The contemporary world is experiencing profound social, economic, and political changes that are quickly transforming the ways that people live, work, do business, communicate, and govern. Human geography, as an integrative discipline, is uniquely situated to identify, analyze, and critique the extent and effects of these rapid transitions at various spatial scales -from neighborhoods and cities to regions, nations, and the global village. This is the focus of the graduate program in Urban and Regional Studies in this department. We offer graduate training, both in the classroom and through daily interaction with graduate students, in a broad range of theory and methods. The program contains a limited core of required courses and provides great flexibility for students to follow their own interests within the field of Urban and Regional Studies.

A rich array of courses that deal extensively with contemporary urban and regional issues is regularly offered. At both urban and regional scales, we focus attention upon problems of societal development that arise both as a context and as a framework for analysis and study. We approach geographical problems from a variety of perspectives. Examples are:

·        Accessibility and transportation analysis;

·        Information and communication technologies;

·        Feminist geography;

·        Access to social services and community development;

·        Land-use, accessibility and sustainability;

·        Location theory and housing markets;

·        Population geography;

·        Regional analysis;

·        Urban system dynamics;

·        Retail and service location analysis;

·        Spatial-temporal patterns of crime and health conditions;

·        Political economy; and  

·        Social theory.

Methodological courses linked to the Urban and Regional Studies Program include survey research design, statistical analysis, qualitative and ethnographic methods, archival research, network and regional analysis, 3-D modeling, a wide variety of GIS courses supported by a very well-equipped Geographical Information and Analysis Laboratory, location and network analysis, and methods of mathematical modeling. These methods and techniques allow students to more easily attain their career goals.

The Urban and Regional Studies curriculum blends essential skills of analytical thinking, urban and regional proficiency, data mapping and handling, and communication. This combination admirably prepares students for the demands of careers in academics, in planning agencies, and private consulting firms.

Students are able to earn a Ph.D. degree in Geography with specialization in Urban and Regional Studies after completing 72 credits of lecture courses, seminars, tutorials, and laboratories, and conducting original research culminating in the submission and defense of a dissertation. Students should expect to devote four years to this program.

Required Core Courses

Elective Courses

In consultation with their advisors, students develop individualized programs of study that match their own research interests and satisfy the general requirements of the doctoral program in Geography. Courses are selected from the Urban and Regional Studies course offering as well as from other specializations within the Geography Department. Given the strong research-orientation of the program, students also typically take over 12 credit hours in other UB departments.

The following is a list of recommended courses offered within the Geography Department.

Admission Requirements

·        Bachelor’s degree, Masters degree recommended

·        Good GRE and TOEFL scores

·        Three letters of reference.

Core Urban and Regional Analysis Faculty

Irene Casas, Assistant Professor, icasas@buffalo.edu

Meghan Cope, Associate Professor, mcope@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, jcthill@buffalo.edu