Academic Programs
> Graduate > Masters (MA)
Project Option - Transportation / Business Geographics
*** SOME TRANSPORTATION COURSES ARE CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE***
The Department of Geography offers students pursuing a master's degree in geography the opportunity of specializing in Transportation and Business Geographics. Dominant themes of study, research, and inquiry in this specialization include:
- Relationships between the organization of the space economy and transportation;
- Freight and passenger transportation systems;
- Flow of people, commodities, information, and ideas at different scales of observation --from the small picture (urban transportation) to the global picture (international transportation);
- Mobility and accessibility issues in every day life and in the economy;
- Optimal routing and facility location;
- Transportation infrastructure, efficiency, and safety;
- The transportation-land use link;
- Transportation logistics, distribution, and business location;
- Spatial information technologies and location-based services;
- Activities and travel in a city environment;
- Transportation planning and policies; and
- Transportation systems and sustainability.
The use of information technologies (intelligent transportation systems, geographic information systems, wireless communication systems) is emphasized throughout the curriculum of the transportation and business geographics specialization.
The purpose of this degree specialization is to increase students' understanding of the use of transportation systems in contemporary societies and of their impact in structuring the geographic space of cities, regions, and the world at large. This specialization teaches students an understanding of public policies as they relate to transportation. It also aims to enhance students' knowledge of theories, techniques, and models of transportation analysis and business geographics used by practitioners in the public and private sector of the economy.
Students are trained for positions with government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as with transportation service providers (carriers, freight forwarders, logistics managers, etc.), facility location planners (real estate companies, business location consultants, etc.), and GIS service providers.
Students are able to earn an MA degree in Geography with an advanced certificate in Transportation / Business Geographics after completing 30 credits and a master's research project. They should expect to devote one year of full-time study to the program.
Required Core Courses
GEO 500 Introduction to Graduate Geography (3)
GEO 501 Research Design (1)
GEO 506 Geographical Information Systems (4)
GEO 509 Multivariate Statistics in Geography (3)
GEO 519 Transportation (3)
GEO 631 Project Guidance (1)
Elective Courses
Three of the following five courses:
GEO 520 Transportation and Spatial Information (4)
GEO 554 Network and Location Analysis (4)
GEO 564 Mobility and Flows (4)
GEO 574 Urban Transportation and Land Use Modeling (4)
GEO 666 Geography of Information (3)
One of the following courses:
GEO 507 Location Theory (3)
ECO 521 Urban Economics (3)
GEO 518 Population Geography (3)
GEO 530 Urban Geography (3)
GEO 531 Introduction to International Business and World Trade (3)
PD 562 Transportation and Infrastructure Planning (3)
GEO 605 Spatial Statistics (3)
MGS 616 Decision Support in Supply Chain Management (3)
GEO 633 Critical Urban Issues (3)
Internships with private and public organizations are also available to students.
Admission Requirements
- Bachelor's degree (in any discipline)
- Good GRE and TOEFL scores
- Three letters of reference
- Online application at www.gradmit.buffalo.edu
