Program Requirements

Students entering the Ph.D. program with master’s degrees from other universities are expected to have or acquire qualifications equivalent to those normally achieved by a Syracuse M.A. in geography. The student must maintain a 3.0 grade point average. The Ph.D. degree requires a total of 72 credits of approved graduate work in geography and related fields. The 72 credits include credits accepted for the master’s degree, and 12 credits in dissertation research. At least 24 credits of coursework must be taken in residence at Syracuse. At least two-thirds of the coursework (not including the dissertation) must be at the 600 level or above. All doctoral programs in geography are research-oriented.

Toward the end of their second year in the Ph.D. program, students must submit a dissertation proposal to their advisory committee.  The proposal must be approved by the committee in a formal defense prior to taking the qualifying exams. Following the completion of coursework and the defense of the dissertation proposal, Ph.D. students must take their qualifying exams, designed to demonstrate competence in three topical fields. The exam has a written and an oral portion, designed to cover the specific subfields identified by the student in consultation with the advisor and advisory committee.

The dissertation itself should be an original scholarly contribution to the field and may be highly varied in methodology, topic, and style of presentation. It must be defended orally.