Academic Programs
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Project Option - Urban & Regional Geography
The contemporary world is experiencing profound social, economic, and political changes that are quickly transforming the ways that people live, work, do business, communicate, and govern. Human geography, as an integrative discipline, is uniquely situated to identify, analyze, and critique the extent and effects of these rapid transitions at various spatial scales -from neighborhoods and cities to regions, nations, and the global village. This is the focus of the graduate program in Urban and Regional Studies in this department. We offer graduate training, both in the classroom and through daily interaction with graduate students, in a broad range of theory and methods. The program contains a limited core of required courses and provides great flexibility for students to follow their own interests within the field of Urban and Regional Analysis.
A rich array of courses that deal extensively with contemporary urban and regional issues is regularly offered. At both urban and regional scales, we focus attention upon problems of societal development and change that arise both as a context and as a framework for analysis and study. We approach geographical problems from a variety of perspectives. Examples are:
- Accessibility and transportation geography;
- Feminist geography;
- Information and communication technologies;
- Land-use, accessibility and sustainability;
- Location theory and housing markets;
- Access to social services and community development;
- Political economy;
- Population geography;
- Regional analysis;
- Retail and service location analysis;
- Spatial-temporal patterns of crime and health conditions; and
- Social theory.
Methodological courses linked to the Urban and Regional Analysis Program include survey research design, statistical analysis, qualitative and ethnographic methods, archival research, network and regional analysis, 3-D modeling, a wide variety of GIS courses supported by a very well-equipped Geographical Information and Analysis Laboratory, location and network analysis, and methods of mathematical modeling. These methods and techniques allow students to more easily attain their career goals.
The program curriculum blends essential skills of analytical thinking, urban and regional proficiency, data mapping and handling, and communication, sought by a large variety of private and public employers. In particular, employers ranging from regional and community development agencies and city and transportation planning departments to engineering and marketing consultants, real property developers, and public and private service providers seek professionals educated in various processes of the life and evolution of urbanized areas (mobility, land-use, social, demographic, and economic issues). Additionally, many of these organizations need people proficient in fundamentals of locational and spatial analysis, and computer mapping technologies. Non-profit organizations and government agencies concerned with social policy, urban problems (housing, education, welfare, crime), and the urban/suburban divide require professionals capable of thinking critically, analyzing data, writing coherent arguments, and integrating information across the boundaries of economics, politics, and social relations from a spatial perspective.
Students completing the MA in Geography with specialization in Urban and Regional Studies are well prepared to pursue doctoral study concentrating in Urban and Regional Analysis within the Department of Geography.
Students are able to earn an MA degree in Geography with this concnetration after completing
30 credits and submitting a capstone research project. They should expect to devote 12 to 15 months 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)
Elective Courses
Students may select courses from the following electives, or seek advisor permission for out-of department courses.
GEO 504 Geography Seminar(Business Geographics) (4)
GEO 507 Location Theory (3)
GEO 512 Geography of Health
GEO 518 Population Geography (3)
GEO 519 Transportation (3)
GEO 520 Transportation and Spatial Information (4)
GEO 530 Urban Geography (4)
GEO 554 Network and Location Analysis (4)
GEO 564 Mobility and Flows (4)
GEO 574 Transportation and Land Use Modeling (4)
GEO 605 Spatial Statistics (4)
GEO 633 Critical Urban Issues (3)
While working on their research project, students commonly register for 1-3 credits of GEO 631, Project Guidance. The research project is written on a topic approved by and under the supervision of the student's advisory committee. The scope of the project should be focused enough to gain knowledge of the domain of research above and beyond coursework. The project report should be substantial enough to demonstrate mastery of the research issue in hand.
Admission Requirements
- Bachelor's degree (in any discipline)
- Good GRE and TOEFL scores
- Three letters of reference
- Online application at www.gradmit.buffalo.edu
Core Urban and Regional Studies Faculty
Jared Aldstadt, Assistant Professor, geojared@buffalo.edu
Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen, Professor, geosbs@buffalo.edu
Sara Metcalf, Assistant Professor, smetcalf@buffalo.edu
Peter Rogerson, Professor, rogerson@buffalo.edu
Enki Yoo, Assistant Professor, eunhye@buffalo.edu