GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE GRADUATE PROGRAM

Programs of Study

The program offers training in geography at the Doctoral (Ph.D) level, and Masters (M.A.). Masters students should be able to demonstrate their ability to progress later to Ph.D study, should they so choose. As one of the leading geography departments in the country, Arizona is distinguished by its broad spectrum of teaching and research interests among its faculty, providing ample opportunities for specialization in many sub-areas. These include:

Analysis of Regional Development Processes

• Quantitative Research
• Population Dynamics
• Transportation Systems
• Industrial and Economic Geography
• Economic Development

Main geographical focus: North America, Europe

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

Main geographical focus: worldwide

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

Main geographical focus: North, Central and South America, Africa, UK

Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing

• Wildfire Modeling and Management
• Geovisualization Techniques

Main geographical focus: none specified, but a particular focus on the Western USA

Physical Geography and Environmental Systems

• Biogeography
• Climatology
• Resource Survey and Inventory
• Land Cover Change

Main geographical focus: none specified, but a particular focus on the Western USA

Geographic Methodologies and Techniques Available

• 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 Tree-ring lab

Our faculty expertize, and thus our capabilities for graduate advising, do change from time to time and are currently expanding the Department, so please consult research and the people section to your left on this webpage. Our affiliated faculty members (many of then geographers based elsewhere on campus) have a much broader range of expertize than the areas mentioned above (ranging from tree-ring analysis to feminist geography!) and they can also serve as advisors and committee members.

The Ph.D is a specialized, research-oriented degree which requires a qualifying examination (waived for students who meet certain minimum requirements), at least one year of coursework (minimum of 18 credits) in addition to the Masters degree, and approximately three years of independent study and research culminating in a dissertation. Under the direction of their faculty committee and in consultation with the graduate advisor, doctoral students design an individualized program of coursework and independent study in preparation for their comprehensive examinations ("doctoral exams") that are typically taken at the end of their second year of study. Upon successful completion of the exams, the student prepares a dissertation proposal to be defended orally before the faculty committee. This may also form the basis for submission for external funding, if required. The final requirement for the Ph.D. degree is a dissertation involving original research. During their time in the Department, we usually offer opportunities to gain teaching experience, and offer training in professionalization skills, the history and core concepts of the discipline, and training in research methodologies. Potential applicants should insure they have surveyed these webpages thoroughly, and are aware of faculty interests, before applying. While some faculty have existing research grants and may thus be able to offer you work and study opportunities related to those projects, the majority of students design their own Ph.D dissertation topics and are encouraged to seek their own funding for the dissertation component. Our students have been remarkably successful at doing so (see news).

The M.A. degree is designed as a two-year program of study (minimum of 33 units) where 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 in GIS, Regional Development, etc.). At the Masters level, the Department offers specialized programs ("tracks") in critical human geography, physical geography, and regional development, or a more general program tailored to the student's needs. Places for Masters degrees are limited, and competition is high.

UA-Mexico Program

The University of Arizona has established a program with the Mexican Council for Science and Technology to fund Mexican doctoral students.
More information

Nuevo convenio entre la Universidad de Arizona y el Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia de Mexico para apoyar estudiantes mexicanos de doctorado.
Más información

Cost of Study and Financial Aid

For 2003-2004, legal residents of Arizona pay registration fees of $1,926 per semester for a full course load (9 units). Nonresident tuition, which includes registration fees, is approximately $4,745 per semester for a full course load. All students should expect additional annual expenses of approximately $600 for books and supplies. Health insurance is available to all students and their families through Campus Health Partners at an additional fee. (see fees)

The University of Arizona and the geography program offer financial aid to qualified graduate students. Each year the Department awards Graduate College Fellowships; other fellowships are also sometimes available. Teaching and research assistantships, graduate tuition scholarships, and graduate registration scholarships are available on a competitive basis and are used to waive nonresident tuition, registration fees, and/or health insurance premiums. Teaching and research assistantships offer a half-time stipend for the academic year that is very competitive with other geography programs around the country.

Living and Housing Costs

University housing is available for married graduate students at approximately $5000/year. Many graduate students share apartments and houses in Tucson neighborhoods that are close to campus. There is not a shortage of rental properties in Tucson, but the best units are rented quickly. Rents for a one-bedroom apartment, excluding utilities, start at about $350. Two-bedroom apartments, excluding utilities, start at $450. The cheapest transportation to campus is by foot, free CatTran shuttle bus, city buses (subsidized by 50% by the university), or bicycle: travel by car or motorbike requires a parking permit. (see Parking and Transportation)

Due to Tucson's hot and dry climate (particularly from May-September - but the sun shines over 350 days a year on average), it is important to note that utility costs vary based on the cooling system used in your home. Many homes are equipped with evaporative cooling, or "swamp coolers". Swamp coolers are very effective and inexpensive during the dry months but are less helpful when the humidity levels rise during the summer monsoon. Many students choose to rent homes with swamp coolers and fans due to the high cost of cooling with conventional air conditioning. When considering an apartment or house in Tucson which uses air conditioning, be sure to factor in the increased cost for summer months, if you will be resident here during the hottest season. If you have serious questions about the electricity costs for a specific location, Tucson Electric Power Company will provide you with a statement of the address's past billing history.

For a realistic look at the housing situation try the online version of the Arizona Daily Wildcat and Lo Que Pasa, two campus newspapers. The Student Union has a helpful webpage.

Students

Housed in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the geography program has over 50 graduate students. Students come from all over the United States and many other countries. The program has close ties with various institutions in Mexico and along the US-Mexico border. Graduate students in the department maintain their own professional and social organization, the Southern Arizona Geographical Association (SAGA). Most are allocated office space in the Department, which since the 1980s has been centrally located in the Harvill building.

Graduates of the program enter academic, public, and business careers. Masters graduates have gone on to work as community and regional planners for government agencies, GIS and remote sensing analysts for private firms, environmental consultants, and research associates at public and private research institutes. Several have continued on to Ph.D studies. Our Ph.D. graduates typically go into careers in academia and almost all of those have secured tenure-track or equivalent positions, several at top universities (see alumni for an up-to-date listing).

Location

Tucson, with a metropolitan population of around 700,000 people, is located in the unique Sonoran Desert at around 3,500 ft (1,070 m) and is surrounded by five mountain ranges containing 'sky islands' of biodiversity and cooler temperatures, the highest rising to over 9,000 ft (2,750 m). Tucson's warm year-round climate offers numerous recreational opportunities, including swimming, biking, bird-watching, skiing (at the most southerly location in the USA), hiking, and camping in nearby national parks and monuments. The nearest beach is a 4 hour drive to Mexico at Puerto Penasco, Gulf of California. With a symphony orchestra, theater company, opera and ballet, Tucson is also home to a growing community of artists from around the world, important non-profit and environmental organizations, and a diverse mix of desert-dwelling residents, most famously the author Barbara Kingsolver. Prehistoric ruins, Spanish missions, and other archaeological relics and architecture in and around Tucson mark the rich influence of native American, Mexican, Spanish, and Anglo cultures in the history of the region. Formerly part of Spain and then Mexico, southern Arizona was annexed by the USA in 1854, and Spanish remains the second language. Phoenix, the state capitol and a much larger metropolitan center, is 120 miles away to the north west, and San Diego, Los Angeles, and Albuquerque are a day's drive away. The border with Mexico is 65 miles to the south at Nogales. The city has an international airport.

The University and Department

The University of Arizona was founded in 1891, and today there are approximately 35,000 students of whom 8,500 are enrolled in graduate and professional programs. It was recently ranked by the National Science Foundation as one of the top twenty research institutions in the USA. Its faculty includes Nobel, Pulitzer, Guggenheim, Sloan, and Fulbright award winners, and over a dozen faculty hold memberships in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences. With more than 100 departments offering advanced degrees, graduate education is an intellectually challenging and highly rewarding experience.

The Department of Geography and Regional Development was founded in 1961 although its origins predate this date (see history). It is presently among the top 20 Ph.D-granting Departments of Geography in the nation, and also compares favorably in terms of research and graduate training with overseas institutions in Canada, Europe and Australasia.