The Geographic and Cartographic Sciences, MS (GECA) focuses on the growing demand for scientists and professionals in the field of geographic information science, who use geographical approaches and tools such as geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, cartography, and geovisualization to address and solve geographic problems. This expertise is useful to a wide variety of employers in the federal, state, and local government sectors, as well as in business, industry, and non-profit organizations. The degree's coursework concentrates on the collection, analysis, and display of geographic data, in concert with the use of emerging geospatial technologies to address problems in the human and environmental geographic domains. Students in this program benefit from a large and diverse local employment market, as well as a network of more than 700 program alumni (1978-present) who live and work in the local area.
The Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science has extensive research and teaching facilities, including several labs equipped with GIS, remote sensing, cartographic, and analytical software from leading industry vendors and open source groups. Specialized instructional space for geographic information science is housed in newly renovated labs in Exploratory Hall on the Fairfax Campus.

