Requirements for the Specialization in Geography (Updated 9/10/07)

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The Geography specialization provides students with modern training in the discipline of Geography. There are four major areas of the specialization: Human, Physical, Geographic Information Science, and Geographic Education. Within these major areas a student can choose from a wide variety of sub-areas reflecting faculty interests. The required courses are EES 70400 (Nature of Scientific Research) and EES 80200 (Advanced Research Seminar) and EES 70900 (Geographic Thought and Theory). From the first stages of matriculation, the student directs his/her program toward their desired research specialization. The major steps occur in the following order: First Examination, Second Examination, and Defense of the Dissertation.

More information on Curriculum Requirements

I. First Examination: An oral examination is administered by the Geography Curriculum Committee following the student's successful completion of:

EES 70900 (Geographic Thought and Theory), EES 70400 (The Nature of Scientific Research)

A graduate-level course in two of the following areas: Human Geography, Physical Geography, Geographic Information Science, Geographic Education

Note: A student who has taken any of the required courses in section A or B in an M.A. program or equivalent may test out of the course by taking the course final examination.

II. Second Examination: The Second Examination involves the submission and defense of a proposal describing the dissertation research planned by the student. (See Appendix A of Student Handbook: Format for Dissertation Proposals). A dissertation committee, comprising a minimum of three members of the doctoral faculty, is appointed to assist the student in preparing for the Second Examination.

The dissertation proposal must be written in an acceptable research-journal format, and presented to the student's Dissertation Committee for a critical review of content. The Dissertation Committee must receive the Proposal at least two weeks prior to the scheduled Second Examination. The Second Examination is an oral examination conducted by the Dissertation Committee during which the student describes and defends all aspects of his/her proposal. The student must be able to explain his/her research in the context of the historical development of the research discipline; relate his/her project to ongoing research in his/her field, and must demonstrate a thorough command of the literature relevant to the research. Normally, the Second Examination takes place upon completion of 60 credits, and requires approximately 2 hours.

The Dissertation Committee will require that the student rectify any errors in the research plan or address specific inadequacies in the literature review through a retake of all or a portion of the exam as specified by the Dissertation Committee no more than 12 months from the date of the first attempt.

Areas and Sub-areas

Human Geography

• Cultural
• Economic
• Location Theory
• Political
• Population
• Transportation
• Urban

Physical Geography

• Biogeography
• Climatology and Climate Change
• Coastal Processes
• Conservation
• Environment
• Geomorphology
• Hydrology
• Natural Resource Management
• Oceanography
• Soils and Vegetation
• Sustainable Development

Geographic Information Science

• Applications in Geographic Information Systems
• Geographic Information Systems
• Database Management
• Modeling
• Programming
• Remote Sensing
• Spatial Analysis
• Visualization
• Geographic Education

To be eligible for the second examination, a student must have taken the first examination; completed at least 45 credits (including transfer credits); completed at least two graduate-level courses beyond the first examination course in the major area; taken coursework in a minor sub-area of study; completed EES 80200 Advanced Research Seminar; and have had a dissertation proposal accepted by the student's dissertation committee.

III. Advancement to Candidacy: Before a student can be certified as a candidate for a doctoral degree (advancement to Level III of the process of earning the Ph.D.), he or she must have completed the following requirements: all required course work (of which at least 30 credits must be taken at the City University) with at least an overall B average; any language requirements; the First and Second Examinations; and any special program requirements for certification.

Human Subjects Certification All doctoral students advanced to Level III after September 1, 1999, need to submit a “Dissertation Proposal Clearance: Human Participants” form prior to the approval of their dissertation topic. This form is sent to all students by the Registrar when they advance to Level III. Students are required to submit this form to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs after the dissertation topic and methodology are approved by their committees and before research begins. If human participants are involved in a student’s research, a human subjects application must be submitted to a CUNY Institutional Review Board in accord with the CUNY Principal Investigator’s Manual for Submitting Proposals for Review by the CUNY Institutional Review Boards. (Available from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs: Room 8309 or at (http://inside.gc.cuny.edu/orup.) The Graduate Center Committee on the Protection of Human Subjects or other CUNY campus institutional review boards must approve the application prior to beginning the research and issue an approval letter that must be submitted to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs with the Dissertation Proposal Clearance form. If human participants are not involved in a student’s research, the completed Dissertation Proposal Clearance form is submitted with the dissertation project abstract and methodology to The Graduate Center’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (Room 8309, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016).

Dissertation The student must complete a dissertation that embodies original research. The dissertation must be defended at an oral Final Examination and be deposited in The Graduate Center’s Mina Rees Library before the degree is granted. To defend the dissertation, the student must have been advanced to candidacy. The dissertation must be microfilmed or published. Instructions for preparing the dissertation may be secured from the Registrar’s Office at The Graduate Center.

The preparation of a dissertation and a defense of it form the final evaluation of a candidate’s qualification for the Ph.D. degree within the academic program. Approval by the program is typically confirmed by action of the Graduate Council and the City University’s Board of Trustees. Dissertation committees consist of at least three members of the CUNY doctoral faculty and are approved according to procedures detailed in the governance document of each program. The program will announce to the Provost, and, by posting and/or other means, to the general public and the members of the committee, the time and the date of the defense.

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Curriculum Requirements
Incoming students are expected to consult with their prospective advisor(s) and devise a personal program of study to acquire command over the skills and methods they need to work in their proposed area of research within their first semester. If courses for specific skills and methods are not available within the department then students will be encouraged to seek the necessary instruction elsewhere.

The core coursework includes the following requirements

Introductory Workshop in Academic Resources (no credit) All students will take a non-credit intensive introductory workshop in the first weeks of the first semester introducing them to academic resources (libraries), IT facilities and how to use the opportunities for research in the metropolitan area efficiently and well.

• EES 709 Geographical Thought and Theory (3 credits, first semester) This course explores the foundations of geographical knowledge. The course situates the history of geographical thought in its broad philosophical and historical context. Topics may include themes such as the concept of nature (incorporating scientific, anthropological, historical and humanistic perspectives), questions of technology and society (with particular emphasis upon technologies of geographical enquiry and representation, e.g. cartography to Geographical Information Science, remote sensing, statistics); how to think about basic geographical concepts such as space, place, region and environment in historical perspective; and examination of the relations between geographical knowledges and political power.
• EES 710 Geographical Knowledge in Action (3 credits, second semester) This integrated course takes the form of an investigative workshop in which students and faculty collaborate in the examination of a specific geographical problem using the New York metropolitan region as a focus for study. Students with different research interests will here be encouraged to integrate their skills (along with those of participating faculty) in studying a general problem in an integrative way. Research seminars will bring in outside experts to look at different facets of a common problem.
• EES 704 Research Methods (2 credits, second year) is designed to teach students how to write a dissertation proposal, prepare grant proposals and present ideas in a seminar setting. This course is designed to introduce the student to the approach to scientific inquiry in general and specifically as it relates to Geography. The approach an investigator takes in undertaking scientific research is discussed. The steps one takes to write proposals, a scientific dissertation or an article will be a primary consideration of this course. An important theme of the course will be ethics in scientific research.
• EES 802 Advanced Research Seminar (1 credit third year). A continuation of the Research Methods course in which the student is required to present original research in a mock dissertation defense employing current conference-like presentation methods.

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