The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Geography is designed as a two-year program of study (minimum of 33 units). Students elect either a thesis option (recommended for those pursuing a Ph.D.) or a non-thesis option (recommended for those pursuing a professional, non-academic career). At the Masters level, the School offers courses in a wide range of fields within Geography, as shown below. Many of our masters students continue on at SGD for a Ph.D., depending on their interests and accomplishments.
As one of the leading geography departments in the United States, University of Arizona is distinguished by the broad spectrum of teaching and research interests among its faculty, providing ample opportunities for graduate students to specialize in many sub-fields. These include:
Analysis of Regional Development Processes
- Quantitative Research
- Population Dynamics
- Transportation Systems
- Industrial and Economic Geography
- Economic Development
Critical Human Geography
- Geographies of Identity and Difference
- Citizenship and Politics
- Geographies of Social Protest
- Interpretative Approaches to Built Environments and Cities
- Popular Cultures
- Economic and Cultural Globalizations
Human-Environment Relationships
- Resource and Community Conservation
- Environmental Struggles in North America, Latin America, and Africa
- Critical Studies of Environmental Policy
- Political Ecology of Resource Use
- International Development Processes
Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing
- Wildfire Modeling and Management
- Geovisualization Techniques
Physical Geography and Environmental Systems
- Biogeography
- Climatology
- Resource Survey and Inventory
- Land Cover Change
Geographic Methodologies and Techniques Available (also see SGD Facilities)
- Spatial Statistics
- GIS
- Remote Sensing
- Interpretative Methods
- Participatory Action Research
- Visual Methodologies
- Discourse Analysis/Deconstruction
- Archival and historical research
- Physical Geography Field Methods
- Climatological monitoring and modeling
- Tree-ring analysis and climate reconstruction in UofA's Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research