The Department of Geography offers students pursuing a master’s degree in geography the opportunity of specializing in Transportation and Business Geographics. Dominant themes of study, research, and inquiry in this specialization include:
- Relationships between the organization of the space economy and transportation;
- Freight and passenger transportation systems;
- Flow of people, commodities, information, and ideas at different scales of observation --from the small picture (urban transportation) to the global picture (international transportation);
- Mobility and accessibility issues in every day life and in the economy;
- Optimal routing and facility location;
- Transportation infrastructure, efficiency, and safety;
- The transportation-land use link;
- Transportation logistics, distribution, and business location;
- Spatial information technologies and location-based services;
- Activities and travel in a city environment;
- Transportation planning and policies; and
- Transportation systems and sustainability.
The use of information technologies (intelligent transportation systems, geographic information systems, wireless communication systems) is emphasized throughout the curriculum of the transportation and business geographics specialization.The
purpose of this degree specialization is to increase students’ understanding of
the use of transportation systems in contemporary societies and of their impact
in structuring the geographic space of cities, regions, and the world at large. This specialization teaches students an
understanding of public policies as they relate to transportation. It also aims to enhance students’ knowledge of theories, techniques,
and models of transportation analysis and business geographics used by
practitioners in the public and private sector of the economy.
Students are trained for positions with government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as with transportation service providers (carriers, freight forwarders, logistics managers, etc.), facility location planners (real estate companies, business location consultants, etc.), and GIS service providers.
Students are able to earn an MA degree in Geography with an advanced certificate in Transportation / Business Geographics after completing 30 credits and a master’s (research) project. They should expect to devote one year of full-time study to the program.
Required Core Courses
|
Course number |
Course title (credit hours) |
|
GEO 500 |
Introduction to Graduate Geography (3) |
|
GEO 501 |
Research Design (1) |
|
GEO 506 |
Geographical Information Systems (4) |
|
GEO 509 |
Multivariate Statistics in Geography (3) |
|
GEO 519 |
Transportation (3) |
|
GEO 631 |
Project Guidance (1) |
Elective Courses
|
Course number |
Course title (credit hours) |
|
Three of the following five courses: |
|
|
GEO 520 GEO 554 GEO 564 GEO 574 GEO 666 |
Transportation and Spatial Information (4) Network and Location Analysis (4) Mobility and Flows (4) Urban Transportation and Land Use Modeling (4) Geography of Information (3) |
|
One of the following courses: |
|
|
GEO 507 ECO 521 GEO 518 GEO 530 GEO 531 PD 562 GEO 605 MGS 616 GEO 633 |
Location Theory (3) Urban Economics (3) Population Geography (3) Urban Geography (3) Introduction to International Business and World Trade (3) Transportation and Infrastructure Planning (3) Spatial Statistics (3) Decision Support in Supply Chain Management (3) Critical Urban Issues (3) Other courses require approval from the program coordinator |
Internships with private and public organizations are also available to students.
Students must maintain a minimum B average in the curriculum followed towards the T&BG Certificate, that is in GEO 519, and three of the following courses: GEO 520, GEO 554, GEO 564, GEO 574, GEO 666.Submission of a research project follows the rules and regulations governing the MA degree in geography.
Students completing the MA degree with
advanced certificate in Transportation / Business Geographics and submitting a capstone research
project may pursue doctoral study concentrating in transportation analysis
within the Department of Geography. This can be accomplished with the Urban and Regional Studies
specialization or the Geographic Information Systems specialization.
Admission Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- Good GRE and TOEFL scores
- Three letters of reference.
Core Transportation / Business Geographics Faculty
Irene Casas, Assistant Professor, icasas@buffalo.edu
Barry Lentnek, Professor, geobl@buffalo.edu
Peter Rogerson, Professor, rogerson@buffalo.edu
Narushige Shiode, Assistant Professor, nshiode@buffalo.edu
Jean-Claude Thill, Professor and Coordinator of the Transportation and Business Geographics Program, jcthill@buffalo.edu
