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College of Arts & Sciences
Office of Dean - College of Arts & Sciences
1871 Old Main Drive
Shippensburg PA 17257
dlferr@ship.edu (717) 477-1151
Department
Geography / Earth Science Department
1871 Old Main Drive
Shippensburg, PA 17257
(717) 477-1685
geog@ship.edu
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Geoenvironmental Studies
Employers in the environmental field increasingly recognize the need for broadly trained environmental scientists who can bridge the gap between the social science (geography, planning, land use) and physical science (geology, hydrology, geomorphology) aspects of natural systems. To this end, the master’s program in geoenvironmental sciences is designed to produce broadly trained scientists with a holistic understanding of the environment, with an emphasis on Geotechnology (GIS and GPS) and practical experience (field research, internships).
The Program
Shippensburg designed its master of science degree in geoenvironmental studies to provide scientists, planners, researchers, and educators with skills in four areas of emphasis:
- a broad understanding of the environment
- technical and managerial skills needed to solve environmental problems
- experience with geotechnology (GIS, GPS, and related field techniques)
- practical field experience
Admission Requirements
To be eligible to pursue a master of science degree in geoenvironmental studies, you must:
- Have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university;
- Present an official transcript showing at least a 2.75 cumulative grade point average for your undergraduate studies;
- And you must have completed:
- 12 undergraduate credit hours in geography, or
- 12 undergraduate credit hours in earth science, or
- a combined total of 18 undergraduate credit hours in the two fields, or
- 15 undergraduate credit hours in the social sciences (including 6 hours in geography) and 15 undergraduate credit hours in the natural sciences (including 6 hours in the earth sciences).
If you lack the required number of undergraduate credit hours, you may be granted conditional admission. After you have corrected your deficiencies and successfully completed 6 hours of graduate study, you will be granted full admission and can continue study toward your master’s degree.
Degree Requirements
To be awarded a master of science degree in geoenvironmental studies, you must complete a minimum of 36 hours of graduate work, distributed as follows:
- At least 24 credit hours in geoenvironmental elective courses;
- A 6 credit hour internship or a 6 credit hour thesis (a 3 credit research course is required with the internship option);
- A comprehensive written exam is given after completing 21-27 credits of course work;
- No more than 4 classes can be taken for credit at the 400 level.
Partial Listing of Courses
- The Atmospheric Environment
- Environmental Geology
- Environmental Health
- Environmental Land Use Planning
- Environmental Law
- Field Techniques
- Geoenvironmental Hydrology
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Geography of Economic and Environmental Systems
- Geomorphology
- The Geologic Environment
- Groundwater
- Land Use Regulations
- Mapping Sciences
- Natural Hazards and Hostile Environments
- Problems of the Atmospheric Environment
- Water Resource Management
- Applied GIS
- Image Processing
To assure that you have the appropriate balance between social and natural sciences, you will plan your program in consultation with a member of the geoenvironmental studies graduate faculty. In view of your professional goals, your faculty advisor will help you decide whether you should write a thesis or engage in an internship.
Internships
A large number of degree candidates opt for an internship because of benefits such as:
- Exposure to the geoenvironmental problems and activities of a state or community as seen from the perspective of the agency or organization with which you are placed.
- An introduction to the environmentally related activities and projects of the agency or organization with which you work.
- Application of GIS in the workplace.
- The responsibility for completing a worthwhile project.
- The opportunity to apply geographic and environmental theory, techniques, and knowledge to real-life practices.
- The opportunity to gain professional experience in an applied area of the environment where deficiencies might exist.
- The opportunity to make contacts in the work force.
The high caliber of the work done by Shippensburg interns has enabled the university to establish and maintain internships with such governmental and private agencies as:
- Bucks County Planning Commission
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation
- Cumberland & Franklin County, Planning Commissions
- Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR)
- Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
- Greenhorne & O’Mora
- National and State parks
- National Audubon Society
- Sierra Club
- United States Geological Survey
- Environmental and engineering consulting firms such as Martin & Martin, Skelly & Loy, KCI Technologies and Gannett Fleming
- United States Department of Agriculture
- National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA)
In some cases, an internship develops into an offer of a full-time position after graduation. This has happened with agencies such as KCI Technologies, Weston and Associates, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Thesis
Among the theses submitted and accepted in recent years are titles such as:
- “A Stream Meander Restoration Study on a Small Ungauged Stream in Southcentral Pennsylvania”
- “Geological Influences on Aquatic Chemistry of Burd Run, a Southcentral Pennsylvania Fluviokarst Stream”
- “The Effectiveness of Zoning to Retain Agricultural Land”
- “Relationship Between Remote Sensing Linears and Structural Features as Observed in Underground Mining Operation”
- “An Analysis of the Soil and Orchard Relationships in Adams County, Pennsylvania”
- “Influence of Proximal Land Use on Avian Utilization of Recent Clearcuts”
- “The Potential of a Duckweed Based Manure Nutrient Recycling System”
- “Suburbanization of Population: A Case Study of Harrisburg, PA”
- “An Economic-Environmental Analysis of the Amish in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania”
Special Resources
At Shippensburg, you will find the environment conducive to study. Located in Shearer Hall, the Department of Geography-Earth Science is well equipped with facilities including two GIS-oriented computer laboratories, a faculty/student research laboratory, soils laboratory, rock and mineral laboratory, climatological, and micrometeorological station, and air photo and map library. There is a wide range of field equipment and instrumentation including a total station and global positioning systems for topographic remote sensing, geologic, land use, meteorological, hydrologic, soil, and subsurface surveys.
The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) laboratories contain state-of-the-art PC environments with high-speed internet access, and are designed for geographic data visualization, analysis, and problem solving. Desktop GIS and cartographic software includes the current releases of: ESRI(R) ArcGIS 9.x and several extensions, ERDAS(R) Imagine, Macromedia (R) products, and CorelDraw. Statistical software includes the latest versions of SPSS and the R environment for statistical computing. Students can access geographic data services, work with aerial protographs and satellite images, and make professional- quality maps. Other equipment includes Trimble GPS receivers and software, color printers and a large format plotter.
Shippensburg University campus is ideally located for field work and internships related to geoenvironmental studies. Harrisburg, PA and Hagerstown, MD are forty minutes from the campus along Interstate 81. The campus is located in the beautiful Cumberland Valley with South Mountain, the Piedmont and Ridge and Valley Province nearby. Field study, relating geoenvironmental class experience will be conducted in the region reviewing geology, soils, hydrology, land use, biodiversity, and air quality.
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the program are today operating at every level of government, teaching at every level of education, and working with many types of consulting firms and industry. They have accepted such positions as:
- physical scientist with the federal government
- environmental planner for counties in Maryland & Pennsylvania
- conservationist with the Dauphin County Soil Conservation District
- field representative with the Pennsylvania DER or DCNR
- head planner for a city in Florida
- physical scientist with the United States Geological Survey
- senior hydrogeologist
- solid waste planner
- Peace Corps representative
- Army Corps of Engineers
- GIS manager
- consulting firms such as Martin & Martin, KCI Technologies, Gannett Fleming, Skelly & Loy, and Weston & Associates
- National Audubon Society
- Delta Airport Consultants, Inc.
- EarthData Corporation
Others have gone on to pursue a doctorate in preparation for college teaching or top-level positions in public or private enterprises.
Faculty
The faculty in geoenvironmental studies is extraordinarily well qualified. Departmental members have a rich variety of backgrounds and among them have traveled virtually every segment of the globe.
James H, Mike, Ph.D., dean, College of Arts and Sciences.
William L. Blewett, Ph.D., chair, Department of Geography-Earth Science, Michigan State University; physical geography, glacial geomorphology, North America, landforms, quaternary geology.
Mike Applegarth, Ph.D., Arizona State University; GIS, soils, remote sensing.
Sean Cornell, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Cincinnati, geology, sedimentary petrology, marine environments.
Scott A. Dzyzga, Ph.D. Candidate, Michigan State University; geographic information systems, human geography, computer mapping, remote sensing.
Alison E. Feeney, Ph.D., Michigan State University; computer cartography, geographic information systems, North America.
Thomas P. Feeney, Ph.D., University of Georgia; geomorphology, hydrology, karst, groundwater, natural hazards, soils.
Kurtis G. Fuellhart, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University; cultural geography, economic geography, regional development & analysis.
Timothy W. Hawkins, Ph.D., Arizona State University; hydrology, climatology.
Claire A. Jantz, Ph.D., Department of Geography-Earth Science, University of Maryland; applied geography, human geography, land use, GIS.
Paul G. Marr, Ph.D., University of Denver; transportation, environmental health, Latin America, GIS.
George M. Pomeroy, Ph.D., University of Akron; urban geography, regional development and planning, land use, Asia.
Janet S. Smith, Ph.D., University of Georgia; geographic information systems, computer mapping, cartography, geography education.
Kay R. S. Williams, Ph.D., University of Georgia; climatology, conservation, biogeography, atmospheric issues.
Christopher J. Woltemade, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin; hydrology, water resources management, soils, field techniques, fluvial geomorphology, environmental restoration.
Joseph T. Zume, Ph.D., Oklahoma State University; groundwater, field hydrology, geophysics.
