Geography, Planning, and Recreation

Basic Requirements:

• You must demonstrate a mastery and commitment to the emphasis areas offered in the MS in Applied Geospatial Science
• You must have an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher at the time of application, and a 3.5 GPA or higher for the most recent 12 units of GSP or PRM courses completed prior to the application
• You must meet all of the regular requirements for admission to the Master of Science in Applied Geospatial Sciences degree application, except for the differences noted below 
• You must have successfully completed at least 60 undergraduate credit hours, at least 30 of which must have been completed at Northern Arizona University; of those 60, at least 18 credit hours must be graded courses in GSP or PRM courses at NAU
  • Students may apply in either their Junior or Senior year at NAU
  • Seniors must apply and be admitted to the MS degree before they receive their bachelors degree
   
• You do not have to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) - this is waived for Integrated Program students
• You must provide two letters of recommendation from GPR department faculty, plus two additional letters from people outside of the GPR Department
• You must identify the six units of undergraduate, 400-level coursework that is applied to your graduate degree after you are admitted to the Integrated Program
  • All of the remaining units that you take in the MS degree must be at the 500 and 600 level
   
• You are required to initially pursue the non-thesis practicum track (to ensure that you complete the Integrated Program in a timely manner); however, if your MS advisor and other department faculty agree, you may switch to the thesis track after you have started your graduate coursework
• For the practicum track: 
  • You must take a minimum of 24 units of classroom courses at the 500 or 600 level
  • Independent study, research, reading, and the practicum units are not considered classroom courses and may not be counted in these 24 units
  • Because you are only taking 30 units at the graduate level, and the practicum is 6 units, that means you may not take any independent study-type classes or 400 level classes for the 30 units of the MS degree  
   
• For the thesis track, must take a minimum of 18 units of classroom courses at the 500 and 600 level
  • This allows you 6 units of thesis and 6 units of independent study-type classes
   
• You must take all coursework applied to the 36 units of the MS degree (including the undergraduate cross-over courses) within a six-year time frame
  • Courses older than 6 years at the time of graduation will not count toward the degree
   
• You must make steady progress toward both the BS and MS degree; otherwise, as indicated in the GPR Graduate Programs Handbook, you may be dropped from the Integrated Program and from the MS degree program

The BS-MS Integrated Program is available a fully online degree program.

Please be aware that not all classes in the program are available online.  Because of this, fully online program students must be flexible and may be required to take some coursework in departments outside of GPR.

Make sure to keep these things in mind if you are considering the BS-MS Integrated Program:

• Graduate courses cost more than undergraduate courses at Northern Arizona University; your tuition will increase based on the number of graduate units taken, (a higher price) in relation to the number of undergraduate units taken (a lower price)
• Graduate classes generally require more work than undergraduate classes; full time at the graduate level is 9 units, in comparison to 12 units at the undergraduate level
• The Integrated Program is especially suited for you if you expect to complete the BS degree in 3.5 years

You may apply in either your Junior or Senior year of study at NAU.  As noted above, you must have at least 60 units of undergraduate coursework completed, with 30 units taken at NAU.

You are encouraged to start the discussion process with your advisor early on, preferably in your sophomore year. You are required to meet with the GPR Graduate Programs Coordinator prior to application to make sure that you fully understand the application process and program requirements.

To apply, you will submit the online application for the MS Applied Geospatial Sciences degree through the NAU Graduate College website.

For additional information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for BS-MS Integrated Program applicants.