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use and land cover change in tropical and temperate regions. Latin
America and Africa are the primary areas of regional emphasis.
Medical geography is a combination of geography and medical
sciences and focuses on spatial aspects of human and animal illnesses
and healthcare. Physical geography in the department concentrates on
climatology, fluvial geomorphology, hydrology, coastal environments
and biogeography.
The department has state-of-the art GIS, remote sensing, and
computer cartography facilities, with two fully equipped teaching
laboratories, a flexible-instruction classroom, a research and teaching
preparatory lab, and extensive research equipment in several
individual faculty laboratories. The department is strongly tied to
many other units on campus, and is one of the principal participants of
several campus-wide institutes and centers: the Center for African
Studies and the Center for Latin American Studies, the Land Use and
Environmental Change Institute; the Emerging Pathogens Institute, the
Climate Institute, the Water Institute. Many faculty members in the
department are also appointed to the faculty of the virtual School of
Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE).
ACADEMIC PLAN, ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS, AND
FINANCIAL AID: The academic year consists of two semesters and
two summer sessions. Admission to the Graduate School requires the
completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, a B
average or better (or its equivalent), a minimum GRE verbal score of
140 (new scale), three letters of recommendation, and a Statement of
Purpose. Foreign students whose first language is not English are
required to obtain satisfactory scores (IELTS: 6. MELAB: 77. TOEFL
(Internet-Based): 80. TOEFL (Paper-Based): 550). The Fall semester
at the University of Florida generally begins around August 20, and
the Spring semester begins around January 5 (see University website
for exact dates). Applicants for the M.A., M.S. or Ph.D. degrees will
be considered irrespective of their previous specialization in the
physical and social sciences and humanities. Deficiencies in
undergraduate coursework in geography may be corrected
concurrently with registration in appropriate graduate level courses.
The Department of Geography and the University of Florida offer
various types of financial support for qualified graduate students.
Teaching assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis for the
nine-month academic year and for the two summer semesters.
Waivers for out-of-state tuition are included. Stipends begin at about
$16,000 plus tuition waiver for the nine month academic year and at
about $2,600 for a 6-week summer semester. A limited number of
fellowship awards for highly qualified applicants may carry stipends
of $20,000. Research assistantships for the nine-month academic year
and the summer semesters are also sometimes available from faculty
members seeking assistance on grant-supported research projects.
Research assistantship stipends are determined by the individual
faculty member. NDEA Title VI Fellowships may be available for
students interested in Latin American or African studies. Applications
for teaching and research assistantships for the Fall Semester should
be submitted by January 31.
The University also awards on a competitive basis a number of
fellowships and scholarships for which new geography graduate
students are often eligible. Other fellowships and supplemental awards
are also available from the department or other units of the university.
(Candidates should check university website for current information
on financial aid and awards.) Applications considered for most of
these awards should be submitted by January 31.
All information about applying to the graduate program can be found
at http://geog.ufl.edu/programs/grad/admissions/. The online Graduate
Catalog is found at http://gradcatalog.ufl.edu/. Other inquiries should
be directed to the Graduate School, Grinter Hall, University of
Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611.
FACULTY:
Michael W. Binford, Ph.D., Indiana, 1980, Professor — land-water
interactions, human-environment interactions, GIS and remote
sensing in environmental systems, paleoecology, tropical and
subtropical Americas, southern and east Africa, Southeast Asia
Jason K. Blackburn, Ph.D. Louisiana State University, 2006,
Associate Professor — medical geography, spatial aspects of
zoonotic diseases, species distribution modeling, central Asia,
North America, southern Africa
Brian Child, D.Phil, University of Oxford, 1988, Associate Professor
– community based natural resource management, humanenvironment
interactions, southern Africa
Timothy J. Fik, Ph.D., Arizona, 1989, Associate Professor —
economic, urban, quantitative methods
Gregory E. Glass, Ph.D., Kansas, 1983, Professor — medical,
biogeography, human-environment interactions, zoonotic and
insect-borne diseases, biological threat reduction programs
Stephen M. Golant, Ph.D., Washington, 1972, Professor — social,
behavioral, social gerontology, urban
Abraham C. Goldman, Ph.D., Clark, 1986, Associate Professor and
Director of the Center for African Studies — tropical agriculture
and land use, Africa, resources and conservation
Liang Mao, Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, 2010,
Associate Professor — medical, spatial modeling for disease
epidemics, disease control strategies, spatial/social network
analysis, GIS/RS for environmental health
Corene J. Matyas, Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University, 2005.
Associate Professor — Climatology, severe weather, tropical
cyclone behavior and modeling
Joann Mossa, Ph.D., Louisiana State, 1990, Professor — fluvial
geomorphology, coastal studies, hydrology, human impacts in
river and coastal settings, river restoration
Sadie J. Ryan, Ph.D., California – Berkeley, 2006, Assistant Professor
— medical, biogeography, spatial and ecological aspects of
disease transmission, Africa, Antarctica, North America
Cynthia S. Simmons, Ph.D., Florida State University, 1999. Associate
Professor — human-environment interactions, political
economy, political ecology, land-change science, sustainability,
South America, Amazon
Jane Southworth, Ph.D., Indiana University, 2000, Professor —
remote sensing of land-cover change, time-series analysis,
savanna dynamics, climate variability and climate change,
coupled social-ecological systems
Robert T. Walker, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, 1984, Professor
— nature-society studies, land-change science, geospatial
analysis
Peter R. Waylen, Ph.D., McMaster, 1982, Professor and Associate
Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences — hydrology,
quantitative methods, water resources
EMERITI FACULTY:
Cesar N. Caviedes, D.Sc., Freiburg, 1969, Professor Emeritus —
South America, environmental systems, political
Barbara E. McDade-Gordon, Ph.D., Texas, 1992, Associate Professor
Emerita — economic, economic development, Africa, African
diaspora
Nigel J.H. Smith, Ph.D., UC, Berkeley, 1976, Professor Emeritus —
conservation and development of natural resources,
ethnoecology, Amazonia
AFFILIATED FACULTY:
Holly Donohoe, Ph.D., Carleton University, 2009, Assistant
Professor, University Librarian, and Head, Map Library — map
interpretation, geographical bibliography, biotic resources
Andrew Noss, Ph.D. Florida 1995, Courtesy Assistant Professor of
Geography — cultural geography, natural resource management,
Africa, Latin America
Marilyn E. Swisher, Ph.D., Florida, 1982, Associate Professor of
Home Economics — tropical agriculture, women in agricultural
development
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