Graduate Course Descriptions

 

We offer courses in human and social geography (GEOG), physical geography (PGEOG), geology (GEOL), and geographic techniques and technologies (GTECH).

GEOG 65000 World Geography for Educators -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. Open only to MA TEP students.
Overview of physical, cultural, and historical geographies of the world’s major regions. Content linked to NYS Global History and Geography scope and sequence.

GEOG 70100 Geographic Thought and Theory -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. Fall only. This course may be used as part of the MA Teacher Education Program in Social Studies.
Principal people and themes in American geography and its historical antecedents. Emphasis on change in geographical technology, philosophy, methods, and thenature of the discipline to the present day.

GEOG 70154 Geographic Research Design -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. Spring only.
Topics include conceptualization and operationalization of a research design with specific focus on data specification and data gathering techniques. Quantitative and qualitative methods are reviewed. A key product is the development of a detailed research proposal.

GEOG 70200 Research Topics in Geography -- 15 hrs including conference, 1 cr. Fall only.
Introduction to central research themes in geography and the current research being undertaken by department faculty.

GEOG 70500 Cultural and Social Geography -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. This course may be used as part of the MA Teacher Education Program in Social Studies.
Prereq: GEOG 34100 and GEOG 34700 or permission of instructor.

Review of recent work in cultural and social geography; emphasis on literature, critiques.

GEOG 70528 Introduction to Environmental Ethics -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Do animals have rights? Do ecosystems have interests? Are humans separate from the environment? How have the answers to these questions been shaped by scientific understanding and religious belief? How should they be? The development of environmental philosophies and ethics, and how they have interacted with controversial environmental issues, will be explored. Reding assignments include canonical and contemporary philosophers as well as environmentalists. In additional to theory, we will discuss the applications of these ideas in local to global environmental problems. The course will focus on ethical philosophies from the western world, but non-western philosophies might also be discussed.

GEOG 70562 Post-Socialist Geographies -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: GEOG 27800 or permission of instructor.

For graduate students in geography, anthropology, economics, sociology, environmental psychology and other related fields. This course examines major political, economic, and social theories that aim to explain the current transformations in post-socialist countries. The neo-liberal theories and policies of transition to capitalism and their consequences are critically examined. The devastating effects of capitalism uncontrolled by democratic governments and labor are discussed.

GEOG 70800 The Geographies of Urban Space -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: graduate standing and GEOG 70100 or GEOG 74300 or equivalent or permission of instructor.

Critical perspectives on urban development and internal urban space. Latest literature in urban political economy, feminist, and post-structuralist geography with a focus on class, gender and ethnicity in urban space.

GEOG 70957 Geography of the New York Metropolitan Area -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
An historical and contemporary geography of the New York Metropolitan area structured around New York State Social Studies Core Curriculum and National Geography Standards. The course will address the relationship between the physical and social geographies of the five boroughs and the surrounding areas of the Hudson and Long Island; the impacts of significant historical and political events on the region’s social and economic geography; and the impacts of changing transportation modes in the evolution of the region. Fieldwork is an integral part of this course. However, alternative field assignments are available for students who have accessibility challenges documented with the Office of Accessibility.

GEOG 71000 Economic Geography -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Interactions between people and the natural environment on economic, political and cultural endeavors. Formation of labor markets and their segmentation by class, gender, and ethnicity/race. Change in production systems and economic globalization. Interconnections between economic systems across local, regional, national, and international scales.

GEOG 71200 Geography of Sustainable Development in Developing Countries -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. This course may be used as part of the MA Teacher Education Program in Social Studies.
Prereq: graduate standing and one course focusing on development of a developing region, or permission of instructor.

Analysis of factors that influence sustainable development, e.g., available resources, environment, population, food producation, water supply in developing countries.

GEOG 71300 Rural Water Supply in Developing Regions -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: graduate standing and one course focusing on development of a developing region, or permission of instructor.

Quality, problems, management, and sustainability of rural water supply and sanitation in developing countries.

GEOG 71500 International Pollution Issues -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Global environmental hazards are covered. Issues ranging from intergovernmental efforts to document pollution, to the policy needed to curtail pollution of the future will be addressed. A focus will be on transboundary air and water pollution.

GEOG 72100 Transporation Geography -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
A geographic study and modeling of transporation routes and their influences on the location of economic activity.

GEOG 74100 Population Geography -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. This course may be used as part of the MA Teacher Education Program in Social Studies.
Theoretical and empirical analyses of spatial distribution of population.  Particular emphasis is on processes and impacts of migration, residential mobility, and immigration.

GEOG 74300 Urban Geographic Theory -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Spatial analysis of contemporary and theoretical issues concerning the economic growth, transportation, land use, social segregation, and urban governance in metropolitan areas.

GEOG 79100, 79200, 79300 Independent Research in Geography -- 1, 2, or 3 cr.
Prereq: permission of instructor or graduate adviser. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits with permission of the graduate adviser.

Intensive individual research in geography under supervision of a member of the graduate faculty.

GEOG 79900 Thesis Research in Geography -- 1-6 cr. Open to students electing the thesis option only.
Prereq: GEOG 701 and permission of department. 1-6 cr may be repeated for credit but only one credit may be applied to satisfy degree requirements.

Thesis research under supervision of a memer of the graduate faculty.

GTECH 70200 Quantitative Methods in Geography -- 3 hrs, 3 cr.
Prereq: permission of instructor.

The focus of this course is on the application of statistical methods that are common in geographic research. The goal is to understand these techniques so that you can later interpret and use them in an intelligent and appropriate manner; and so that you can learn how to explore related techniques independently. This course is “applied” in the sense that we focus on the application of these techniques more than on the derivation of equations. This course will prepare you for more advanced statistical and spatial analysis topics.

GTECH 70500 Spatial Data Analysis -- 60 hours including conference (2 lec, 2 lab), 3 cr.
Material Fee: $15.
Prereq: one course in statistics and permission of instructor.
Methods for analyzing environmental and social spatial data sets. Topics include point pattern analysis, spatial clustering methods, spatial autocorrelation, and kriging.

GTECH 70800 Seminar in GeoInformatics -- 1 hr, 1 cr.
This seminar is an introduction to the wider GeoInformatics field/industry. Students will be exposed to a number of professionals and researchers in the NYC area, and each student will be required to organize their own speaker from the community. The goals of this seminar course are twofold: to introduce students to the wider GeoInformatics community, and to promote networking and lasting interactions with local and regional GeoInformatics professionals. Students will identify, approach, and invite local and/or regional GeoInformatics professionals to give a talk in one of the weekly seminar sessions for this course. Each student will be responsible for bringing in a speaker, and at the end of the course, the student will be required to discuss the speaker’s work, and the research, news, or information that the speaker presented.

GTECH 70900 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems -- 4 hrs, 3 cr.
Material Fee: $15.
Recommended Coreq: GTECH 71000.

Thorough introduction to geographic information systems (GIS) using multiple desktop and web-based GIS with an emphasis on spatial data handling and project management.

GTECH 71000 Concepts and Theories in GeoInformatics -- 3 hrs, 3 cr.
Material Fee: $15.
Recommended Coreq: GTECH 70900.

Theoretical and conceptual foundations of GeoInformatics and Geographic Information Science.

GTECH 71200 Remote Sensing of Environment -- 60 hrs including conference (2 lectures, 2 lab weekly), 3 cr.
Material Fee: $15.
Prereq: GTECH 71100 or permission of instructor.

Fundamental concepts of remote sensing of environment, satellite sensor systems and their applications, and basic concepts of image analysis.

GTECH 71300 Digital Image Processing and LiDAR Remote Sensing -- 6 hrs, 3 cr.
Material Fee: $15.
Prereq: GTECH 71200, multivariate statistics, elementary linear algebra.

Quantitative processing of digital imagery; enhancement, information extraction, classification; algorithms, registration, rectification; and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology and principles and applications; lab exercises.

GTECH 72100 Introduction to Cartographic Design and Geovisualization -- 4 hrs, 3 cr.
Material Fee: $15.
Prereq: GTECH 70900.

This course explores fundamental design concepts and considerations in map production and presentation in the context of GIS.  Students will combine computer graphics and cartographic design principles to develop visual representations and analysis of geospatial information.

GTECH 72200 Advanced Topics in GeoVisualization -- 4 hrs, 3 cr.
Material Fee: $15.
Prereq: GTECH 70900.

This course immerses students in animated and interactive maps, web mapping, and new visualization techniques.

GTECH 73100 GeoComputation I -- 4 hrs, 3 cr.
Material Fee: $15.
Prereq: GTECH 71000 or equivalent.

A comprehensive course in programming that concentrates on object-oriented programming methods and algorithms specific to geographic and cartographic applications.

GTECH 73200 Advanced GeoInformatics -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Material Fee: $15.
Prereq: GTECH 70900 and GTECH 71000.

Expansion of GTECH 70900 and GTECH 71000 concentrating on advanced concepts in GeoInformatics, including data models, algorithms, GIS analysis and scripting.

GTECH 73300 GeoComputation II -- 3 hrs, 3 cr
Prereq: GTECH 73100 and GTECH 73200 and permission of the graduate adviser.

Theory and applications of GeoComputing. Models and algorithms for advanced spatial and temporal modeling are examined and programed.  Emphasis is on an object-based computational paradigm and spatial data structures.

GTECH 73400 GeoWeb Services -- 3 hrs, 3 cr.
Prereq: GTECH 73100.

This course will examine the principles of GeoWeb services in a hands-on fashion. Students will learn about the different standards that are being used in the context of the GeoWeb. They will be introduced to different commercial and open source software solutions and learn how to set up, manage, and use these services. Students will explore the different technologies introduced in class in the lab assignments. Each student will present a topic to the class based on readings provided by the instructor. In the second half of the semester, each student will work on a project that involves the setup and use of GeoWeb services. Basic programming skills in any language are a prerequisite for this course.

GTECH 73500 Location Based Services -- 3 hrs, 3 cr.
Prereq: one of the following: GTECH 70500, GTECH 73100 or CSCI 13500.

This course will examine the principles of Location Based Services (LBS) in a hands-on fashion. Students will learn how to design, implement, and test an LBS application in a group project. Therefore, basic programming skills in any language are a prerequisite for this course. The course will be highly interactive in two ways: Each student will present a topic to the class based on readings provided by the instructor, and each student will participate in the group work to develop a working LBS by the end of the semester. For this purpose, mobile devices (iPhones, Android phones, Google Glass) will be provided.

GTECH 75100 Field Techniques in Geography -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: GTECH 71000 or equivalent, any two additional GEOG, GEOL, PGEOG or GTECH courses, and permission of instructor.

Observation and analysis of the physical geography, biogeography and geomorphology of selected areas. Field geographic techniques such as data collection and recording, ground-truthing of remotely sensed images, and the use of maps, compasses and GPS to navigate. Additional fee for transportation, room and food allowance required.

GTECH 78501 Urban Applications of GIS -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: GTECH 70900.
Discussion of data, methodology, and examples of using GIS to solve urban problems in economic, social, planning, and political settings. Students are expected to conduct small research projects addressing real world issues.

GTECH 78502 GIS Applications in Social Geography -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Material Fee: $15.
Prereq: GTECH 70900.

Data representation and analysis of socio-spatial processes and environmental problems. The course is oriented to problem solving and independent data analysis. Students will fulfill an independent GIS project from data collection and database design to analysis and interpretation of results.

GTECH 788 GeoInformatics Internships -- 1-3 hrs, 1-3 cr.
Prereq: department permission. Requires an internship contract drawn up by the employer and a faculty adviser and signed by the student. May be repeated for a total of 3.0 credits.

Internship with a non-CUNY institution that provides the student with real-world experience of the application of GeoInformatics. 

GTECH 79100, 79200, 79300 Independent Research in Geographic Information Science -- 1-3 cr.
Prereq: permission of instructor or graduate adviser. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits with permission of the graduate adviser..

Intensive individual research in GIScience under the supervision of a member of the graduate faculty.

GTECH 799 Thesis Research in GeoInformatics -- 3 cr.
Prereq or coreq: department permission required. May be taken twice for total of 6 credits.

Supervised development of master's thesis in GeoInformatics.

PGEOG 63000 Science and Society -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. This course is part of the MA Teacher Education Program in Earth Science.
A study of the interactions between technological and societal changes, with an emphasis on eliciting within the classroom productive oral and written critiques and debates concerning potentially controversial technological change. Focusing on present-day issues, students will learn various models for analyzing the impact scientific change has on society and how social change directs science.

PGEOG 66000 Challenging Concepts in Earth Science: Using Research to Identify Common Misconceptions and Assess Student Learning -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. This course is part of the MA Teacher Education Program in Earth Science.
Overview of research and theory related to misconceptions in the earth sciences. Students will be expected to develop a research proposal or to conduct the research in their own classrooms, and write a paper in the form of a journal article. The article will serve as the culminating project for the science portion of the MA-TEP degree.

PGEOG 70152 Hydrology -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: PGEOG 13000 or permission of instructor.
Provides students an understanding of the hydrologic cycle - the most fundamental principle of hydrology and emphasizes an understanding of the complete hydrological cycle processes at gloval, regional and watershed scales.

PGEOG 70160 Biogeography -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: PGEOG 13000 or GEOG 10100 or BIO 10000 / 10200 permission of instructor.
This course provides an understanding of the geographic distribution and temporal variability of species, communities, and other organizing units over the face of the Earth and the biotic and abiotic factors and processes underlying these patterns and dynamics.

PGEOG 70179 Geology of NYC and Vicinity -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: GEOL 10100 or an equivalent course in introductory geology.
Focus on the complexity of the geology of the New York Metro area and its vicinity. Using urban public transportation, walking, and hiking, students will directly observe natural exposures of the large variety of rock outcroppings in the area. Course consists of lectures, laboratory exercise, and geologic field trips. Recommended for students in the Teachers of Earth Science (7-12) MA program.

PGEOG 70180 Geology of New York State -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: GEOL 10100 or an equivalent course in introductory geology.
Links fundamental knowledge about the earth materials and earth processes to the complex geology of New York State. Covers the latest information about the geologic ages of rock formations in New York State, plate tectonics, bedrock geology, including metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks, fossils, and ancient environments. The course consists of lecture, laboratory exercises, and field trips to the Catskill Mountains, Hudson Highlands, the Manhattan Prong, and Montauk Point. Recommended for students enrolled in the Teachers of Earth Science (7-12) MA program. There will be an additional charge for transportation.

PGEOG 70200 Seminar in Physical Geography -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Team research in specific topic area of physical geography; individual research projects; may be repeated for credit. Topic and prerequisites to vary with instructor and student interest.

PGEOG 70300 Coastal Dynamics -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Quantitative focus on the dynamic processes affecting the coast and the resulting varied geomorphology. In particular, this course will focus on waves, beaches, barrier island evolution, storm systems and coastal erosion, using the Atlantic coast of New York as a case study. Research and field work expected.

PGEOG 70500 Topics in Earth Science -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Studies of specialized areas within earth science. May be repeated for credit as topics change.

PGEOG 70563 Earth Science Today -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. This course is part of the MA Teacher Education Program in Earth Science.
A survey of the primary topics included in an earth science curriculum (grades 7-12). Laboratory methodology and demonstration techniques used to convey information about the earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, as well as its place in the solar system, will be introduced.

PGEOG 70564 Introducing Earth Science at the Museum of Natural History -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. This course is part of the MA Teacher Education Program in Earth Sciences.
This course is composed of four modules aligned with the New York State standards for teachers of earth science (grades 7-12). Topics include the earth alive; climate through the ages; the air we breathe; the inevitable storm; New York - a city surrounded by water; and beyond earth - a search for life.

PGEOG 70567 Science of Rocks - Petrology -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr. Prereq: GEOL 10100 or an equivalent course in introductory geology.
Composition, distribution, and origin of rocks, their scientific description and systematic classification with the focus on the rocks of the New York Metro area. Topics include rock microscopy; field observations of rocks and the relation to the principles of geology; interpretation of geologic maps; lithospheric rock cycle in the context of plate tectonics and earth evolution; and the geology of New York City and its relationship to urban issues. Recommended for earth science students and others interested in the study and uses of rock. There will be an additional charge for local transportation.

PGEOG 70568 Earth Materials Research -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: GEOL 10100 or an equivalent course in introductory geology.
Collection, preparation, identification, and preservation of earth materials-rocks, minerals, and fosils using earth materials from the collection of the Department of Geography. Observations will be based on direct research, measurement, microscopy, and microchemistry. Trips to the American Museum of Natural History, Franklin and Sterling mines (NJ) and the St. Claire and Deer Lake fossil sites (PA) for specimen collection. Recommended for earth science students and others interested in the study of earth materials. There will be an additional charge for transportation.

PGEOG 71000 Introduction to GIS --This course is part of the MA Teacher Education Program in Earth Science.

PGEOG 73200 Global Climatic Change -- 45 hrs including conference, 3 cr.
Prereq: a course in atmospheric, geological or environmental science.

Examination of the pre-Quaternary, Quaternary, post-glacial, historical and instrumentally recorded climates; greenhouse gases; aerosols; radioactive forcing; processes and modeling; feedbacks; observed changes; detecting the greenhouse effect; sea level rise; effects on ecosystems.

PGEOG 79100, 79200, 79300 Independent Research in Physical Geography -- 1-3 cr.
Prereq or coreq: GEOG 70100 and GEOG 70200, and permission of instructor or graduate adviser. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits with permission of the graduate adviser..

Intensive individual research in physical geography under the supervision of a member of the graduate faculty.