Master's Program
The Master’s program in Geography is typically a two year program. During that time, you will complete a small series of core courses and work closely with your faculty advisor to develop a curriculum that best suits your research interests. The program is designed to have you demonstrate that you are capable of identifying a research problem as well as marshalling the conceptual and methodological tools to address it.
PhD Program
The PhD program aims to train students to become broadly knowledgeable about the field of Geography as well as a specialist in a particular subfield. Students are expected to create new knowledge that is rigorously grounded in a robust and appropriate empirical and theoretical context.
Applying
If you are interested in applying, please read the information provided here on our website as well as the Graduate Admission website for either the Master's or PhD program. These pages provide a thorough account of the program requirements, application process, and funding options. We do recommend before applying that you should first connect with faculty members as your possible advisors, we recommend reading our 'Prospective Student Checklist' to make sure you have fulfilled all requirements. Except for the MGIST program, we only admit students once a year, with the application season open for admission into the program during the following year (for example, to start in Autumn 2025, you would apply in Autumn 2024). The deadline for consideration is November 15 for both international and domestic applicants.
Funding
Funding is an important factor in your decision to accept an offer from a graduate program and it is important for you to understand how funding works at each program you apply to. Please visit the Funding page for full details on how funding works in Geography at Ohio State.
Questions?
If you are interested in any of our programs, have questions, or are just interested in telling us a little about yourself, please send an email to our Graduate Program Coordinator at branham.118@osu.edu .
Visiting
Students that are admitted to a Geography or Atmospheric Sciences program will have the opportunity to visit the program and meet each other during our Admitted Student Visit Day at the beginning of March. If you would like to visit in the fall, please fill out the form below and let us know!
After Graduation
The Geography Graduate Program is internationally recognized. Recent graduates have gone straight into in tenure track positions at Texas A&M, University of Washington, University of Minnesota, University of Wyoming, and Skidmore College. Other PhD graduates have gone on to post-doctoral positions or visiting professorships at Dartmouth University, the University of Illinois, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and elsewhere. While the majority of our Ph.D graduates remain in academia, others work in the private sector or in government (e.g., at Nationwide Insurance, the Ohio EPA, the U.S. Census Bureau).