Michigan State UniversityGraduate Program in Geography (specialization in Climatology)

UCAR Site VisitApril 5, 2010

Graduate Degrees in Geography• Graduate degrees offered:– M.S. in Geography– MS in Geographic Information Systems– Ph.D. in Geography

• Four fundamental areas:– Physical Geography– Geospatial Technologies– Nature-Society Studies– Urban-Economic Geography

M.S. DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

M.S. DegreeEntrance Requirements

• An undergraduate degree in Geography or related field • A cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA)

above 3.4 on a 4.0 scale• A total of 1000+ for the combined verbal and quantitative

scores of the GRE, and a ranking on the analytical writing part of the GRE that is in the 50th or higher percentile

• A TOEFL score of at least 600 (paper; 630 for funding), 100 (internet; 109 for funding), or 250 (computer; 267 for funding) where applicable

M.S. DegreeNumber of Credits

• 30 semester credits are required beyond BA/BS degree:– At least 20 credits in courses offered by the

Department of Geography– At least 16 credits at the 800 and 900 levels– Courses below the 400 level do not count toward

the 30 credit requirement

M.S. DegreeCourse Requirements

• One 800-level seminar• GEO 886:Research Design in Geography • Two advanced-level “tool” courses:

– A tool course in spatial technology (cartography, advanced remote sensing, geographic information systems, thematic cartography, digital terrain analysis, geospatial technology, geoprocessing, geocomputation, digital image processing and analysis)

– A tool course in the area of advanced quantitative or qualitative analysis or programming

• 10-14 credits of electives (within and/or outside the Department)

• GEO 899: Master’s Thesis Research (4-6 credits)

M.S. DegreeOther Requirements

• Present a research paper or poster at a professional meeting

• Complete a thesis• Pass the final oral examination– The student's advisory committee serves as the

examining committee– The oral exam covers the student's declared

primary area of study, related theory and methodology, and the thesis research

M.S. DegreeAdvisory Committee

• The Advisory Committee consists of at least three people:– the advisor, who chairs the committee– the second and third readers of the thesis

• The committee should be selected and approved by the end of the second semester in residence

Ph.D. DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Ph.D. DegreeEntrance Requirements

• A thesis MA or MS in Geography or a related discipline • A grade point average (GPA) above 3.6 on a 4.0 scale in

a recognized Master’s program• A total of 1100+ for the combined verbal and

quantitative scores of the GRE; and a ranking on the analytical writing part of the GRE that is in the 75th or higher percentile

• A TOEFL score of at least 600 (paper; 630 for funding), 100 (internet; 109 for funding), or 250 (computer; 267 for funding) where applicable

Ph.D. DegreeCredit Requirements

• A minimum of 56 credits is required for the Ph.D. degree: – Two 800-level seminars – GEO 886: Research Design in Geography (3 credits)

• Sometimes waived if student has completed a MA/MS thesis– GEO 986: Theory and Methods in Geography (3 credits)– At least one advanced-level tool course (3+ credits)– Electives (minimum of 15)– Doctoral Dissertation Research (minimum of 24

credits)

Ph.D. Degree Guidance Committee

• The Guidance Committee consists of at least four regular Michigan State University faculty – The major professor is the chairperson of the student's

Guidance Committee and the dissertation advisor – Guidance Committee members may be from an

academic unit other than Geography but at least half of the committee must be composed of faculty from Geography

– The Guidance Committee should be formed no later than the end of the second semester in residence

Ph.D. DegreeComprehensive Exam

• Usually taken at the end of the student’s second year in residence or during the third year in residence

• Covers the student's two fields of specialization as defined in the student's Guidance Committee Report, together with related theory and methodology

• The comprehensive exam consists of two parts:– Written portion

• Prepared by the student’s Guidance Committee – Oral portion

• Other faculty (beyond Guidance Committee) and graduate students (with permission) can also attend

Ph.D. DegreeOther Requirements

• Present and defend a written dissertation proposal before the Department– Once approved, the proposal is the written understanding of the

Guidance Committee's expectations and the student's obligations – Usually completed during the third year in residence

• Complete a dissertation• Present a research paper or poster at a professional meeting. • Submit an authored or co-authored manuscript, approved by

the advisor, for publication in a book or referred journal• Pass an oral examination in defense of the dissertation

– Conducted and evaluated by the student’s Guidance Committee

COURSE OFFERINGS

Meteorology/Climatology Courses400 level or above

Currently offered: • GEO 402: Agricultural Climatology

(3 credits)• GEO 403: Dynamic Meteorology

(3 credits)• GEO 405: Weather and

Forecasting (4 credits)• GEO 409: Global Climate Change

and Variability

Offered under 492, 890 or 892 numbers or anticipated in the near future:

• Seminar in Climatology (800-level)• Weather and Climate Modeling

(800 level)• Severe and Unusual Weather

(initial offering at 400 level)• Global Climates (initial offerings at

400 level)• Hydroclimatology (anticipated to

be at 400 level)• Instrumentation and Observations

(400 or 800 level)

Electives• Climatology graduate students take electives

from across campus. Some examples:– Geology– Zoology– Fisheries and Wildlife– Crops and Soil Science– Civil and Environmental Engineering– Statistics– Computer Science

Environmental Science and Policy Program (ESPP) Doctoral Specialization

• The ESPP Specialization is intended to provide interdisciplinary breath to students working on Ph.D. degrees that have an environmental focus.

• Sequence of 4 courses:– ESP 801: Physical, Chemical and Biological Processes of

the Environment– ESP 802: Human Systems and the Environment– ESP 803: Human and Ecological Health Assessment and

Management– ESP 804: Environmental Applications and Analysis

GRADUATE RESEARCH

Strengths of MSU Climatology Program

• Applied climatology and meteorology• Climate change (including impact

assessments)• Agricultural climatology• Boundary-layer climatology and meteorology• Hydroclimatology• Synoptic climatology

Research Interests of Recent Graduate Students

• Changes in atmospheric circulation over Europe and relationship to temperature extremes in Eastern Europe

• The configuration and evolution of airstreams in Colorado cyclones• A synoptic climatology of warm-season low-level wind maxima in the Great Plains and their

relationship to convection• On the use of a regional-scale numerical climate model in wind energy applications• Climate trends and synoptic patterns associated with major precipitation events of the southern

Appalachians • Climatic trends and potato leaf blight in the Upper Great Lakes region• The effects of suburban land-use change and climate on watershed hydrology in Oakland County,

Michigan, 1975-2005 • Climatological constraints of a wheat-soybean double-cropping system• Source regions of lower-tropospheric airflow trajectories for the lower peninsula of Michigan: A

40-year air mass climatology• Investigation into the ability of the Bluesky smoke modeling framework in simulating smoke

impacts from wildfires• An observational and numerical study of a regional scale downslope flow in northern Arizona‐• A climatology of the origin, movement, duration, and termination of convective systems in the

north-central United States

Interests of Current Students• Climate change impact assessment of corn and

soybean production in the northern Great Lakes region

• Drought climatology for the Great Lakes region• Climate change and bio-energy• Evaluation of regional climate model predictions• Modeling and analysis of low-level jets

Types of Employment Opportunities

• Faculty positions– Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Systems, Indiana State University– Lecturer II, Department of Social Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn– Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Western Michigan University– Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, SUNY-Geneseo

• Government– NOAA, National Climatic Data Center– U.S. Geological Survey– U.S. Forest Service

• Private Sector– AWS Truewind, LLC– Landgrafix– Florida Light and Power Company

• Postdocs and Project Managers– US CLIVAR Climate Prediction Applications– Department of Geography/US Forest Service– MSU Center for Global Change and Earth Observations

SUMMARY

Key Characteristics of the Graduate Program

• Focus on climatology• Flexible MS and PhD degree requirements• Climatology courses supplemented by large

course offerings across the university allowing students to build unique graduate degree programs

• Graduate students have been able to find positions in academia, government, and the private sector

For more information …

• http://www.geo.msu.edu/programs.html