Overview of Graduate Studies
- Master of Science in Geography and Environmental Resources with a concentration in Environmental Management, Geographic Information Science or Water Resources Management
- Water Resource Professionals' Masters Degree Program
- Environmental Resources and Policy PhD Program
Graduate Studies in Geography and Environmental Resources
The Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Department of Geography and Environmental Resources can help you prepare for a career in water resource planning, rural land use planning, natural resource and environmental policy analysis, and environmental systems analysis and geographic information systems. As a graduate of the geography program you will understand how public policies concerning resource use are developed; how plans for water resources development and environmental management are formulated; how to determine community responses to natural hazards; how climate impacts human activities; how to balance supply and demand for water and electricity; and how physical environment systems function to produce the resources on which society depends.
The Department of Geography offers a program that leads to the Master of Science degree in geography. Geography is the discipline that deals with the relationship between human beings and their environment. The Department of Geography emphasizes the applied aspects of this theme, environmental analysis, planning, and management. The graduate program includes several dimensions of this emphasis, e.g., the role of resources in economic development and regional planning from physical/biological, technological, socioeconomic, policy, and spatial viewpoints. Students take courses that give them a foundation in these dimensions of environmental planning and management through a core program, then develop an area of strength within this theme. Students also develop the analytic and research skills appropriate to their emphasis.
The graduate program stresses a problem-solving perspective, for which habits of critical analysis and dialogue are essential. Students take the initiative in designing and carrying out their programs with the guidance of an advisory committee and the departmental faculty. Geography maintains major linkages with many other departments. Courses and faculty expertise in other departments complement those in geography, and students are encouraged to take advantage of this. Each student's progress is assessed at regular intervals by the faculty, and the student is notified of the faculty's assessment. The student is expected to show continued progress in carrying out the program of study, and in developing habits of scholarship and professionalism.
Water Resource Professionals' Masters Degree Program
The US Army Corps of Engineers in collaboration with the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR), housed in SIUC's Department of Geography and Environmental Resources, developed a master’s degree program in water resources planning and management. Any person employed by a Federal or State water resources institutions is eligible to enroll in the program. UCOWR is a consortium of 90 universities that offer water resources education. The degree program enables planners and other technical professionals to complete requirements for a master’s degree at government expense in a relatively compressed time frame. The program fills an important niche in the Corps' and other water resources agencies’ need to rapidly build capability in the face of losses of experienced personnel by providing a significant incentive for hiring and retaining planning talent as well as enhancing that talent through the opportunity for professional growth offered by an advanced professional education.
Environmental Resources and Policy PhD Program
Geography is an active participant in this doctoral program, whose central focus is advanced interdisciplinary training and research on physical, biological, social, and political processes responsible for natural resource and environmental problems facing contemporary society.
IGERT Fellowships
The Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program is designed to recruit, mentor, and train a diverse group of outstanding PhD students to become the scientists, managers, and leaders who will tackle tomorrow's interconnected environmental, social, economic, and technical challenges at watershed and river basin scales. IGERT fellowship awards are widely recognized as prestigious and highly competitive awards.
Department of Geography & Environmental Resources