Master of Science in Geographic Information Science with Concentration in GIS for Development and Environment (STEM)

at Clark University USA

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.

Right now, people all over the world are facing social and economic injustices and escalating environmental threats to their health and wellbeing. From toxic pollution to habitat loss to climate change, our planet’s inhabitants and ecosystems are facing critical and highly time-sensitive challenges.

At Clark University, we aren’t daunted by these challenges. Our creativity and resolve are inspired by them. A signature program in our influential International Development, Community, and Environment (IDCE) Department, the M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy uses an integrative, collaborative approach for understanding and responding to complex issues. We work in partnership with communities, nonprofits, businesses, donors, and policymakers in the United States and internationally to promote safer, healthier, more sustainable relationships between humans and the natural environment. And we help develop knowledge that can be translated into action through changes to policies, practices, behaviors, attitudes, and technologies.

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.

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.

Conservation Applications - Concentration
Conservation GIS is concerned with the application of Geographic Information Systems and related geospatial technologies to the needs of Conservation Biology, Landscape Ecology, Wildlife Management and Conservation Planning. The MSGIS in Conservation Applications builds upon the history of close partnerships between Clark University and Clark Labs with organizations such as Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Through these relationships, for example, Clark Labs has developed a distinctive set of geospatial software tools for Conservation such as the Land Change Modeler, the Habitat and Biodiversity Modeler, the Climate Change Adaptation Modeler, the Ecosystem Services Modeler and the Earth Trends Modeler. Clark is also in the process of becoming the home of the New England chapter of the Society for Conservation GIS.

The objectives of the Master of Science in Conservation Applications are to gain spatial analysis skills required in ecological and conservation applications including: vector and raster spatial data analysis, analysis of image time series, remote sensing applied to environmental monitoring, GIS programming skills, spatial conservation planning, spatial modeling of species distributions, and effective map communication.

Employers across all industries are clamoring for professionals with the theoretical and practical knowledge to turn data into tangible business value, formulate insights, and develop strategies for managers and executives. At Clark University, our M.S. in Business Analytics program will give you a thorough grounding in the three key areas of data analytics—descriptive (what happened), diagnostic (why it happened), and prescriptive (how to make it happen). You’ll also learn the communication skills necessary to share actionable knowledge with colleagues across disciplines and at every level of an organization.

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.

Information technology (IT) is at the core of all essential aspects of a 21st century organization, from its public face to its financial records. Business leaders know that the versatility and efficiency of their IT systems could make or break their organizations. If you are a skilled IT manager, your talents are in ever-increasing demand.

The Clark University’s M.S. in Information Technology (MSIT) program will prepare you to excel as an IT leader. You will learn strategic uses of IT as well as pivotal aspects of cybersecurity and data management. You’ll also master tools like Tableau and Splunk that allow you to analyze complex datasets. When you graduate, you will be prepared to take on an elevated level of responsibility in your current position or advance into new roles within the IT realm.

At Clark University, we’ve created an exceptional launchpad for advancing your career in accounting. Our M.S. in Accounting graduates consistently post first-time pass rates on the CPA exam that are among the highest in Massachusetts. You’ll also gain an edge in the professional marketplace by mastering the skills and critical thinking necessary to developing innovative solutions to complex financial challenges in the evolving global economy.

No matter your area of non-business specialization, you can kickstart your career with general management expertise and increase your value within your current organization. Our M.S. in Management program is specifically designed to make students with non-management backgrounds feel at home in the world of business.

The Clark University offers a close-knit management program within a small world-renowned liberal arts university. Here, we provide a comfortable environment in which to gain the broad business acumen that will boost your earning power. Data from a national survey of corporate recruiters indicates that nearly 60% of all employers are looking to hire professionals with master’s degrees in management. At Clark University, you can enhance your career prospects and professional value on a schedule that fits your life.