Location:

Worcester, United States

Program Type:

Full Degree

Degree Level:

Master

Specialty:

Urban Affairs & Planning

Program Overview

Program Description:

The Master of Arts program in Geographic Information Sciences for Development and Environment (GISDE) teaches students to become professionals in careers where they apply the world's most advanced computer mapping technologies to address crucial issues concerning socioeconomic development and environmental science. A program in collaboration with IDCE and Clark University's Geography Department, GISDE program is unique is a variety of ways. It focuses specifically on the application of Geographic Information Science (GIS) to issues of natural resource management for the sake of satisfying fundamental human needs. Topical strengths include: watershed management, biodiversity conservation, brownfield redevelopment, landscape ecology, land-use change, climate change, public participation, fire management, and food security. Clark University produces the GIS software, Idrisi, which thirty-five thousand professionals use worldwide. Therefore, GISDE students learn both how to use GIS and how to create GIS. GISDE alumni pursue their passions concerning sustainable development and environmental protection in meaningful careers where they apply hi-tech skills that they learned in the GISDE program. Most GISDE student finance their education through a combination of savings, loans, scholarships, and grants. IDCE supplies information concerning funding opportunities. We have also compliled a Scholarships and Resources for GIS Students sheet for GISDE-only students that you may find helpful. Some applicants find it useful to apply to the GISDE program early, then use the letter of acceptance in their applications to funding agencies. Numerous opportunities exist for students to conduct collaborative research with faculty members as they pursue their research on issues such as water quality, land use change and global climate change the world over. Many GISDE students have co-published findings of their research with faculty members in respected journals.