University of Texas at Dallas

Program in Geographic Information Sciences

Ph.D. in Geospatial Information Sciences (GIS)

The PhD in Geospatial Information Sciences, summarized below, was initiated in Fall 2005. Information is now (as of 5-12-2005) available at www.gis.utdallas.edu/gisphd.html

Executive Summary

Beginning Fall, 2005, the University of Texas at Dallas will offer a Doctor of Philosophy in Geospatial Information Sciences. This unique program will be offered jointly by the School of Social Sciences, the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (specifically in the Department of Geosciences) and the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Geospatial (or geographic) information science has emerged over the past decade from the confluence of work in multiple disciplines including geography, computer science, engineering, geology, and various social, policy and applied sciences. It is inherently interdisciplinary, yet doctoral programs in which it is incorporated are almost invariably based in traditional academic disciplines. This proposal breaks from this disciplinary approach by instituting an inherently interdisciplinary program jointly offered by three Schools. Students educated in this manner will be attractive to the burgeoning geospatial technology industry, as well as for more traditional academic positions because of their ability to build bridges to other areas. And by bringing together under this programmatic umbrella faculty with expertise in this area who are currently distributed among multiple departments across the UTD campus, a significant mass of quality faculty are available.

Unlike programs at other schools in which geospatial information sciences is offered as a concentration within traditional geography, geology, environmental science or engineering programs, the degree at UTD will be devoted solely to this field, focusing on advancement of the technology, its associated theory and the enhancement of its application in a variety of substantive areas. As such, it offers an option for students wishing to concentrate in this inherently cross-disciplinary area.

It is anticipated that many students will enter the program with a master’s degree (and/or work experience) in an application area (such as public administration, geology, or economics) or in a technical specialization (such as engineering, computer science, or statistics) with the intent of advancing existing practice with geospatial information sciences in that application area or expanding the technological or theoretical base for geospatial information sciences. Thus, our model permits students with existing expertise in a field relevant to geospatial information to focus on geospatial information science without the necessity of taking more traditional discipline-based courses of marginal value to their specific interests.

The curriculum requires students to have mastery of GI Science Technologies and Theory, have a Geospatial Specialization, have a Specific Application area or Technical Field (normally derived from their master’s degree), and evidence research skills through a Ph. D. dissertation for a total of 90 semester credit hours beyond the bachelors degree.

In a rapidly changing economy and society, universities must be flexible and innovative in the programs and educational opportunities that they offer. New requirements and new fields of knowledge are emerging. Eight years ago U. T. Dallas pioneered a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems which has over 125 recipients to date. Six years ago the faculty instituted an innovative and successful interdisciplinary Master of Science in Geographic Information Sciences, with 40 degrees awarded to date. UTD now goes to the next level. There are few, if any, programs across the country equivalent to the new Ph.D. degree program. The key differentiating feature is an applied, interdisciplinary focus that will bring together students with a variety of backgrounds and interests to focus on the application and development of what is both a new technology and a new science.

Ph.D. in Geospatial Information Sciences

Powerful new technologies have emerged in recent years to collect, store, manage, analyze, and utilize information regarding the features of the Earth's surface and to combine these with other types of environmental, social and economic information. These technologies, which include geospatial information systems (GIS), the global positioning system (GPS), and satellite-based remote sensing, are used in many ways from digital maps in rental and delivery vehicles, to the management and maintenance of city infrastructure, regional agriculture and forest lands, to the policing of communities and to the conduct of modern warfare. The term Geospatial (or Geographic) Information Sciences (GISci) is now used in the US to describe this field. The term Geomatics is often used in Canada and Europe. The objective of the PhD in Geospatial Information Sciences at UT-Dallas is to develop individuals capable of advancing this field by developing new knowledge or capabilities relevant to it.

Admission Requirements

The PhD program in GISci seeks applications from students with a baccalaureate, Master of Arts, Master of Science or professional masters-level degree in any field relevant to geospatial information science including, but not limited to, geography and the social sciences, geology, computer science, management information systems, statistics, economics, marketing, city and regional planning, natural resource management. A grade point average of at least 3.25 in undergraduate and master’s work, and a combined verbal and quantitative score of 1150 on the GRE are desirable.

The following pre-requisites/co-requisites will also be required for admission to the PhD program: (i) college mathematics through calculus, (ii) competence in at least one modern programming language equivalent to GISC 5317 Computer Programming for GIS, or CS 5303 and CS 5330 Computer Science I & II or MIS 5321 Computer Programming or MIS 6322 Visual Basic or MIS 6323 Java, or their equivalents, and (iii) at least one course in inferential statistics through to regression analysis equivalent to POEC 5313 Descriptive and Inferential Statistics or GEOS 5306 Data Analysis for Geoscientists. Graduate courses taken at UTD to meet these pre-requisites may be counted as electives toward the 90 credit hours for students entering the Ph.D. program directly from a B.A. or B.S. degree, but they shall not be considered substitutes for any of the other specified courses below.

Degree Requirements

The program requires a minimum of 90 hours of graduate work beyond the Bachelor’s degree in courses numbered 5xxx or above at UT-Dallas or their equivalent elsewhere, of which 42 hours are in formal, organized classes. No more than 36 hours of this work may be transferred from another institution. In the process of completing the Ph.D. from the baccalaureate level at UTD, a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems, a Graduate Certificate in Remote Sensing and a Master of Science in Geographic Information Sciences or a Master of Science in Computer Science or a Master of Science in Geoscience may also be obtained.

To receive the PhD in Geospatial information Sciences, students must achieve a mastery of GI Science Technologies and Theory, have a Geospatial Specialization area, have a Specific Application area or Technical field (often attained through their master’s degree), and evidence research skills through a Ph. D. dissertation for a total of 90 semester credit hours. This is achieved by completing the following modules. Other courses may be substituted with the written permission in advance of the Director of the GIS Doctoral program.

Geospatial Science Core (15 SCH)

GISC 6381 GIS Fundamentals

GISC 6382 Applied GIS

GISC 6384 Spatial Analysis and Modeling

GISC 6385 GIS Theories, Models and Issues

GISC 6387 GIS Workshop

One of the following Geospatial Specialization areas, with a minimum of 15 SCH:

I. Geospatial Computing and Information Management (15 SCH from among the following:

IV Customized Geospatial Specialization (15 SCH)

Identified by the student with approval in advance by the Director of the GIS Doctoral Program.

Application Area or Technical Field (12 SCH)

Twelve semester-credit hours of specialized course work in an application area or technical field relevant to GIScience. Normally, these will derive from the student’s masters degree. These hours may be transferred from another institution, or taken at UTD in an existing master’s program area and may be applied toward a master’s in that area.

Application area examples: planning, public affairs, criminal justice, health and epidemiology, geoscience, forestry, hydrology, marketing, real estate, economics, civil engineering, etc..

Technical field examples: statistics, computer science, software engineering, management information systems, image analysis, operations research, instrumentation, etc...

Research and Dissertation (24 to 48 SCHs)

GISC 7389 GIS PhD Research Qualifier GEOS 6205 Geoscience Presentations

POEC 5310 & 6342 Research Design I & II GISC 8319 GIS Research Design

GISC 8V29 Research in GIS GISC 8v99 or GEOS 8v99 or CS 8v99 Dissertation

Other Related Electives ( 0 to 24 SCH)

Students may choose up to 24 SCHs in related electives with consent of the GIS Program Director.

Exams and Qualifiers

Ph.D. Research Project Qualifier

All doctoral students must register for and complete GISC 7389 GISciences PhD Research Project Qualifier. This requires completion, according to uniform guidelines established by the GIS program, of a GIS Research Project and its evaluation by a committee of at least three GIS faculty, two of whom are chosen by the student with approval of the Director of the GIS Doctoral Program, and the third, who serves as chair, is appointed by the Director of the GIS Program and represents the program. The committee will judge the quality of the project as it exemplifies the student’s potential to conduct original research (including their ability to define their research objective, survey literature, develop an appropriate design, etc.) and the strength of the student’s course record to date, and make a determination of the student’s suitability to continue toward the PhD degree. The student must receive a PASS. If a FAIL is recorded, the course may be repeated one time only in the immediate following semester, including Summer. This course will normally be taken after the student has completed between 15 and 30 hours. A student must register for GISC 7389 in the semester immediately following the one in which he/she first accumulates 42 or more hours. GISC 7389 GIScience Research Project Qualifier can substitute for GISC 6389 GIScience Master’s Project, but not the reverse unless a special petition is presented and granted.

Grade Point Qualifier

Students must normally have a GPA of at least 3.25 and preferably 3.5 in courses taken at UT-Dallas at the time they register for GISC 7389 Ph.D. Qualifier. Students may petition the GIS faculty for an exemption for extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control.

Qualifying Examination and Defense of Proposal

At a point in time after meeting the Research Project Qualifier (preferably at the end of their second year for full time students entering from the bachelor’s degree), the student must (1) demonstrate through a general exam his/her competency in the area chosen for their dissertation, and (2) successfully present and defend a dissertation proposal through an oral examination. These evaluations will be conducted by a committee of at least three GIS faculty, two of whom are chosen by the student with approval of the Director of the GIS Doctoral Program, and the third, who serves as chair, is appointed by the Director of the GIS Program and represents the program. The general examination will test the student’s (i) mastery of basic principles in geospatial information science, (ii) mastery of the technology(ies) to be used in the dissertation, and (iii) thorough knowledge of the application area for the proposed research. The proposal defence will evaluate the viability of the proposed research and its contribution to knowledge. The Qualifying Examination may occur at a time prior to the preparation of a defendable dissertation proposal in which case a draft dissertation proposal or a detailed statement of research objectives must be provided as a basis for the general exam. Upon successful completion of the qualifying examination and the proposal defense, the student is officially “advanced to candidacy” for the Ph.D. degree and a dissertation committee is formally constituted to oversee the research.

Defense of Dissertation

A dissertation must be prepared and defended successfully following the procedures established by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

_Program_Administration

The program is administered by the Program Director for Geospatial Information Sciences. He/she reports jointly to the Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the School of Social Sciences (and through him/her to the Dean of the School of Social Sciences), to the Department Head in Geosciences (and through him/her to the Dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics), and to the Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Programs in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science (and through him/her to the Dean of Engineering and Computer Science). The Director is jointly selected by the three respective Deans and is expected to be a tenured faculty member in one the three schools involved. A GIS program coordinator from each participating school or department is appointed by the relevant department head or dean. The Director will normally be the coordinator for his/her area. A five-member faculty GIS Program Committee, chaired by the Director and including the faculty coordinator and/or representative from each of the participating Schools or Departments, is responsible for curriculum development and program review. The GIS faculty must approve the GIS curriculum. The GIS faculty constitute faculty in any university program teaching courses relevant to GIS who request to be members of the GIS faculty and whose request is approved by the GIS Advisory Committee. Administrative support is provided within the Department/School in which the Director holds his/her formal appointment.

The following guidelines will be observed with respect to advising and admissions. Until a dissertation chair is selected, students are advised by the GIS Program director, or the GIS coordinator (or his/her designee) most appropriate for the student’s background and interest. Formal assignments are made by the GIS Program Committee if necessary. An admissions committee comprising one representative from each participating school or department, appointed by the school/department’s GIS coordinator, reviews all doctoral admission applications. A unanimous decision is required on each applicant. At the request of any admissions committee member, cases with split votes may be sent to the GIS Program Committee for a majority decision. Each participating department will endeavor to fund at least 3 (and preferably 5 or more) full time students total per year through its teaching or research funds. To maintain balance between the participating schools, a target of at least 20% and no more than 50% of students admitted in any one year shall have backgrounds in any one school.

The GIS Faculty

The current GIS Faculty are:

School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Department of Geosciences

Mohamed G. Abdelsalam, Assistant Professor

Carlos Aiken, Professor

Tom Brikowski, Associate Professor

John Ferguson, Associate Professor

Robert Stern, Professor and Department Head

School of Social Sciences

Brian Berry, Regental Professor

Timothy Bray, Assistant Professor, criminology

Ronald Briggs, Professor, geography

Kevin Curtin, Assistant Professor, geography

Daniel Griffith, Professor, geography

Karen Hayslett-McCall, Assistant Professor, criminology

Michael Tiefelsdorf, Associate Professor, geography

Jim Murdoch, Professor and Dean, economics

Fang Qiu , Assistant Professor, geography

School of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer Science

Latifur Kahn, Assistant Professor

Edwin Sha, Professor

Weili Wu, Assistant Professor