Pursuing a Graduate Degree in Geography

Hello everyone! As a newly-minted ECCE member, in the spirit of fostering community and collaboration I would like to take this chance to briefly introduce my research interests and encourage all of you to consider pursuing graduate studies in geography.

I am currently in the first semester of Carleton University’s Geography PhD program, and have found a significant portion of my day is spent reading and playing catch up on the theoretical lenses of geographical research. Aside from the required coursework, my research interests are focused on improving mapping and monitoring capabilities of Canadian rangeland – including our diminishing native grasslands – using remote sensing technology. I am fortunate to also be a Research Affiliate (through a federal RAP) with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Geomatics and Earth Observation department (ACGEO) in Ottawa. If you are considering graduate studies and didn’t know about the federal RAP program, I encourage you to look into this work/study opportunity.

From the knowledge and perspective gained in pursuing my postgraduate career; I have highlighted a few key reasons why you should consider pursuing a graduate degree in Geography:

• You will be exposed to many more job OPPORTUNITIES by the time you graduate, as the research networks and contacts you develop are more useful than blindly applying to job postings in a highly competitive field such as GIS.
• You will be more EMPLOYABLE in your field. Employers value the critical analysis, general knowledge, and skills developed alongside a MA or MSc.
• You will have the SKILLS to solve complex real-world problems: geographers are the ultimate system analyzers. The discipline of geography’s relevance to science and society is the way which we view the world around us, through understanding the interactions between place, space, and spatial and temporal scale.

Next time someone asks you what you are going to do with your graduate degree in geography?? be sure to remind them that our current Prime Minister pursued a MA in environmental geography, before suspending his studies to pursue public office. So you will more than qualified to be the next Prime Minister if you manage to complete your graduate degree.

If you are interested in pursuing graduate studies and would like to pick my brain on graduate research, the RAP program, or if you are interested in remote sensing and grass I would love to chat! Give me a follow on Twitter, and keep posted for more on the ways I use GIS in my research.

Emily Lindsay, MSc

Twitter: @em_lindsay