BE GLOBAL

DEPARTMENT OF

Geographical Sciences

2181 SAMUEL J. LEFRAK HALL7251 PREINKERT DR.COLLEGE PARK, MD 20742

WWW.GEOG.UMD.EDUP 301.405.4050 / F 301.314.9299

The Department of Geographical Sciences

is one of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences’

10 interdisciplinary departments and programs, all

committed to investigating and improving the human

condition. www.bsos.umd.edu

AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIESBE EMPOWERED

ANTHROPOLOGYBE CULTURAL

CRIMINOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICEBE JUST

ECONOMICSBE EFFICIENT

GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCESBE GLOBAL

GOVERNMENT & POLITICSBE CIVIL

HEARING & SPEECH SCIENCESBE HEARD

JOINT PROGRAM IN SURVEY METHODOLOGYBE COUNTED

PSYCHOLOGYBE UNDERSTOOD

SOCIOLOGYBE SOCIAL

Geographical Sciences at Maryland >>

At the University of Maryland’s Department of Geographical

Sciences, we’re discovering new knowledge about critical

societal and environmental issues through integrated science.

We examine the causes of and the impact of climate change—

rising sea levels and increased severe weather, droughts and

wildfires—and what can be done to combat these problems. We

inform resource management decisions at all levels of gov-

ernment. We work closely with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight

Center to create satellite-based, comprehensive new data sets

and models of changing land use. We inspire Maryland pride

and turn imagination into innovation by developing tools

and research methods that are used to promote environmental

knowledge and to improve policies around the world.

Through internships and research opportunities via

partnerships with government agencies and global organi-

zations—such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S.

Agency for International Development, the African Wildlife

Fund and the World Resources Institute—we are transforming

the student experience.

Photo by Sike (Lydia) Li, M.S. ’16, at the Kyoto Imperial Palace Garden in

Kyoto, Japan. Li conducted research in Japan.

WE EXAMINE AND MITIGATE THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL

changes around the world.Academic Offerings >>

UNDERGRADUATE OFFERINGS

Bachelor of Science

» Majors: Geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS),

Environmental Science and Policy (ENSP), Land Use, ENSP-Coastal

and Marine Environments, ENSP-Global Environmental Change

» Tracks: GIS, Cartography and Remote Sensing; Environment

Systems and Natural Resources; Development and Sustainability

» Minors: Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing of

Environmental Change

Combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Science

go.umd.edu/GEOGUndergraduate

GRADUATE OFFERINGS

Master of Professional Studies

» Geospatial Information Sciences

» Geospatial Intelligence

Doctor of Philosophy

go.umd.edu/GEOGGraduate

JON NORDLING, B.S. ’12, GIS M.P.S. ’14Founder and Solutions Architect, GeoMarvel; Developer, Geographical Open Data Kit

“ The skills I acquired at Maryland have

helped me develop innovative tools that help

researchers around the world measure forests

and share knowledge.”

CATHERINE LILIAN NAKALEMBE, PH.D. ’16Faculty Specialist, AgriSense-STARS Project

“ I contributed to an official government report

presenting hard evidence of the food security

situation in my study area of East Africa, which

resulted in immediate action to send relief

food to the area.”

Innovative Centers & Projects >>

The Department of Geographical Sciences collaborates with prestigious

organizations locally, nationally and globally on innovative research

and applications. These organizations and ventures include:

» UMD-NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Joint

Global Carbon Cycle Center

» UMD-Beijing Normal University Joint Global Change &

Earth System Science Center

» Joint Global Change Research Institute

» MPOWER

» National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center

» Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center

» Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites

go.umd.edu/GEOGCollaborations

Faculty Research Highlights >>

The faculty featured below work with UMD’s Center for Geospatial

Information Science (CGIS), which supports the development of

next-generation geospatial information science: geospatial.umd.edu.

To learn more about all faculty members in the Department of

Geographical Sciences—who teach and conduct research across

diverse fields of study—visit go.umd.edu/GEOGPeople.

LEILA DE FLORIANI, who has a joint appoint-

ment at the University of Maryland Institute

for Advanced Computer Studies, focuses on

modeling, spatial data structures, and big data

analysis through topological methods, geo-

spatial data visualization, and social network

analysis. Her work supports visualization

projects in CGIS. CGIS is producing a diverse array of visualization

schemes to support and enhance GIS users’ spatial skills and abilities

as they explore and build understanding of the world around them.

GRANT MCKENZIE takes a computational

approach to better understand the concept of

place, how it is defined, and the role it plays in

our human environment. To do this, he uses

geographic information (GI) to study temporal

patterns in human activity behavior. Much of

his work examines how human activities vary

within and between local neighborhoods and global communities.

This ongoing work has driven McKenzie’s interests in issues related

to geo-privacy and credibility in geospatial information, as well as the

broader role that GI science plays at the intersection of information

technologies and society.

KATHLEEN STEWART, Director of CGIS, works

in the area of geographic information science

that uses geographic information systems

(GIS) to study patterns of different phenom-

ena over space and time—and how geospatial

approaches might be improved to better detect

these patterns. For example, she is interested in

geographic patterns of the use of certain street drugs such as heroin;

or how the movements of a population might put its members at risk

from an infectious disease like malaria; or the how the behaviors of

drivers, including their speed, varies by location as they go about their

daily activities. Through this research, Stewart is using GIS to shed light

on human behavior.

go.umd.edu/GEOGPeople

Research in Action >>

Our faculty, students, partners and alumni focus their work

in four main areas:

» Geospatial-Information Science and Remote Sensing

» Human Dimensions of Global Change—Coupled Human

and Natural Systems

» Land Cover—Land Use Change

» Carbon, Vegetation Dynamics and Landscape–Scale Processes

go.umd.edu/GEOGResearch

GEOG Points of Pride >>

OUR AWARD-WINNING FACULTY ARE EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELDS, ARE FREQUENTLY INVITED TO PUBLISH AND LECTURE, AND ARE OFTEN FEATURED BY THE MEDIA.

STUDENTS WORK WITH FACULTY ON CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH PROJECTS.

THE DEPARTMENT’S UNIQUE RESEARCH CENTERS AND PROJECTS ADDRESS MAJOR SOCIAL ISSUES.

OUR PROXIMITY TO D.C. ALLOWS FOR EXCEPTIONAL INTERNSHIPS AND OPPORTUNITIES.

STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS OFFER LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES.

OUR PROGRAM IS RANKED #3 IN THE NATION BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL.

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