Breakdown the GIS PhD
Most GIS professionals are no where near the PhD level. Most are content at the Bachelor’s level or maybe the Master’s level. However, have you considered the PhD option? Is there any professional value in a GIS Phd? This topic is discussed in the Directions Magazine podcast: The GIS PhD Dilemma. Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg discuss the pros and cons of this educational step.
Adena points out that the individuals that have a PhD in which she has encountered are working in the education field. And also the professors that she had while pursuing her geography degree, have received their PhD in Geography, not GIS. Additionally, she mentions two PhD in GIS programs:
University at Buffalo
PhD Degree in Geography with Specialization in GIS
http://www.geog.buffalo.edu/programs/phd/gis.shtml
The University of Texas at Dallas
Doctor of Philosophy in Geospatial Information Sciences
http://epps.utdallas.edu/gis/phd.html
Joe brought up an excellent question, do you get your degree in GIS the tool or GIS the Science? He also mentions that he hasn’t seen any job posts that require a PhD in GIS.
Is there a demand for this designation? Will you make the choice to follow this path? Listen to this podcast and make the decision for yourself.
jon on Wed, 17th Jun 2009 9:45 am
Thanks for the discussion. I’m currently pursuing my PhD with a specialization in GIS. It was interesting to hear what other people think about the degree.