Graduate Programs

Master of Science in Geography

• Option I: Thesis option (30 credit hours)with 24 hours of approved graduate work and 6 semester hours of thesis; and

• Option II: Non-Thesis with 36 credit hours of approved graduate courses. Individual programs of study are designed for incoming graduate students on the basis of previous coursework and personal interviews.

* Students generally specialize in one area, but are encouraged to take courses in all four.
* History and Philosophy of Geography and Research Methods courses are required of all graduate students.

Departmental Strengths and Research Directions

The geography program is enriched by special programs and faculty research in:

• Cartography
• Remote sensing and geographic information science applied to urban landscapes
• Vegetation
• Plains and mountain environments
• Gender and work in the United States
• Geographic education
• Geoarchaeology in the Middle East
• Political economy of post-communist transformations in Central and Eastern Europe
• Foreign direct investment
• Car industry restructuring
• Regional development in Central and Eastern Europe

Computer Facilities

The Department of Geography/Geology houses three state-of-the-art computer laboratories. The Cartography & GIS Laboratory consists of two separate computer labs. The Cartography Laboratory supports instruction in cartographic design with eight Macintosh computers and Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Software in the GIS laboratory includes ESRI ArcView, ArcGIS, MapObjects, MapINFO, SpaceStat, and Visual Basic. The laboratory has been recognized as an ESRI certified training facility.

The Remote Sensing and GIS Applications Laboratory (RSAL) is a sophisticated computational facility which facilitates instruction and research. Faculty, staff, and students from physics, engineering, computer science, biology, and geography and geology are involved with multi-disciplinary basic and applied research projects involving:

• Remote sensing
• Geographic information systems (GIS) technology
• Environmental modeling
• Terrestrial monitoring
• Artificial intelligence
• Software and algorithm development
• Virtual reality simulations
• Scientific visualization

Funding

Research grants and contracts have been funded by a variety of sources including:

• Army Corp of Engineers
• National Geographic Society
• U.S. National Science Foundation
• U.S. Agency for International Development
• University of Nebraska
• The University of Nebraska Foundation

Hardware resources enable advanced computation analysis to be used to study environmental issues and problems. All computers and input and output devices are networked on a high-speed local area network.

Graduate Certificate in Geography

A total of 17 graduate credits are required to receive a graduate GIScience certificate at UNOmaha. The curriculum stresses spatial theory, oral and written communication, computer training, problem-solving skills, and GIS industry experience.

Prerequisites:
The student must demonstrate a background in geography, statistics, and computer science. Prerequisites could include courses such as the following:
GEOG 1020: Human Geography
GEOG 1070: Physical Geography: Soils and Landforms
MATH 1530: Introduction to Applied Probability and Statistics
CIST 1400: Introduction to Computer Programming

Required courses:
GEOG 8535: Cartography and Geographic Information Systems (2 cr)
GEOG 8545: Cartography and Geographic Information Systems Lab (2 cr)
GEOG 8056: GIS I (3 cr)
GEOG 8666: GIS II (4 cr)

Two of the following courses:
GEOG 8016: Conservation of Natural Resources (3 cr)
GEOG 8036: Computer Mapping and Cartographic Visualization (3 cr)
GEOG 8636: Environmental Remote Sensing (4 cr)
GEOG 8670: Advanced Cartographic Methods
ISQA 8410: Database Management
GEOG 8800: Internship in Environmental/Regional Planning (3 cr) - highly recommended for practical experience
An approved graduate course in statistics.

Students may substitute advanced courses in GIScience for required courses already taken. Students will be allowed a maximum of two substitutions for these required courses. Substitutions must be approved by the GIScience certificate program advisor.

For more information...
about the GIScience certificate, please contact us at:

Geography Graduate Program
Department of Geography & Geology
University of Nebraska - Omaha
Omaha, NE 68182
Tel. (402) 554 2662

Graduate Education Certificate

The graduate certificate in geographic education is designed to assist high school instructors who teach geography and/or environmental science to obtain the 18 graduate credit hours needed to teach these subjects as dual enrollment courses. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) requires that teachers must have at least 18 graduate credit hours in a given subject to teach classes that can be considered dual-enrollment. The graduate certificate is designed to expand high school teachers’ geographic knowledge.

Prerequisites:
Applicants must have a GPA in geography of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
Present as a prerequisite a minimum of 15 undergraduate semester hours of geography including physical and human geography and cartography, plus at least three hours in spatial analysis, quantitative methods or statistics;
English Language Proficiency: Applicants are required to have a command of oral and written English. Those who do not hold a baccalaureate or other advanced degree from the United States, OR a baccalaureate or other advanced degree from a predetermined country on the waiver list, must meet the minimum language proficiency score requirement in order to be considered for admission.

• Internet-based TOEFL: 80, IELTS: 6.5, PTE: 53, Duolingo: 110

Required courses:
GEOG 8040: Seminar in Education Geography
Geography graduate level courses totaling 15-17 hours

For more information...
about the Geography Education Certificate, please contact Dr. Christina Dando.

Dr. Christina Dando
Graduate Program Chair
Department of Geography & Geology
University of Nebraska - Omaha
Omaha, NE 68182
Tel. (402) 554-3134
cdando@unomaha.edu