Graduate Application for Geography and Environmental Studies

The Program
Graduate study in geography and environmental studies leads to a Master of Science degree. The graduate program provides students with advanced understanding of key geographical concepts of space, place, scale, and distance in human and physical processes along with training in advanced geospatial analysis in preparation for employment in industry and government or further academic pursuits. The curriculum provides broadly applied geographic training with opportunity for specialization through electives, directed studies, and thesis research. Although faculty members and students are active in research, we are a small department and we emphasize quality graduate training and teaching. The faculty maintains close relationships with students in all phases of their work. A low graduate student/faculty ration makes this possible.

Degree Options and Requirements
Students may complete the M.S. program following either thesis or non-thesis options. The thesis option requires (1) a minimum of 30 semester hours of course work beyond the undergraduate degree, 24 hours of which must be graduate-level geography courses; and (2) satisfactory completion of a thesis chosen in conjunction with a faculty advisor. The non-thesis option, intended for non-traditional students, requires (1) a minimum of 39 semester hours, at least 18 hours must come from geography and, (2) the successful completion of a comprehensive written and oral examination by an approved faculty committee.

Financial Assistance
Teaching assistantships (twelve-month appointment), which currently carry a monthly stipend of $2,126 and a complete tuition waiver, are now competitively available to qualified applicants. Outstanding graduate applications will also be considered for (i) Presidential Graduate Research Fellowships  and (ii) an offer of a one-time $2,000 to $5,000 incentive after they are accepted into our graduate program. Research assistantships, which carry a comparable stipend and tuition fellowship, also may be available depending on current faculty grants. In awarding assistantships, preference is given to applicants who pursue the thesis option.

New Tuition Fellowship Policy states that University funded in-state tuition support will cover 110% of the number of hours required for a graduate degree. Read the attached for details.

Entrance Requirements
Admission to the M.S. program requires a Bachelor’s degree in Geography or related discipline. In addition, an acceptable undergraduate grade-point average, satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE; General test only) and three supporting letters of recommendation are required. For the year 2024-2025, the requirements for submitting applicant's GRE scores is optional.

Application Procedure
Applications for admission can be initiated online via the Auburn University Graduate School link (Apply Here). GRE scores (optional for 2024-25) and an official undergraduate transcript from all colleges attended must be submitted directly to the Graduate School at least four weeks prior to the start of the semester in which the student desires to enroll (preferably by January 15th if financial assistance is requested). In addition to GRE scores (optional for 2024-25), international applicants also are required to submit official scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to the Graduate School. Applicants should instruct Educational Testing Service (ETS) to send official TOEFL scores directly to our Graduate School using institutional code 1005 and departmental code 5199. IELTS scores are directly mailed to our Graduate School. Official transcripts from applicant’s undergraduate and graduate institutions should be sent directly to:

Ms. Theresa Morgan
Director of Graduate Admissions
Graduate School
Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849-5122, USA
Tel: (334) 844-4700

For transmitting official GRE scores (optional for 2024-25) from ETS, please use the following institution and department codes for Auburn University and the Department of Geosciences:

Institution code:  1005
Departmental code:  5199

Three supporting letters of recommendation can be uploaded directly by the referees at (Apply Here). A Letter of Intent and an updated curriculum vitae also need to be submitted to Geosciences GPO, Dr. Raphael Gottardi. Please follow the instructions to complete your Letter of Intent. Questions with graduate applications can be addressed to: