Department of Geography

http://geography.tamu.edu

Head: D. Cairns

Graduate Director: A. Filippi

Graduate work in geography is offered at the master’s and doctoral levels. The department has a wide scope. Faculty interests include physical geography (geomorphology, biogeography, climatology, hydrology), human geography (cultural, economic, historical, political, social, urban), geographic information science, human-environment relations and geography education. The Department of Geography can also serve as the “home” department for the Master of Geoscience degree. The MGsc is a non-thesis degree that provides a multidisciplinary background in the geosciences, appropriate for educators or individuals interested in environmental issues.

Graduate students are required to be involved with research work and teaching. Primary data collection is encouraged. Many graduate courses are taught as seminars requiring research papers. A non-thesis option is available for master’s-level students, especially those with professional/vocational goals.

Geography
Geosciences

Geography

GEOG 603 Processes in Economic Geography

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Spatial organization and distribution of economic activity; patterns of land rent and land use; theories of economic development; models of spatial decision making. Prerequisite: GEOG 304 or equivalent or approval of instructor.

GEOG 604 Processes in Physical Geography

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Methodologies and problems of physical geography with emphasis on the interrelationships of the physical environment; a foundation course for graduate work in geography. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

GEOG 605 Processes in Cultural Geography

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Evolution of cultural landscapes; processes of innovation, diffusion and adaptation in context of developing human-environment relationships. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

GEOG 610 Geographical Methods and Theory

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Development of geography as a discipline; methods and theories used in geography for understanding place and for spatial analysis of human and biophysical phenomena. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in geography or approval of instructor.

GEOG 611 Geographical Research Design

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Methods, techniques and conceptual models for the conception, design, planning and conduct of geographical research. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in geography or approval of instructor.

GEOG 612 Applied Climatology

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Climate data and methods to solve a wide range of environmental problems; collection, processing, analysis and interpretation of surface observations, radar, satellite, reanalysis and climate model data; statistical methods and physical modeling; practical problems and development of tools for decision makers. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOG 616 Urban Geography

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Spatial patterns and processes of urban systems; growth and sprawl; environmental impacts; residential choice models; political fragmentation; economic development; power and privilege; place-based identity. Prerequisite: GEOG 306 or equivalent.

GEOG 619 Human Impact on the Environment

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Human alterations of landscapes, the atmosphere and the waters of the earth; interference with natural chemical cycles; disturbance of ecological equilibria; depletion of natural resources; roles of technology and population growth. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

GEOG 621 Land-Use and Land-Cover Change

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Concepts and approaches to understanding human dimensions of land use and land cover change; history of land change science and research programs; theories of global and regional land changes that emphasize patterns and drivers of change at multiple scales; methodological approaches, including geospatial analysis, remote sensing, modeling and social science approaches; integration of physical and critical human geography. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOG 624 Biogeography: Theory and Methods

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Theory and methods utilized in contemporary biogeography; emphasis on the analysis of vegetation communities and their environmental controls; various methods of ordination and predictive methods for analyzing vegetation ranges; spatial analysis of vegetation. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

GEOG 625/ENTO 625 Landscape Ecology

Credits 3. 2 Lecture Hours. 2 Lab Hours. Study of structure, function, and change in a heterogeneous land area composed of interacting ecosystems; examine basic ecological principles dealing with landscape structure. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor. Cross Listing: ENTO 625/GEOG 625.

GEOG 626 Fluvial Geomorphology

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Concepts and methods applicable to the fluvial systems; components affecting rivers and drainage basin and analysis geomorphology; analytical treatment of problems arising from fluvial changes. Prerequisite: GEOG 203 or approval of instructor.

GEOG 629 Cultural and Political Ecology

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. History of ideas about humans and environment; political and social meanings of nature and culture; access and control of resources; theories of environmental change; geographic approaches to political ecology research; current debates and future directions.

GEOG 634 Hydrology and Environment

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Examination of hydrologic processes affecting surface and groundwater resources; impact of climate, soils, vegetation, land-use practices, and human effects on hydrologic processes; natural-scientific perspectives emphasized. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOG 635 Advanced Biogeography

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Theory and contemporary research in biogeography; methods used in conducting biogeographical research; spatial and temporal changes in the distribution of organisms; influences of humans and the physical environment on biogeographic patterns. Prerequisite: GEOG 624 or approval of instructor.

GEOG 642/GEOL 642 Past Climates

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Terrestrial and marine proxy records of past climate variability, including tree rings, coral, and sediments; past climate change events such as the Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period; greenhouse gases and global temperature; insight into the nature of climate change and challenges humankind faces in the next few centuries. Prerequisite: Graduate classification. Cross Listing: GEOL 642/GEOG 642.

GEOG 643 Advanced Geographies of Energy

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Renewable and fossil energy resource systems and landscapes; territorialization of energy use; politics and geopolitics of energy; energy problems and and decisions; energy governance; decarbonization policies and scenarios; alternative energy futures.

GEOG 651 Remote Sensing for Geographical Analysis

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. 1 Lab Hour. Provides and introduction to remote sensing fundamentals. Discussion of past, present and planned earth observing sensors as well as technical issues involved in the collection, processing and interpretation of remote sensing images with emphasis on application to geographic problems, including geomorphology, hydrology and coastal oceanography. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOG 652 Quantitative Methods in Geography

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Designed to acquaint with quantitative methods commonly used in geographical research to describe, characterize, model and analyze geo-spatial data. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

GEOG 659 Geodatabases

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. 1 Lab Hour. GIS data modeling; introductory and advanced spatial SQL (structured query language); spatial database management system (DBMS) server setup, management and maintenance; spatial DBMS design, implementation, tuning, performance analysis and indexing; connecting spatial data services and warehouses to GIS software.

GEOG 660 Applications in GIS

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. 1 Lab Hour. Basic concepts of design, planning, and implementation of geographic information systems. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOG 661 Digital Image Processing and Analysis

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. 1 Lab Hour. Principles of georectifying, processing, manipulating and interpreting data collected by nonphotographic sensors concentrating on solid earth resources. Prerequisite: GEOG 651 or equivalent or approval of instructor.

GEOG 662 GIS in Land and Property Management

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. 1 Lab Hour. Introduction to concepts of design, planning and implementation of geographic information systems (GISs) for land and property management applications; rural land and agricultural property; urban and residential land uses; cadastral surveying. Prerequisite: GEOG 660 or equivalent or approval of instructor.

GEOG 663 GIS in Petroleum

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. 1 Lab Hour. Investigation of the use of Geographic Information Systems within the Petroleum Industry; case studies present geospatial workflows used in various industry sectors; laboratory exercises provide practical applications incorporating industry-standard data sources. Prerequisite: GEOG 660 or equivalent, or approval of instructor.

GEOG 665 GIS-Based Spatial Analysis and Modeling

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. 1 Lab Hour. Investigates methodology of integrating various spatial analysis and modeling techniques with GIS for environmental/socio-economic applications; practical applications; theoretical/technical aspects of related issues in detail. Prerequisite: GEOG 660 or equivalent or approval of instructor; also taught at Galveston campus.

GEOG 666 Coastal Geomorphology

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Essential concepts and methods to coastal geomorphology; review history and processes of coastal geomorphology; analytical treatment of problems associated with coastal environmental changes. Prerequisite: GEOG 203 or equivalent.

GEOG 667 Dynamic Modeling of Earth and Environmental Systems

Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 2 Lab Hours. Dynamical systems modeling; dynamic complexity; key concepts, processes and human impact on earth and environmental systems; model building and testing; system behavior over time; model validation and sensitivity; examples from the applications in earth and environmental sciences. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

GEOG 668 Arctic Climates

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Arctic climate system, physical characteristics and climatic features, the atmospheric energy budget, the atmospheric circulation, the surface energy budget, the hydrologic cycle, and the interactions between the atmosphere, Arctic Ocean, and the sea ice cover. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOG 676 GIS Programming

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. 1 Lab Hour. Automation of GIS software; integration of custom code as extensions into GIS software; programmatic manipulation of GIS data. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOG 677 Geomorphometry

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Introduction to discipline of geomorphometry; science of quantitative land-surface characterization; fundamental principles of terrain analysis; theory and concepts of land-surface and dynamics; software and digital terrain modeling; production of land-surface parameters and objects and terrain mapping applications. Prerequisites: Equivalent of GEOG 361 and GEOG 390, or approval of instructor; graduate classification.

GEOG 678 WebGIS

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. 1 Lab Hour. Internet architectures; setup, management and maintenance of web-based Geographic Information System (WebGIS) servers, data and services; use of WebGIS data an services in the creation of custom web-based maps; analysis of WebGIS system architecture, design and implementation. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOG 681 Seminar

Credits 0-1. 0 Lecture Hours. 0-1 Other Hours. Reports and discussions of current research and selected topics. Must be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

GEOG 685 Directed Studies

Credits 1 to 6. 1 to 6 Other Hours. For students with major or minor in geography to undertake investigations in special aspects of geography. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

GEOG 689 Special Topics in...

Credits 1 to 4. 1 to 4 Lecture Hours. 0 to 4 Lab Hours. Selected topics in an identified area of geography. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

GEOG 691 Research

Credits 1 to 23. 1 to 23 Other Hours. Original research in various areas of geography. Research for thesis or dissertation.

GEOG 695 Frontiers in Geographic Information Science

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Theoretical foundations and the latest development of geographic information science (GIScience); topics related to representations of space and time, geocomputation, spatially integrated social sciences, and social informatics. Prerequisite: Introductory GIS.

GEOG 696 Geomorphology and Remote Sensing

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Application of remote sensing to study landforms, imagery, includes, aerial photography; LANDSAT; SPOT, TM and shuttle photography. Prerequisite: GEOG 203 or approval of instructor.

Geosciences

GEOS 611 Data Management for the Geosciences

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Study of data creation and data project execution plans in geosciences; interactive data workflow-based infrastructures; maintaining data identity and quality during data transformation processes; fundamental geosciences data management planning; data collection by environmental sensors. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOS 612 Data Quality for the Geosciences

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Study of quality procedures and concerns for analysis-ready data for geosciences applications; fundamental functions to evaluate and produce high-quality geosciences data; data quality status and reliability; identification and extraction of mandatory elements of geoscience data. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOS 613 Data Governance in the Geosciences

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Study of geosciences data governance activities and communications; operational, technological, digital and intellectual geosciences data resources; creation of accurate and reliable geosciences data; preparation of high-quality geosciences data for governance purposes; organizational data rules and standards for the geosciences. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOS 669 Introduction to Processing Geoscience Data with R

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Scientific programming; handling of data in the earth sciences; differences among spatial and temporal datasets; use of short programming scripts in the open-source language R, clean data sets, application of simple data visualizations. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

GEOS 676 Capstone Experience

Credits 3 to 6. 3 to 6 Lecture Hours. Integration of knowledge and skills gained through other courses and experiences in the Master of Geoscience program, application of conceptual geoscience knowledge to solve applied problems in the discipline; development of teamwork, communication and professional skills through interactions with industry professionals. Prerequisites: Enrollment in Master of Geoscience.

Bishop, Michael P, Professor
Geography
PHD, Indiana State University, 1987

Brannstrom, Christian, Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1998

Breyer, Betsy, Instructional Assistant Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019

Brysch, Carmen, Instructional Associate Professor
Geography
PHD, Texas State University, 2014

Cai, Heng, Assistant Professor
Geography
PHD, Louisiana State University, 2017

Cairns, David M, Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Iowa, 1995

Casellas Connors, John Patrick, Associate Professor
Geography
PHD, Arizona State University, 2015

Filippi, Anthony M, Associate Professor
Geography
PHD, University of South Carolina, 2003

Frauenfeld, Oliver, Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Virginia, 2003

Goldberg, Daniel W, Associate Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Southern California, 2010

Guneralp, Burak, Associate Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006

Guneralp, Inci, Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007

Jean, Christy Roberts, Instructional Assistant Professor
Geography
PHD, Kansas State University, 2023

Jepson, Wendy, Professor
Geography
PHD, University of California at Los Angeles, 2003

Klein, Andrew G, Professor
Geography
PHD, Cornell University, 1997

Lafon, Charles W, Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2000

Moodie, Andrew, Assistant Professor
Geography
PHD, Rice University, 2020

Morakinyo, Tobi, Assistant Professor
Geography
PHD, City University of Hong Kong, HKSAR, 2016

O'Reilly, Kathleen M, Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Iowa, 2002

Prout, Erik, Instructional Associate Professor
Geography
PHD, Louisiana State University, 2001

Roark, Erin B, Professor
Geography
PHD, University of California at Berkeley, 2005

Torbenson, Max, Assistant Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 2019

Winata, Fikriyah, Assistant Professor
Geography
PHD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2022

Yadav, Shobha, Visiting Assistant Professor
Geography
PHD, West Virginia University, 2023

Zhang, Zhe, Associate Professor
Geography
PHD, Aalto University, 2016

Zou, Lei, Associate Professor
Geography
PHD, Louisiana State University, 2017