FAQS

We offer three programs at the doctoral level and two programs at the master’s level. 
The three Ph.D. Programs are: the Ph.D. in Geography, the Ph.D. in Geographic Education, and the Ph.D. in Geographic Information Science. The two master’s programs are: the Master of Science (M.S.) and the Master of Applied Geography (M.A.Geo.).

Exceptions to these minimum standards mentioned above are addressed on a case-by-case basis by the Graduate Program Coordinator. If your GPA was below the minimum standard, you may discuss it with the Coordinator and demonstrate that you will nevertheless be a successful graduate student. Such a case is ordinarily based on evidence of maturity and professional achievement since graduation and/or evidence of issues such as illness, financial problems, or relationship issues that had the effect of lowering the GPA at the previous level.

Applicants are required to submit English Proficiency scores that meet the minimum program requirements unless they have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a country on our exempt countries list.
The Geography program does not offer admission if the scores above are not met.
International applicants are also subject to immigration policies and procedures of the United States, as administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. An international student must prove that he or she has sufficient financial resources to cover the expenses associated with living and studying in the United States.

If your transcript or diploma is written in a language other than English, you must arrange to have a certified English translation of the documents submitted to the Graduate College.

The International Office at Texas State University helps international students with these and other issues. For details visit the International Office website

This information is given in the Ph.D. handbook, which is available online through the department website. Policies and procedures of the Graduate Catalog relevant to the Ph.D. programs are given in the Graduate Catalog, which is available online through the Graduate College website. https://www.gradcollege.txst.edu/students/catalog.html

The admission requirements include a complete master’s degree in geography or a related discipline and a grade-point average of 3.5 or better in the master’s program.

No, a master’s degree is required for admission. There are no exceptions to this requirement.

No. Each applicant meeting the criteria listed above is evaluated by the Graduate Committee, subject to approval by the Graduate Program Coordinator and the Department Chair. The total number of students admitted each year is determined by Departmental financial and faculty resources.

Above and beyond the formal admission criteria as listed above, the most important factor in determining whether you will be admitted is support from one or more members of the Ph.D. Graduate Faculty in your area of specialization as potential research advisors. Please read the list of Ph.D. Graduate Faculty 

This information is available on the faculty page on our website

No. Only members of the Ph.D. Graduate Faculty can serve as your advisor. A list of Graduate Faculty can be on the graduate faculty page.

The residency requirement for the Ph.D. program is 18 consecutive semester hours in residence.

The Ph.D. requires a minimum of 31 hours of course work, along with a minimum of 15 dissertation hours.

All Ph.D. students must complete GEO 7302 (Nature and Philosophy of Geography), GEO 7300 (Research Design), and GEO 7301 (Quantitative Methods) or GEO 7304 (Qualitative Methods) The option to take GEO 7301 or 7304 is determined by the program and research advisor. Note that all GIScience Ph.D. students must take GEO 7301.

GEO 7302 and GEO 7304 are offered each Fall semester, and GEO 7300 and 7301 are offered every Spring semester. Full-time students are expected to take these courses during their first year in residence, though you should consult with your research advisor to determine the best sequence.

Ordinarily, up to two courses (6 credit hours) can be transferred from other universities. Requests to transfer in more than two courses require special justification.

Incoming full-time students must declare their research advisor by the end of the first semester in the program. Part-time students must do so at the end of the first year.

Once you have identified a potential research advisor, meet with that person, and secure his or her willingness to serve as your research advisor. Once the advisor has expressed his or her
willingness to serve, you must fill out the Advisor form. The Advisor form must be signed by the student, the research advisor, the Graduate Program Coordinator, and the Department Chair and is then sent to the Dean of the Graduate College for approval. Please contact the Graduate Staff Advisor at geograduate@txstate.edu, and she will provide you with the appropriate form.

The minimum number of committee members is four, including the research advisor. At least three committee members must be members of the Ph.D. Graduate Faculty in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, and at least one must be outside the department. A list of Ph.D. Graduate Faculty can be found on the Graduate Faculty page 

Yes, with approval of the Graduate Program Coordinator, Department Chair, and Graduate College. An external committee member living outside the local Austin-San Marcos-San Antonio area must sign a form stating that he or she understands that the University is not responsible for his or her expenses associated with committee service.

The outside committee member must hold a Ph.D. and must hold credentials equivalent to those held by members of the Ph.D. Graduate Faculty in the Department.

This information is given in the M.A.Geo/MS Handbook, which is available online.  Policies and procedures of the Graduate Catalog relevant to the master’s degree programs are given in the Graduate Catalog, which is available online through the Graduate College website.

Graduates of the M.S. and M.A.Geo. programs hold responsible geography-related positions in government, the private sector, education, and the non-profit sector. About a third of past MAGeo and MS graduates work in government, a third in the private sector, and the rest work in organizations in education, non-profits, and other areas. For more information about our alumni graduates please go to the  Geography Business Card Directory webpage  where you will find many example employment opportunities.

The majority of M.S. and M.A.Geo. graduates live in the Austin-San Antonio corridor. However, many others live and work in other parts of Texas, in other parts of the United States, and abroad.

In Texas, you can teach community college in Geography with a master’s degree in Geography including 18 graduate hours in your subject area. Graduates of the M.A.Geo. program currently teach in community colleges in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and beyond.

M.S. students are required to write a thesis. M.A.Geo. students are required to write a directed research project under the supervision of a faculty advisor.

The core courses for the M.S. are GEO 5309 (Geographical Analysis), GEO 5301 (Quantitative Methods) or GEO 5304 (Qualitative Methods), and GEO 7300 (Research Design). For the M.A.Geo., the core courses are GEO 5309, GEO 5301 or GEO 5304, and GEO 5300 (Applied Research Design).

GEO 5309 is an introduction to graduate work, to the Department, and to the Department’s faculty and resources. It is intended to provide the student guidance toward the eventual decision of a research advisor and research topic.

M.A.Geo. and M.S. students are expected to select the research advisor by the end of the first fall semester in the program.
Once a faculty member agrees to serve as the student’s research advisor, the student and the faculty member must sign an Faculty Advisor form and submit it to the Graduate Staff Advisor.

The M.A.Geo. is oriented primarily to those intending to remain in the non-academic workforce after graduation. The M.S. is geared toward those students who plan to enter a Ph.D. program at Texas State University or elsewhere, or who plan to focus on positions involving research and teaching.

A student in the M.A.Geo. program who wishes to switch to the M.S. program may do so after having completed nine or more graduate hours with a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher.

Yes, although those seriously considering pursuing doctoral study are strongly encouraged to complete the M.S. as opposed to the M.A.Geo.

You may earn up to 6 hours of credit for internships.

Internships are usually pursued by students who have completed 12 or more semester credit hours of course work; however, the Internship Coordinator is authorized to approve exceptions.

Please contact the department internship coordinator at (GEOinternships@txstate.edu)

Yes, provided that the internship is approved by the Internship Coordinator. Do not begin the internship prior to consulting with the Internship Coordinator to ensure that you will be able to get credit for it.

The Department recognizes that its students have valuable skills and talents, and therefore anticipates that employers seeking these skills will compensate those who hold them. Therefore, the Department is committed to as many paid internships as possible. You may also earn credit for an unpaid internship.

Please contact the department internship coordinator at (GEOinternships@txstate.edu).

The Department currently supports more than 44 Ph.D., M.S., and M.A.Geo. students as graduate assistants. Many of these students teach courses or laboratory sections. Others work as research assistants for the Department or on projects funded by grants or contracts.
Assistants who are not residents of Texas are also eligible to pay tuition at in-state rates instead of out-of-state rates.

Ph.D. stipends were at least $29,800 for nine months; master’s assistant ships were at least $15,500 for nine months.

Graduate assistant contracts are for 20 hours a week.

Ph.D. assistants are supported for up to eight long semesters from the time the student enters the program provided that work and academic performance are satisfactory. M.S. and M.A.Geo. assistants are supported for up to four long (fall or spring) semesters from the time the student enters the program if work performance and academic performance are satisfactory.

Every applicant applying for an assistantship must complete and submit a separate assistantship application along with their resume or curriculum vitae.

The graduate assistantship application form can be downloaded from the Department’s website.

This information is contained in the Graduate Assistants’ Handbook, available on the Department’s website.

Other forms of financial aid available to graduate students include scholarships administered by the Department, scholarships administered through the Graduate College, and student loans administered through the Office of Student Financial Aid. For more information on graduate student funding.

The Department supports over 30 scholarships valued at $500-$1,000 annually. Of these, about half are awarded to graduate students.

Details about the Departmental scholarships can be found on the Department of Geography Scholarship Opportunities webpage

Apply through The Bobcat Online Scholarship System (BOSS)

The deadline for applying for a Departmental scholarship is usually early in the spring semester. Most scholarship funds are dispersed to your student account for use during the following academic year.

Yes, you are strongly encouraged to do so.

Generally, scholarship winners are notified in February as to whether they have been awarded a scholarship for the following academic year. Scholarship awardees are presented their scholarships at the annual Alumni Reunion and Student Celebration and are expected to be present at the Reunion to receive the scholarship.

The Graduate College administers scholarships through the Graduate College. More information can be found on the Graduate College Scholarships & Fellowships webpage

Information about these applications is available on Graduate College Scholarships & Fellowships webpage

The value of any scholarship awarded to a student, whether from the Graduate College or the Department, is deducted from that semester’s tuition bill before the student is billed for his or her tuition. Any residual funds are dispersed to the student.

There are approximately 50 master’s students and 50 Ph.D. students active in the program.

Our students come from throughout Texas, across the United States, and many other countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, and Nigeria

The Department has a long-standing commitment to women and minority students. About 55% of our students are women, and more than 20% are non-Caucasian. By point of contrast, the membership of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) membership is about 32% female and 9% non-Caucasian. The Department maintains and aggressively promotes toleration and non-discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

The Department sponsors several department-wide activities each year. The premier event of the year is the Alumni Reunion and Student Celebration, held each April. In addition, numerous social activities are sponsored by student organizations and by individual students acting on their own initiative.

The Graduate Student Forum is a group for all master's and Ph.D. students in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Texas State University. It's a social group and an
open forum to meet others, exchange ideas and research topics, get advice on navigating grad school, organize outings, and support each other through the degree process.
Each year, graduate students through the Graduate Forum elect one master’s and one Ph.D. student to represent the graduate students. The representatives are voting members of the Graduate Committee, which advises the full faculty on all matters regarding graduate program policy. The representatives may attend faculty meetings as non-voting representatives, except for personnel matters.
 

The Department strongly encourages students to become involved in the Association of American Geographers, National Council for Geographic Education, Applied Geography Conference, American Planning Association, regional affiliates of these organizations, and other professional associations. Students are strongly encouraged to present papers and posters at meetings of these organizations. Travel support is provided to students in residence who present papers and posters at these meetings.

San Marcos is located about 30 miles southwest of Austin and 50 miles northeast of San Antonio, Texas.

The average temperature for January is a high of 58 F (14 C) and low of 38 F (3 C); for July, a high of 96 F (36 C) and low of 75 F (24 C).

Although Texas’ summer temperatures are hot, virtually every building in Texas is comfortably air-conditioned. Humidity is low relative to the eastern half of the United States. The spring-fed San Marcos River is a popular recreation attraction. The spring-fed waters of the river are at a constant temperature of 72 F (22 C) year-round. Many students use the river for swimming, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and tubing throughout the year.

Outdoor recreational activities including golf, tennis, swimming, bicycling, camping, hiking, running, tubing, and fishing are available throughout the region and can be undertaken year-round.
San Marcos has the unique advantage of being located between the two major cultural centers of Texas—Austin and San Antonio. Austin, the state capital, is the “Live Music Capital of the World” and boasts numerous clubs with nationally known and local musicians performing jazz, country, blues, R&B, and many other genres of music. San Antonio, Texas’ oldest city, is the home of the Alamo and the Institute for Texas Cultures.

Contact the graduate program coordinator at (geograduate@txstate.edu).