UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE FORMS
GRD0304
Academic Program Approval
This form is a routing document for the approval of new
and revised academic programs. Proposing department should
complete this form. For more
information, call the Faculty Senate Office at 831-2921.
Submitted by: Tracy DeLiberty phone
number: x4084
Department: Geography email address: tracyd@udel.edu
Date: 31 July 2012
Action: Delete
concentrations for Geography Ph.D.
(Example: add major/minor/concentration, delete
major/minor/concentration,
revise major/minor/concentration,
academic unit name change, request for permanent status, policy change,
etc.)
Effective term: 14S
(use format 04F, 05W)
Current degree: PhD
(Example: BA, BACH, BACJ, HBA, EDD, MA, MBA, etc.)
Proposed change leads to the
degree of: same degree
(Example: BA,
BACH, BACJ, HBA, EDD, MA, MBA, etc.)
Proposed name: same name
Proposed new name for revised
or new major / minor / concentration / academic unit
(if applicable)
Revising or Deleting:
Undergraduate major / Concentration:______________________________________
(Example: Applied Music – Instrumental degree BMAS)
Undergraduate minor:____________________________________________________
(Example: African
Studies, Business
Administration, English, Leadership,
etc.)
Graduate Program Policy statement change:_________________________________
(Must
attach your Graduate Program Policy
Statement)
Graduate Program of Study: Geography Ph.D.
(Example: Animal
Science: MS Animal
Science: PHD Economics: MA Economics: PHD)
Graduate minor / concentration: delete concentrations
Note: all graduate studies
proposals must include an electronic copy of the Graduate Program Policy
Document, highlighting the changes made to the original policy document.
Graduate Program Policy Handbook attached
List new courses required for
the new or revised curriculum. How do they support the overall program
objectives of the major/minor/concentrations)?
(Be aware that approval
of the curriculum is dependent upon these courses successfully passing through
the Course Challenge list. If there are no new courses enter “None”)
No additional courses are needed. The Department of Geography Master of Science
program offers a number of physical geography foundation courses at the 600
level with the addition of regularly supported 600-800 level courses in allied
disciplines of Mathematics, Statistics, Marine Science, and Geology. The Department’s Master of Arts program
offers a number of human geography foundation courses at the 600 level with the
addition of regularly supported 600-800 level courses in allied disciplines
such as Energy and Environmental Policy, History, Political Science, Public
Policy, and Sociology. The Department
also provides a suite of techniques courses in GIS, remote sensing and
quantitative methods to complement a student’s methodological emphasis.
Explain, when appropriate,
how this new/revised curriculum supports the 10 goals of undergraduate
education: http://www.ugs.udel.edu/gened/
Identify other units affected
by the proposed changes:
(Attach permission from the affected units. If no other unit is affected, enter “None”)
None
Describe the rationale for
the proposed program change(s):
(Explain your reasons for creating, revising, or deleting the
curriculum or program.)
The Department of Geography’s original
Ph.D. degree program was a Ph.D. in Climatology. This degree program was substituted for a
Ph.D. degree in Geography with two concentrations in climatology and land
surface processes. [It should be noted
that the Department is submitting a parallel proposal to reinstate the Ph.D. degree
in Climatology.] The present proposal is to remove the two concentrations and
to refocus the Ph.D. degree to reflect the Department’s broad focus on both
physical and human geography. Emphasis
will be placed on human-environment interactions that cut across the
discipline. Not only is this refocusing
consistent with the environmental initiatives emphasized as part of the
University’s Path to Prominence, but it will also permit students to conduct
cutting-edge geographic research investigating patterns and processes that
shape human interactions with the built and natural environments. In addition,
this will permit us to expand our program in a way that will allow all (rather
than only some) faculty members across the entire Department to contribute to
the education of researchers capable of developing effective technological,
social, political, and cultural solutions to our environmental challenges as,
for example, on the quality of drinking water and its scarcity.
The Department of Geography is undergoing
a significant transitional period with respect to the faculty, with two
retirement-replacement faculty successfully completed, and several others
anticipated within just the next few years. With the additional consideration
of the Environmental Cluster hire and the appointment of the new faculty in
Environmental Humanities, this is a watershed moment in environmental science
and society faculty hiring at the University of Delaware. An important aspect
of our proposed restructuring of the Ph.D. in Geography is to make the
department, college, and university more attractive to the very best potential
candidates for the next generation of faculty positions in all aspects of
environmental inquiry at UD.
Program Requirements:
(Show the new or revised curriculum as it should appear in the
Course Catalog. If this is a revision,
be sure to indicate the changes being made to the current curriculum and include a side-by-side comparison of
the credit distribution before and after the proposed change.)
Current Catalog Proposed
Catalog
|
Telephone: (302) 831-2294
|
Telephone: (302)
831-2294
In physical geography,
the Department has a long tradition focusing on climatology, especially physical,
synoptic, dynamic climatology, and all phases
of water budget cycling. In addition, emphasis is placed on land
surface processes, especially glacial and alpine environments, sea-ice
dynamics, hydrology and ecosystem linkages.
Human Geography covers a broad
range of environmental themes approached from cultural-historical, socio-economic
and political perspectives. Coupled
human-environment systems examines linkages and processes between the
biophysical environment and human societies with emphasis in environmental
governance, conflicts over increasingly scarce resources, and human
dimensions of climate change. Interdisciplinary
work is encouraged from across the university and in collaborations with
local, national, and international partners.
Requirements
For Admission to the Ph.D. program General admissions requirements are a graduate grade point index of 3.0 or higher, and GRE verbal and quantitative score of 300 or higher. A prior Master’s degree in Geography is expected. Applicants with degrees from a program other than Geography may be considered if students can demonstrate similar preparation. Admission is highly competitive, based on a careful assessment of each applicant’s background and interest, and accessibility to facilities and other resources. Applications should state a preference for approaching their studies from
a physical, human, or coupled human-environmental systems, and demonstrate
their preparation in methodological techniques appropriate to the particular
interests of the student. Additional
preparation may be required following admission and prior to undertaking a
research program to allow students to conduct research in the area of their
particular interests.
More description of the Ph.D. program can be obtained online at Geography’s website or by contacting the Geography Department. |
ROUTING AND AUTHORIZATION: (Please do not remove supporting
documentation.)
Department Chairperson 
Date 31
July 2012
Dean of College 
Date 28
October 2013
Chairperson, College Curriculum
Committee__
______________Date October 28,
2013
Chairperson, Senate Com. on UG or GR
Studies Date
Chairperson, Senate Coordinating
Com. Date
Secretary, Faculty Senate Date
Date of Senate Resolution Date
to be Effective
Registrar Program
Code Date
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
& International Programs Date
Provost Date
Board of Trustee Notification Date
Revised 02/09/2009 /khs
Appendix A: Letters
of Participation and Support
August 7, 2012
To: Tracy DeLiberty
Chair, Department of Geography
From: Gretchen Bauer
Chair, Department of Political Science and International
Relations
Re: Revised PhD in Geography
With this memorandum, I would
like to state the support of the Department of Political Science and
International Relations for the proposed revisions to the PhD in Geography.
We understand that our
Political Science graduate courses will be will be included among a menu of
elective courses from which your doctoral students will choose. We will welcome
your students in our classes assuming that we have space for them.
We further understand that
the PhD in Geography will complement our own PhD program rather than overlap
with it in some way.
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