Hard to believe it’s already been 3 years since 2012 when I published my first set of geography graduate program rankings, based on NRC data. ICS has launched a new executive Master of Human-Computer Interaction and Design (MHCID) program that offers the world’s only hybrid one-year. IRIS is a University of Southern California group with a focus on molecular robotics, MEMS, programmable automation, computer vision, and mobile robots.
Academic Programs - Microsoft Research.
Rankings – Top Graduate Geography Programs for Spatial Careers. Hard to believe it’s already been 3 years since 2.
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I published my first set of geography graduate program rankings, based on NRC data. I followed in 2. 01. Last year I produced rankings of traditional GIS programs and on- line GIS programs. These four posts have generated approximately 1. I seem to have filled a void. This year I’ve decided to cobble together a variety of lists and categories with some new twists. Here are my notes for the 2.
Over the past year I’ve come to the conclusion that, when in doubt, you’re likely better off attending a graduate school at a large major University, especially one that serves as a flagship public institution for the State. The reasons for this are varied but I think it’s a combination of (1) availability of top minds/resources/courses from related fields on one campus, (2) career- enhancing name recognition and (3) a superior University experience in terms of affiliation and alumni networking. Two and three sort of go together. You may notice a few tweaks in department tiers/rankings reflecting this idea.
I’ve produced several categories of rankings this year. Following on my 2. GIS rankings and in response to some calls for separate Human/Qualitative rankings I’ve created a “Best Overall” category and several sub- categories.
Hopefully this will be helpful for students seeking information for a particular field of study or area of emphasis. Programs listed under the “Best Overall” category provide a balance in terms of Human/Physical/Technical geography offerings and should accommodate most anyone aspiring to a spatial career. If you have a strong interest in one of the sub- field categories you should also consider the programs listed in each category. For potential Ph. D students the choice of a faculty advisor is the MOST important decision. Program/University is still crucial, but secondary. The overwhelming majority of programs listed here offer a Ph.
D. I favor Ph. D- granting departments because they attract the best faculty and because you never know what twists and turns might come along. It’s nice to have the option to stay in place if the scope of your studies expand. You may notice none of the programs listed have a numerical rank order.
I did this for two reasons. First, it’s sort of splitting hairs. How much better is #6 versus #7? I’m a quant guy but I don’t really know. I think these tiers make more sense – programs within each tier are ordered alphabetically. Second, I want to avoid misinterpretation by a bright student who thinks they must go to the #1 program. And, this makes a good segue to my standard disclaimers and warnings about selecting a graduate program: From 2.
I do NOT recommend selecting a graduate program based solely on these rankings. Ta- da! Best Overall Programs. Tier 1. Tier 2. Tier 3. Tier 4—Human Geography. Berkeley. UCLASyracuse. Washington. Physical Geography. Boston. Maryland.
Oregon State. GIScience/Computation. University of Texas at Dallas. San Diego State. George Mason. Maine (Orono)Iowa. Cartography/Visualization. Wisconsin. Oregon.
Penn State. Kansas. Oregon State. Remote Sensing. Spatial Analysis/Statistics. University of Texas at Dallas. Arizona State. Buffalo. Ohio State. Medical/Health.
Buffalo. Illinois. Iowa. North Carolina. On- Line/Hybrid (Master’s only)USC Spatial Sciences Institute.
Penn State World Campus.