Graduate Program

The department's master of arts program in geography educates qualified students for work toward the PhD degree, and for professional careers in government service, industry and regional or urban planning. There is a thesis option for each of the four tracks. Each track requires a total of 40 credits, as well as defense of an approved thesis proposal or defense of a thesis.

The Master's Program
The MA Program allows students to specialize in one of four tracks:

• General Geography,
• Cartography and Geographical Information Systems,
• Environmental and Resource Management, and
• Urban and Retail Planning.

Each track offers a mix of theory, practice, tools and techniques. Because of the applied nature of our program, students in each track are trained for work toward the Ph.D. degree, and for professional careers in government service, industry, and regional or urban planning . The MA degree requires 40 credit hours of coursework, including a thesis or project.

An undergraduate specialization in geography is not required for admission to the MA Program, but those without a geography background may be required to take appropriate undergraduate work beyond course requirements for the MA degree. Consult the Graduate School website, http://gradschool.binghamton.edu/ps/applicationprocedure.asp , for application materials. All applicants are required to submit scores of the Graduate Record Examination aptitude tests (GRE).

Students may also earn an interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Watershed Studies and Management.

For further details contact :

Dr. Norah Henry
Director of Graduate Studies
E-Mail : nhenry@binghamton.edu
Phone : (607) 777-6713

Five-Year BA/Master’s Program
The program is designed for exceptional Binghamton University students who want to combine a BA and master's degree in five years. Students in the program receive a BA and a master's at the end of the program. The requirements for completion of the combined BA/master's degree are identical to those for completion of two separate degrees. However, because 16 credits of coursework taken for the master's degree (500 level courses) also count for the undergraduate degree, students are able to complete the course requirements for the BA in four years and the course requirements for the combined BA/master's degree in five years. By completing the BA requirements during the first four years, students are assured of the bachelor's degree if, for any reason, they do not complete the fifth year.

Students are encouraged to declare their interest in the program as soon as possible. Contact either Mark Reisinger (mareisin@binghamton.edu ), the Undergraduate Director or Norah Henry (nhenry@binghamton.edu), Graduate Director. Early in the junior year, students should complete a departmental application, including a statement of purpose, transcripts, and the recommendation of two geography faculty members.