Master of Science in Geographic Information Science (STEM)

at Clark University USA

Clark’s master’s degree in GIS combines rigorous academics with widely varied, highly applied learning opportunities. Our two-year program offers ample opportunities to take what you learn in the classroom and put it to work in the wider world through creative engagements with communities, nonprofits, government, and the private sector. By working hands-on with partners, you gain valuable experience applying theories and implementing your creative solutions to complex problems.

In addition, we offer four concentrations within the GIS degree that enable you to focus your studies: GIS for Development and Environment, Conservation Applications, Global and Community Health Applications, and Remote Sensing. Each requires the completion of a set of concentration-specific courses, and each provides a valuable set of skills — and credentials — that will serve you well throughout your career.

Community and Global Health Applications - Concentration
The concentration in GIS for Community and Global Health Applications is intended for students interested in applications of geospatial technologies in areas of community and global health. The program is aimed at individuals who plan to work as GIS Analysts/Specialists in international health organizations (such as WHO, International Red Cross), federal, state and local government agencies (CDC, FEMA, state and municipal health departments), NGOs (Partners in Health, Planned Parenthood, etc.) or research organizations and Universities (Schools of Public Health, Health GIS Research Labs).

Putting information into a spatial context allows exploring the spatial relationships among health and behavior indicators, health outcomes, environmental risk factors, and demographic and cultural characteristics at a particular location. GIS and remote sensing allow visualizing and analyzing spatial patterns of disease distribution, accounting for spatial dependencies in the data, and investigating how health outcomes and processes that drive them differ from place to place. GIS maps may indicate connections and trends that would be otherwise not readily apparent, if the data were not integrated together via spatial overlays. Graduates with this concentration will have a solid understanding of health issues facing communities (both domestic and global), and of the policy environments affecting global and community health. They will also develop competency in a wide range of GIS analytical methods, with particular emphasis on techniques applicable to community and global health issues.

Faculty this concentration have developed strong partnerships with local and global organizations, including the City Worcester (Department of Public Health), Family Health Center of Worcester, Inc., Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Departments of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School/UMass Memorial Health Care, Partners in Health, and others. Several MS students have done summer internships in some of these organizations or worked as research assistants with faculty on health-related GIS projects, and co-published academic papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Clark’s master’s degree in GIS combines rigorous academics with widely varied, highly applied learning opportunities. Our two-year program offers ample opportunities to take what you learn in the classroom and put it to work in the wider world through creative engagements with communities, nonprofits, government, and the private sector. By working hands-on with partners, you gain valuable experience applying theories and implementing your creative solutions to complex problems.

In addition, we offer four concentrations within the GIS degree that enable you to focus your studies: GIS for Development and Environment, Conservation Applications, Global and Community Health Applications, and Remote Sensing. Each requires the completion of a set of concentration-specific courses, and each provides a valuable set of skills — and credentials — that will serve you well throughout your career.

Gain knowledge in every step from project inception to completion, including project definition, cost and risk estimation, schedule planning and monitoring, budget management, negotiation and conflict resolution, leadership, presentation, and evaluation. Our master’s in project management curriculum provides standalone skills-based training to a working professional audience across multiple industries.

Our focus is to help you understand the concepts, tools, and tasks of a project manager, while ensuring you gain the practical leadership skills needed to excel on the job. Our instructors have specific topical expertise and provide an optimized learning process and practical application of the technical and soft skills learned. With easy access to an additional portfolio of potential electives, providing expertise in cybersecurity, and IT architectures and analytics, students can construct an educational experience that is uniquely focused on their own career aspirations, including pursuing a concentration in Lean Management.

Clark’s master’s degree in GIS combines rigorous academics with widely varied, highly applied learning opportunities. Our two-year program offers ample opportunities to take what you learn in the classroom and put it to work in the wider world through creative engagements with communities, nonprofits, government, and the private sector. By working hands-on with partners, you gain valuable experience applying theories and implementing your creative solutions to complex problems.

In addition, we offer four concentrations within the GIS degree that enable you to focus your studies: GIS for Development and Environment, Conservation Applications, Global and Community Health Applications, and Remote Sensing. Each requires the completion of a set of concentration-specific courses, and each provides a valuable set of skills — and credentials — that will serve you well throughout your career.

Environmental Remote Sensing - Concentration
Remote Sensing is the scientific discipline concerned with the acquisition of environmental data at a distance (typically from imaging sensors on satellites and aircraft) and their subsequent analysis to yield information, typically in map form. MSGIS concentration in Environmental Remote Sensing focuses on the analysis of image data for environmental applications, particularly related to earth system science, natural resource inventory and ecological/conservation applications. Faculty, students and staff are involved not only in the application of remote sensing to crucial environmental concerns, but also, in some cases, in the development of new image processing procedures and software implementations.

MSGIS concentration in Environmental Remote Sensing places a strong emphasis on acquiring the quantitative analysis and problem-solving skills necessary to function as a professional analyst. The products of remote sensing image analysis are almost universally in map form. Thus the program also puts emphasis on acquiring the GIS skills necessary for the development of end products, and most of the courses have an applied project component as an integral element.

Clark University continues to have strong partnerships with many organizations that have remote sensing image analysis needs, including the Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the GIMMS laboratory at NASA, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, Digital Globe and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Marketing is no longer just the ads you see on television but is now driven by consumer data. Employers across all industries are clamoring for professionals with the theoretical and practical knowledge to turn marketing data into tangible business value by formulating insights and developing strategies. At Clark University, our M.S. in Marketing Analytics is a STEM OPT-eligible program that will open doors to the increasing number of opportunities in the field of marketing data analysis. Students learn the quantitative and statistical tools to collect, evaluate, and interpret marketing data. You’ll also learn the communication skills necessary to share actionable knowledge with colleagues across disciplines and at every level of an organization.

Clark’s master’s degree in GIS combines rigorous academics with widely varied, highly applied learning opportunities. Our two-year program offers ample opportunities to take what you learn in the classroom and put it to work in the wider world through creative engagements with communities, nonprofits, government, and the private sector. By working hands-on with partners, you gain valuable experience applying theories and implementing your creative solutions to complex problems.

In addition, we offer four concentrations within the GIS degree that enable you to focus your studies: GIS for Development and Environment, Conservation Applications, Global and Community Health Applications, and Remote Sensing. Each requires the completion of a set of concentration-specific courses, and each provides a valuable set of skills — and credentials — that will serve you well throughout your career.

GIS for Development and Environment - Concentration
The concentration in Geographic Information Science for Development and Environment is intended for students interested in applications of geospatial technologies to address the challenge of sustainable development. The issues are many, ranging from natural resource development while protecting biodiversity, smart development and planning of infrastructure to social issues such as disaster management, humanitarian assistance, water and sanitation, poverty and hunger alleviation, climate change impacts, conflicts, and migration.

The GISDE concentration builds upon the broad strengths of the Department of International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE), the Graduate School of Geography and Clark Labs. Accordingly, this concentration allows considerable flexibility in tailoring an individual program, crafted with the assistance of a faculty advisor.

Poverty and structural racism undermine the quality of life in urban areas in the United States, and the societal costs can last for generations. The complexity of these problems demands an approach that goes beyond social work or urban planning or design. We developed the M.A. in Community Development and Planning because we believe social and economic justice are possible through the practice of engaged and future-focused community development.

In Clark’s Community Development and Planning program, students learn about the relations between power and capital that produce inequity, and how to use this knowledge to build partnerships and capacity in people, places, organizations, and institutions in order to promote structural change. Our curriculum is strategic and future-oriented, informed by an understanding of historic political-economic trends and current affairs. The curriculum has depth in areas such as youth justice, economic development, food security, and managing neighborhood transformation through community engagement, planning, and non-profit leadership.

Our faculty are engaged scholars and practitioners who work with, and for, state and city governments as well as community development corporations and other non-profits on a range of initiatives aimed at addressing urban challenges. They bring their skills and experience into the classroom, working closely with students to chart career paths. As mentors, the faculty introduce students to internships and a broad professional network.

At Clark University, our M.S. in Finance program will equip you to unlock the complex principles that drive global financial markets and to step into a wide range of roles in banking, investment management, trading, insurance, corporate finance, and other industries. Armed with a strong foundation in quantitative methods, analytical tools, and critical thinking, you will be prepared for success in any high-stakes financial environment worldwide.

Our curriculum includes a required introduction to literary studies, as well as elective special-topics seminars in a range of geographical contexts and time periods. Working closely with your adviser, you will identify an area of focus for your thesis research and complete a project that builds on your unique scholarly interests.

Most students earn their degree in three or four semesters. Students must be in residence for at least one year (two years are required for recipients of a teaching assistantship award).

In addition, students must:

• Attend the Departmental Colloquia, a noncredit course in which faculty and students present work in progress, share thesis updates, and hear guest speakers. Successfully complete an oral defense of their thesis before two or more faculty readers.

Our students engage capacities and skills that have import within and beyond the study of literature. Such skills entail:

• Analyzing both written texts and broader cultural narratives that shape the political and social world. Crafting insightful and illuminating arguments. Conducting independent and in-depth research with a range of archival sources.

The required coursework includes two foundation courses that provide students with fundamental knowledge of accounting and business analytics, four accounting and three data analytics core courses to enhance students’ understanding of contemporary accounting issues as well as develop strong analytics skills, and three accounting analytics core courses to utilize the accounting knowledge and analytical skills to identify accounting problems, analyze the big data, and provide innovative and practical solutions.

You’ll use critical thinking skills to gather, evaluate, and interpret information, and enhance your leadership and management skills as you learn how to collaborate with diverse stakeholders within organizations.