Admission

For admission to graduate study for the Master of Science in Geographic Information Science (MS in GIS) degree, a student normally should have completed the minimum preparation for an undergraduate major in geography or GIScience related fields with a 3.00 grade point average in all work. Students with majors in other fields are encouraged to apply. Normally such students are admitted on a conditional basis, with the student required to take courses to remedy deficiencies.

The prerequisites of the program are GEOG 380, 496, and 488 or equivalents.

• GEOG 380 Maps and Geographic Information or equivalent

• GEOG 496 Introduction to Spatial Quantitative Analysis or STAT 243 AND 244 or equivalent

• GEOG 488 Geographic Information Systems I: Introduction (4 credits) or equivalent

In addition to the general University admission requirements for advanced degrees, the student must provide letters of recommendation from three faculty members of colleges previously attended. Applicants are also required to submit a GIS portfolio that highlights their prior GIS training or experience.

Students for whom English is a second language must present a score of at least 550 (paper-based) or 213 (computer-based) in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with their application for admission.

Program of Study

The student will plan a program of study with an adviser and other members of the supervisory committee during the first term of residence (the first term after admission to the program). The program of study must include a minimum of 45 graduate credits. Of these, a minimum of 32 graduate credits must be in geography, to include 6 credits of Geog 509 (GIS Practicum), 12 credits of core geography courses, 8 credits in core GIS competency courses, 4 credits in non-GIS, topical courses, at least 8 credits from one of the five specialized geospatial data science focus areas, and 7 elective credits to meet the 45 credits required by the program.

Students in the program must complete a project-based practicum. The practicum requires the presentation of the student’s practicum project into a topic approved by the student's graduate committee, which may include a community partner. The practicum represents an original contribution to knowledge in the field of GIScience and normally involves working with a community partner. A final oral presentation of the project and a project report are required for completion of the degree.

The Geography Department follows the University requirement for minimum and continuous enrollment.

The program consists of coursework in the following areas:

Core Geography courses (12 credits)

• GEOG 572 Critical GIS       2 credits

• GEOG 522       Research Design                                                                       4 credits

• GEOG 591       Professionalism in GIS                                                             2 credits

• GEOG 592       Geographic Information Systems II: Advanced GIS            4 credits

Core GIS Competency courses (2 courses - 8 credits)

• GEOG 590       GIS Programming                                                                      4 credits

• GEOG 575       Digital Compilation & Database Design                                 4 credits

• GEOG 597       Advanced Spatial Quantitative Analysis                                 4 credits

Non-GIS, Topical courses (4 credits)

• 4 credits of graduate level non-GIS courses (with approval of the committee)

Specialized geospatial data science focus area (at least two courses in one of the tracks below)

Remote sensing & digital image analysis

• GEOG 580       Remote Sensing and Image Analysis                                      4 credits

• GEOG 581       Digital Image Analysis I: Introduction                                     4 credits

• GEOG 582       Digital Image Analysis II: Advanced Remote Sensing           4 credits

• GEOG 577       Photogrammetry and LiDAR                                                    2 credits

Cartography & geovisualization

• GEOG 584       Cartographic Applications of GIS                                            4 credits

• GEOG 585       Map Design and Production                                                    4 credits

Computer & information sciences*

• CS 520**         Object-Oriented Programming                                               3 credits

• CS 547**         Computer Graphics                                                                   3 credits

• CS 549**         Computational Geometry                                                        3 credits

• CS 554**         Software Engineering                                                                3 credits

• GEOG 575       Digital Compilation & Database Design                                 4 credits

• GEOG 590       GIS Programming                                                                       4 credits

• GEOG 595       Maps, Models, and GIS                                                              4 credits

Spatial statistics & quantitative methods*

• ESM 566          Environmental Data Analysis                                                   4 credits

• ESM 567          Multivariate Analysis of Environmental Data                        4 credits

• GEOG 597       Advanced Spatial Quantitative Analysis                                 4 credits

• STAT 510 Spatiotemporal Statistics 4 credits

System and data science*

• CS 541**         Artificial Intelligence                                                                  3 credits

• CS 542**         Advanced Artificial Intelligence: Combinatorial Games       3 credits

• CS 543**         Advanced Artificial Intelligence: Combinatorial Search       3 credits

• CS 545**         Machine Learning                                                                      3 credits

• SYSC 514         System Dynamics                                                                      4 credits

• SYSC 525         Agent Based Simulation                                                           4 credits

• SYSC 527         Discrete System Simulation                                                     4 credits

• SYSC 531         Data Mining with Information Theory                                    4 credits

• SYSC 535         Modeling & Simulation with R and Python                            4 credits

• SYSC 540         Introduction to Network Science                                            4 credits

• SYSC 552         Game Theory                                                                              4 credits

• SYSC 575         AI: Neural Networks I                                                                4 credits

GIS Practicum (6 credits)

• GEOG 509       GIS Practicum                                                                             6 credits

Electives (7 credits or take the number of credits to reach 45 credits required by the program)*

Graduate level GIS courses or seminars (or other courses approved by the committee). The list below includes some courses that could be used as electives.

• GEOG 507       SEM: Speaker Series                                                                 1 credits

• GEOG 576       3D Terrain Analysis & Visualization                                        2 credits

• GEOG 589       Building a GIS Database with GPS                                          4 credits

• GEOG 594       GIS for Water Resources                                                          4 credits

* Or other emergent geospatial technology topics offered as seminars or 510.

** Students might need to complete additional CS courses to meet the prerequisite requirements of the course. Please check with the instructor before registering for the course.

Pre-Admission, Transfer, and Graduate Certificate Credits

Courses taken at any institution, including PSU, before the term of formal admission to a PSU graduate degree program are pre-admission credits. Courses taken at any other institution at any time are transfer credits. Transfer credits must be graduate credit taken at a regionally accredited institution and applicable to a graduate degree program without qualification at the originating institution.

A master’s student must earn a minimum of two-thirds of the credits required for the degree after formal admission to the graduate degree program at PSU and must earn a minimum of two-thirds of the credits required for the degree at PSU.

See PSU Bulletin for more information on pre-admission and transfer credits.

http://pdx.smartcatalogiq.com/2020-2021/Bulletin/Graduate-School/Enrollment/Pre-admission-and-transfer-credit

Graduate courses can be applied to a master’s degree and a graduate certificate. See PSU Bulletin for course overlap policies.

http://pdx.smartcatalogiq.com/2020-2021/Bulletin/Graduate-School/Enrollment/Course-Overlap-between-Degrees-and-Certificates