Dear prospective applicant to the Geography and Geospatial Science program at Oregon State University,

This page outlines the details for how to apply to graduate degrees in Geography and Geospatial Science.

We offer on-campus MS (thesis or project) and PhD degrees and an online (project) MS.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to reach out to prospective faculty advisors prior to submitting an application. If you have not already done so, read about the Geography and Geospatial Science program and our faculty.

Write to the faculty members who might share your interests, and may serve as your advisor, and explain why you are interested in applying to our program. 

To be accepted into our graduate program, a student must apply to the program, be reviewed by our faculty as a whole, and also be accepted by an individual advisor. Advising and admission decisions are made by faculty after review of application materials.

Limited funding is available, in the form of graduate teaching assistantships and research assistantships.  Students are only admitted if we can provide funding. We accept about 1 in 5 applicants.

The deadline for all application materials, including references, is posted on the How to Apply page.

Faculty review of applications begins in early January, and initial decisions and funding offers are made February - April.  We consider only fully completed applications.

Steps for admission:

  1. Review the admissions guidelines at How to Apply.
     
  2. Review the lists of our faculty interests and communicate with the faculty who share your interests. Send them your CV or resume and describe your reasons for wishing to study with them in our graduate program.
     
  3. Please carefully read the questions on the application and answer them fully. We use your answers in our holistic admissions evaluation process.
     
  4. Submit your application by the deadline and check with your references to ensure they can meet the deadline.
     
  5. Plan to visit the OSU campus if possible, to meet with faculty and graduate students.
     
  6. Contact Lori Hartline, lori.hartline@oregonstate.edu, with questions about the details of the application process.

If you are an international student (not a US permanent resident), you should pursue additional sources of funding and review the visa requirements:

Scholarships for International Students

International admissions and visa information

You may also seek funding from your own country government or such international programs as the Fulbright Scholarship.  Details on Fulbright and other funds can be found at the US Embassy.

We look forward to receiving your application.  Please contact me if you have further questions.

Julia Jones
Professor, Director, Geography and Geospatial Science program
Julia.Jones@oregonstate.edu