University of Mary Washington

Admissions

Great ratings in some of higher education’s most prestigious publications, an impressive location between state and national capitals, a renowned reputation for service-oriented learning...the only thing missing from the University of Mary Washington is you!

Contact Us
admit@umw.edu
@marywash

You are here: UMW / Academics / Admissions / Graduate Admissions / Graduate Degrees and Programs / Master of Science in Geospatial Analysis

Master of Science in Geospatial Analysis

Welcome to Graduate Admissions

Request
information

Virtual
sessions

Apply
now

Graduate Admissions Menu.

Graduate Admissions Quick Help

Graduate Admissions Home
Frequently Asked Questions
Applications & Checklists
Pre-Admission Advising
Graduate Readmission
Dates and Deadlines
Change Entry Term
Apply

Graduate Programs

Graduate Degrees and Programs Home
M.Ed. for Professional Development or Added Endorsement
Education Endorsement and Certificate Programs
Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program
Master of Science in Geospatial Analysis
Master of Business Administration MBA
M.Ed. with Initial Teacher Licensure
Graduate Pathway Programs
UMW MSGA 4+1 Program
Eagle MBA 4+1 Program

Admitted Student Communities

International Students
Admitted Students
Military Students

Graduate Tuition & Aid

Graduate Military Scholarship Program
Graduate Program Enrollment Deposit
Financial Aid for Graduate Students
UMW Virginia Teacher Scholarship
Federal TEACH Grant
Tuition

Contact Us

Contact Graduate Admissions
Virtual Sessions and Events
Request More Information

Earn your master of science in geospatial analysis today to start your career.

At Mary Wash, our students are what inspire us. For 110+ years, we’ve championed the fearless exploration of knowledge—connected students, like you, with their passions, and helped them use those passions to make the world better than before.

Find what

matters to you.

Earn your MSGA at UMW

Earn your MSGA at UMW
Start a career using geospatial technologies by getting your Master of Science in Geospatial Analysis at The University of Mary Washington. The U.S. Department of Labor says geospatial technologies are a high-growth industry sector, with more demand for employees than are trained personnel to fill the positions. The MSGA program is designed to address the growing demand for GIS-trained personnel in today’s working world. UMW’s MSGA program is conveniently located near the largest GIS job market in the U.S.

Job opportunities

Job opportunities
  • Cartographer
  • Geographer
  • Geospatial Engineer
  • Analyst
  • Specialist
  • Applications Developer
  • Intelligence Analyst
  • Photogrammetric Technician
  • Planner
  • Forester
  • Field Data Collector
  • Mapping Specialist
  • Political Analyst

Program features

Program features
  • Class size limited to 18, ensuring access to staff.
  • Designed for recent graduates with a background in GIS and for working professionals who wish to advance their careers
  • Access to state-of-the-art computer labs and extensive software: ESRI, ENVI, Terrset, PCI Geomatica, and more.
  • Enroll full or part-time
  • All courses are taught face to face on the Fredericksburg campus.
  • All courses meet once a week, from 6-9:30 p.m.
  • 30 credits are required- 6, 4-credit courses, and a 6-credit research project.
  • You can click here for full admission criteria.

Course instruction


A student interpreting the geospatial landscape

Course instruction
The MSGA program emphasizes instruction in theory and practical application. They are related to capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying spatial information. The program provides students with a technical foundation and a geographic knowledge base. The students apply geospatial tools to many real-world problems. The problems are crime analysis, transportation engineering, and urban planning. The student will see emergency preparedness, resource management, facilities management, climate change, and marketing.

The coherent program’s design is to master specific knowledge and skills, such as programming within a geospatial environment, report writing, critical spatial analysis, and solving problems. Completed capstone projects include visualization, sea-level change, conservation, climate and ecosystem modeling, health issues, urbanization and flooding, landscape reconstruction, and more. The MSGA offers a learning and growth opportunity within driving distance of some of the nation’s leading government and corporate geospatial agencies.

Required core courses

Required core courses
All courses are MSGA courses (12 credits)
  • 510 – Spatial Thinking
  • 540 – Modeling and Spatial Statistics
  • 555 – Programming for GIS*
Students who have completed an undergraduate GIS programming course may substitute the MSGA courses 580 for 555. If 580 is taken as the core, it cannot also count as an elective.
Elective courses
All courses are MSGA courses (12 credits)
Select three of the following:

  • 520 – GeoDesign and Geovisualization
  • 550 – Remote Sensing & Digital Imagery
  • 570 – Geospatial Intelligence
  • 571 – Special Topics in Geospatial Analysis
  • 580 – Web GIS and Programming
  • 591 – Individual Study
Capstone
All courses are MSGA courses (6 credits)
  • 595 – Independent Research Project

Admission requirements

Admission requirements
  • Earned bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university
  • Successful applicants typically have a GPA of 3.0 or higher from undergraduate coursework. Students are required to have successfully earned credits in at least two college-level GIS classes and in at least one statistics class; in lieu of completed coursework, students can gain admission by providing documented evidence demonstrating they have worked with a GIS, such as ArcGIS, Grass, MapInfo, IDRISI, Intergraph – or the equivalent software – on a range of projects indicating competence in the topics typically covered in upper-level undergraduate GIS. Students may be considered for provisional admission without having previous GIS coursework or related work experience under the agreement that if they are admitted they must take GISC 200 Introduction to GIS and GISC 351 Spatial Analysis or GEOG 351A Spatial Analysis prior to beginning their graduate-level courses.
  • Non-native English speakers will provide evidence of proficiency in English.

Graduate student tuition and fees

Graduate tuition and fees
The tuition and mandatory fees outlined below have been approved by the Board of Visitors and are effective for the 2022-2023 Academic Year.
Have questions about the Master of Science in Geospatial Analysis page?

Please contact Graduate Admissions at (540) 286-8030 or Email us at graduate@umw.edu, or you can fill out our Request for More Information Form. Feel free to visit our social media as well.