Admission Requirements
Recommendations for acceptance and assistantships are based on academic records, experience, statement of purpose, and references.
A BA/BS in geography, environmental science, or a related discipline is normally required for admission into the MS and PhD programs.
Admission also requires a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale in previous coursework.
Under exceptional circumstances, admission may be considered if a student satisfies only one of the two scoring criteria but has notable experiences and outstanding recommendations.
The decision for admissions will be made on the basis of a holistic review of applicants’ academic records, recommendation letters, professional experience, statement of purpose and research plan, demonstrated writing and analytical skills, and the overall potential for academic success.
The minimum criteria for Regular Admission to the PhD program include: 1) an MS/MA degree in geography, environmental science, or a related discipline; 2) a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in previous coursework; and 3) International applicants need to meet the minimum English language proficiency score requirements for regular admission from the graduate school (https://graduate.ua.edu/applicants/international-students/).
Conditional Admission to the PhD program is not permitted.
The decision for admissions will be made on the basis of a holistic review of an applicant’s academic record, recommendation letters, professional experience, statement of purpose, writing and analytical skills, and the overall potential for academic success.
The minimum criteria for Regular Admission to the MS program include: 1) a BS/BA degree in geography, environmental science, or a related discipline; 2) a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in previous coursework; and 3) International applicants need to meet the minimum English language proficiency score requirements for regular admission from the graduate school (https://graduate.ua.edu/applicants/international-students/).
A student who does not meet the GPA regular admission requirement may be admitted to MS Geography Program with additional requirement “Permission-to-continue”. The student must have been approved to work with a departmental faculty member as the academic advisor. A graduate student admitted with additional requirement “Permission-to-continue” must maintain a GPA of 3.3 or better in that semester of enrollment, in which at least 9 semester hours of graduate coursework are completed. A student must earn a GPA of 3.0 or better over the first 12 hours of graduate coursework. The evaluation is based on all graduate level coursework completed at the end of that semester. Failure to satisfy either condition will result in the student’s dismissal from the master’s program. A student who satisfies the latter condition will automatically assume the status of a regularly admitted graduate student.
Non-degree student status permits a student to enroll in a maximum of 12 hours of graduate coursework. Non-degree students must be eligible for the department’s conditional admission. Upon the successful completion of a maximum of 12 graduate course credit hours, if the student wishes to continue graduate level coursework, the re-application as a degree-seeking student is required to be filed to the Graduate School and reviewed by the department graduate committee. Non-degree seeking students cannot take GY 600 or GY 523.
The department offers the Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP), which is intended for gifted and highly motivated undergraduate students in geography and environmental science at The University of Alabama who would like to pursue a Master’s degree. Typically, qualified students may apply to the Graduate School in the final semester of their junior year. At the time of application, they must have overall undergraduate GPAs of not less than 3.7. AMP students must already be working in the research lab of their proposed graduate advisor at the time of the application. Once admitted, an AMP student is approved to take up to 12 hours of graduate courses that will count towards both the bachelor’s and graduate degrees.
More details are given at: https://catalog.ua.edu/graduate/about/academic-policies/admission-criteria/accelerated-masters-program/
To pursue the graduate-level GIS certificate, students must have a bachelor’s degree in a field that deals with geographic information, such as geography, natural resources, and land-use management, environmental analysis, regional and environmental planning, civil engineering, or business applications.
Students must apply to the program via the graduate school here:
https://catalog.ua.edu/graduate/arts-sciences/geography/geographic-information-systems-certificate/
Funding Decisions
Nearly all our graduate students are funded with paid tuition and stipends. The Department provide merit-based graduate awards in the form of department Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA), and Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA). The University of Alabama Graduate School offers various fellowships, including the Graduate Council Fellowship (GCF), National Alumni Association (NAA) Fellowship, and McNair Graduate Fellowship (MGF). All applicants, including international applicants, are eligible to be considered for the department GTA and GRA and Graduate School’s fellowships.
The decision for funding support will be made on the basis of a holistic review of applicants’ academic records, recommendation letters, professional experience, statement of purpose and research plan, writing and analytical skills, and the overall potential for academic success. The candidates on the shortlist for funding support will be interviewed by the graduate program committee with a set of standard questions for making the final decisions on the fellowship nominations and department assistantship offers. Fellowship and assistantship awards are normally given for the academic year, and the renewal of the awards is based on funding availability and the student’s on-going academic performance.
Application Process
Find a Potential Advisor
The first step in the application process is to identify a member of the graduate faculty who shares your research interests and is willing to serve as your potential advisor. Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact faculty members and discuss their research interests with potential advisors via emails or video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Skype.
Students should apply to the program only after receiving approval from their potential advisor. No student applications will be reviewed without support from a potential advisor. Only graduate faculty at the rank of Assistant, Associate or Full Professor may serve as advisers to graduate students.
Complete the Application
Once you have received a commitment from a graduate faculty member to act as your advisor, application materials must be submitted online via the University of Alabama Graduate School application portal:
https://graduate.ua.edu/prospective-students/apply-now/
In addition to the requirements of the Graduate School, applicants to graduate programs in geography need to submit the items on the Geography Application Checklist.
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- Curriculum Vitae (CV)/Resume.
- Transcripts of the student’s academic record of all undergraduate and graduate studies.
- Three letters of recommendation, which discuss and evaluate the student’s writing skills, analytical abilities, and potential to excel at graduate studies and research.
- Academic/professional writing samples. These may include published research papers, conference papers, research or applied project reports, and term papers.
- A statement of purpose (up to 2 pages). At the beginning of the statement of purpose, include the answers to three separate questions: i) Who is your potential advisor? (full name of the selected faculty); ii) Has this faculty member agreed to serve as your potential advisor? (yes/no); iii) Do you have any funding source to support your studies if no teaching/research assistantship is offered to you? (Private funding/government funding/…). In the statement, applicants should explain clearly and cogently: i) why you wish to earn the MS and what are your academic and career goals, ii) why our department is a good fit for you, iii) which faculty member has agreed to serve as your Advisor, iv) what experiences and background you have that will help you succeed in graduate studies. Note that no students will be admitted, without a potential Advisor from our faculty.
- For international applicants who do not hold an undergraduate or graduate degree from a university in an English-speaking country, TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, or PTE scores are required.
Note that GRE scores are no longer required by our graduate program. Submission of GRE scores is optional.
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- Curriculum Vitae (CV)/Resume.
- Transcripts of the student’s academic record of all undergraduate and graduate studies.
- Three letters of recommendation, which discuss and evaluate the student’s writing skills, analytical abilities, and potential to excel at graduate studies and research.
- Academic/professional writing samples. These may include published research papers, conference papers, research or applied project reports, term papers, and completed Master’s thesis.
- A statement of purpose (up to 2 pages). At the beginning of the statement of purpose, include the answers to three separate questions: i) Who is your potential advisor? (full name of the selected faculty); ii) Has this faculty member agreed to serve as your potential advisor? (yes/no); iii) Do you have any funding source to support your studies if no teaching/research assistantship is offered to you? (Private funding/government funding/…). In the statement, applicants should explain clearly and cogently: i) why you wish to earn the PhD and what are your academic and career goals, ii) why our department is a good fit for you, iii) which faculty member has agreed to serve as your advisor, iv) what experiences and background do you have that will help you succeed in graduate studies. Note that no students will be admitted, without a potential advisor from our faculty.
- A research plan—required of PhD applicants only. For the research plan section, applicants should develop a tentative research proposal/plan up to 4 pages total length. The following is a list of suggested elements to include: a title, research background (brief literature review), research gaps being addressed and/or research questions/hypotheses being posed, a general description of methodological approach(es), and some description of why the research is important and/or its implications. Note that the purpose of the research plan is to evaluate the applicant’s research potential. After admission to our graduate program, students may consult with the advisor to modify, improve, or completely change the research plan.
- For international applicants who do not hold an undergraduate or graduate degree from a university in an English-speaking country, TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, or PTE scores are required.
Note that GRE scores are no longer required by our graduate program. Submission of GRE scores is optional.
Meet the Application Deadline
Students are strongly advised to start their graduate studies in the fall semester in August, which marks the beginning of the academic year. For full consideration for admission and funding for the following Fall (August) semester admission, applications should be received by December 15. Although later submissions may be considered, the likelihood of funding support is substantially reduced.
Our department will consider applications for the Spring semester (January) admission, but very few openings for new students will be available at that time. For admission and funding for the following Spring admission, applications should be received by October 15. Upon applicant’s request, the application for the spring semester admission can be deferred until the following fall semester.
How the Process Works
After the completed applications are approved by the Graduate School, they are provided to the Department of Geography Graduate Admissions Committee for review.
Applications are assessed based on academic records, the statement of purpose, experience, and recommendation letters. No student will be admitted to the program without the consent of a potential advisor.
The Graduate School will conduct the initial review of all applications and check the completeness of the required application materials, the application fee payment, and admission eligibility. Only those applicants who pass the Graduate School initial review will be fully reviewed by the department faculty and graduate committee for the admissions and funding decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
December 15. We have a rolling admissions process. Although later submissions may be considered, the likelihood of funding support is substantially reduced.
Yes, you can. Applications for the following Spring semester admission should be received by October 15. But, very few funding opportunities for new students will be available for Spring semester admission.
Yes. Applicants are encouraged to contact faculty members and discuss their research interests with potential advisors via emails or video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Skype. No students are admitted without support from a potential advisor.
Visit our department directory. You can email potential advisors whose research matches your desired areas of study. Note that some faculty advisors may not have space in their lab for accepting new students for a particular semester.
Possibly. An MS/MA degree in geography, environmental science, or a related discipline is normally required for our PhD program. Those with only BS or BA are generally not admitted directly to Ph.D program, but exceptional students may be considered with strong faculty support.
A minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in previous coursework is required for regular admission.
A student who does not meet the GPA regular admission requirement may be admitted to MS Geography Program with additional requirement “Permission-to-continue”. A graduate student admitted with additional requirement “Permission-to-continue” must maintain a GPA of 3.3 or better in that semester of enrollment, in which at least 9 semester hours of graduate coursework are completed. A student must earn a GPA of 3.0 or better over the first 12 hours of graduate coursework.
No. GRE scores are no longer required by our graduate program. Submission of GRE scores is optional.
Yes. International applicants need to meet the minimum English language proficiency score requirements for regular admission from the graduate school (https://graduate.ua.edu/applicants/international-students/)
At the beginning of the statement of purpose, include the answers to three separate questions:
i) Who is your potential advisor? (full name of the selected faculty)
ii) Has this faculty member agreed to serve as your potential advisor? (yes/no)
iii) Do you have any funding source to support your studies if no teaching/research assistantship is offered to you? (Private funding/government funding/…)
In the statement, applicants should explain clearly and cogently: i) why you wish to earn the MS/PhD and what are your academic and career goals, ii) why our department is a good fit for you, iii) which faculty member has agreed to serve as your Advisor, iv) what experiences and background you have that will help you succeed in graduate studies. Note that no students will be admitted, without a potential Advisor from our faculty.
Applicants for PhD program are required to submit a separate research plan, in addition to the Statement of Purpose. The separate research plan is not required for applying for MS program.
You can include your research plan in the same document of your Personal Statement, or you can upload a separate research plan document as part of “Portfilio” in the application portal.
Applicants are encouraged to submit writing samples, including published research papers, conference papers, research or applied project reports, term papers, or completed Master’s thesis. No number limit for writing samples. Writing samples can be uploaded as part of the “Portfilio” in the application portal.
No, our department cannot grant the application fee waivers. The Graduate School handles application fee, and you can direct your question about the application fee to the Graduate School. The Graduate school usually has a free graduate application week in early October. Please check the website or contact the Graduate school for more information.
No. All applicants, including international applicants, will be automatically considered for funding opportunities.
The department offers Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) and graduate research assistantship (GRA) to new applicants each year. Applicants can be nominated by the department to compete for the UA Graduate School fellowships, including the Graduate Council Fellowship (GCF), National Alumni Association (NAA) Fellowship, McNair Graduate Fellowship (MGF). These fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis at the university level, and the fellowship recipients do not have teaching responsibilities. The fellowship nomination is decided by the department Graduate Committee, based on potential advisor’s recommendations.
Typically, Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA), Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA), or Graduate School Fellowship (e.g. GCF, NAA, MGF) will cover full tuition waiver, 9-month stipend, most fees, and single person health insurance allowance.
Most decisions are made by mid-March for fall semester admissions, by mid-November for spring semester admissions.
For additional questions, please contact the graduate program director:
Dr. Dapeng Li
Associate Professor
dli43@ua.edu