entering the program with prior degrees in fields other than geography will be evaluated for deficiencies in these areas. You may be asked to provide course descriptions or syllabi for some courses on your transcript if necessary. Any coursework required to remove the deficiencies should be taken as early in the student’s program as possible. Students should also be advised that the required coursework below includes courses with math pre-requisites.

Required Coursework for MS Program

The UI requires a minimum 30 credits hours (18 of which must be above 500). All students must complete the following courses (or have completed equivalent classes in other programs):

STAT 401, Statistical Analysis
GEOG 475, Advanced GIS
GEOG 507, Spatial Analysis and Modeling
GEOG 591, History & Philosophy of Geography
One additional 3-credit geography seminar at the 500 level

Other Requirements for Graduation

Pursuant to Graduate College guidelines, students are encouraged to assemble a graduate committee and file a graduate Study Plan (a list of coursework agreed upon by the graduate committee) within their first year in the program. A student’s graduate committee is typically comprised of two faculty from the Department of Geography and one external member of the UI graduate faculty.

M.S. Thesis Option

Students are strongly encouraged to put together a thesis proposal by the end of their first year in the program. Graduation is contingent on successful completion of the M.S. thesis, as determined by the student’s committee.

M.S. Non-Thesis Option

For details on the non-thesis option, please contact the department office.

Application Procedures

All materials except the department application should be sent directly to the UI Graduate Admissions office. When packets are complete, they forward materials to our department for review. For the graduate admissions office, a complete Graduate Admissions packet includes:

UI Graduate College application form
Complete college transcripts
GRE scores
Statement of interest and goals regarding research and coursework
3 letters of recommendation

The department application form should be sent directly to:

Graduate Admissions Committee
Dept. of Geography
University of Idaho
P.O. Box 443021
Moscow, ID 83844-3021

Departmental Financial Aid

All students admitted to the program are automatically considered for a research assistantship or teaching assistantship.

Research assistantships (RAs) are usually associated with grants supervised by individual faculty members and, when available, are typically offered to a prospective student by individual faculty members.

Teaching assistantships are offered by the department, upon recommendation by the department graduate admissions committee. Our department teaching assistantships are typically used to support graduate students who assist in teaching labs in introductory physical geography and courses in GIS and remote sensing. Funded students usually continue to receive their aid while in residence up to a maximum of two years (optional), if they make satisfactory progress toward the degree.

Other forms of aid, such as college scholarships, non-resident tuition waivers, work study, and research assistantships are available to some students and are granted by the appropriate committee or faculty member in each case. Applications for financial aid can be obtained from the Office of Student Financial Aid, and are to be submitted to that office.

Students receiving financial aid must be enrolled during each semester that they are receiving aid.