Business Geography | Department of Geography and the Environment

Business Geography

Rationale

As the global economy becomes more competitive and urban regions continue to grow and evolve, businesses are increasingly looking to geographers for analysis and advice regarding the business strategies needed to succeed in complex competitive environments.

The objective of the Professional MS program's Business Geography track is to educate students to integrate geographic analysis, reasoning, and technology in support of improved business decisions. The focus on improving business decisions differentiates Business Geography from other tracks and specialties in geography. Given this direct connection with business operations, participation in a business internship and inclusion of business or economics coursework alongside a solid core of geography courses is a very good idea.

Before registering in the Business Geography track, please review the below and consult with the Business Geography track advisor, Dr. Murray Rice (murray.rice@unt.edu). The track advisor can give recommendations tailored to your needs and career objectives that fulfill the Professional MS program's 36 credit hour course requirement.

Required Courses

The Business Geography track, like most tracks in our program, has very few required courses. Here are the essential course offerings that anyone completing the Professional MS Business Geography track should take, comprising 9 credit hours of the 36 total credit hours required for program completion. The three courses below provide a combination of exposure to core location and business concepts and advanced analytical methodologies:

  • GEOG 5190 Spatial Statistics (3 hours)
  • GEOG 5220 Applied Retail Geography (3 hours)
  • GEOG 5230 Location Intelligence: Business GIS Applications (3 hours)

Techniques

Students completing the Business Geography track need to have a deep and broad toolkit of technical skills and expertise. Students in the track must include in their study program at least one course from the following list. However, depending on your background preparation, inclusion of multiple courses from this list may well be highly advantageous for you. As with all other parts of your study program, please make course selections from this list in consultation with the Business Geography track advisor:

  • GEOG 5195 Advanced Geospatial Analytics (3 hours)
  • GEOG 5510 GIS for Applied Research (3 hours)
  • GEOG 5550 Advanced Geographic Information Systems (3 hours)
  • GEOG 5560 Introduction to GIS Programming (3 hours)
  • GEOG 5570 Special Topics in GIS (3 hours)
  • GEOG 5590 Advanced GIS Programming (3 hours)

Internship

Internships provide practical job experience that places your coursework in an applied context. Internships also provide valuable industry connections that help you build your professional network. Internship experience in this track is optional, but highly recommended.

  • GEOG 5900 Internship (3 hours)*

* GEOG 5900 (Internship) may be taken up to three times within this track.

Recommended Courses Outside of Geography

A Business Geography track student's study program may include one or more courses offered by other UNT departments. Here are a few external course possibilities, but note that in consultation with the track advisor you might identify other external course combinations that are a good match for you. Also, please note that some external courses may have prerequisites or other expectations that you should understand before registering. Feedback from business geography practitioners indicates that some combination of the coursework below is increasingly valuable in today's job market, and provides extremely valuable preparation for careers in business geography.

Applied Economics

  • AECO 5050 (may be repeated for credit as topics vary); AECO 5870

Economics

  • ECON 5440; ECON 5700; ECON 5750

Management*

  • MGMT 5120; MGMT 5140; MGMT 5240; MGMT 5280; MGMT 5300; MGMT 5660; MGMT 5760; DSCI 5180

Marketing**

  • MKTG 5150; MKTG 5200; MKTG 5250; LSCM 5300; DSCI 5180

Real Estate***

  • REAL 5350; REAL 5440; REAL 5760

* For these MGMT courses, MGMT 5070 might be a necessary leveling class addition depending on the student's background and the MGMT courses selected. Applied Geography MS students interested in these courses must consult with the Business Geography track advisor before registering for courses in the minor.

** To complete these Marketing courses, MKTG 5000 is a necessary leveling class addition for all Geography MS students who do not have an undergraduate business degree. After consultation with the Geography graduate advisor, Applied Geography MS students with an undergraduate business degree will need to forward an unofficial copy of their university transcripts to Dr. Jeffrey Lewin (MBA Advisor in UNT Marketing & Logistics) to determine whether they can take the MKTG courses listed here without taking MKTG 5000. Geography MS students must consult with the Business Geography track advisor before registering for courses in the minor.

*** To complete Real Estate coursework, REAL 5350 is required. After taking REAL 5350, students may select either REAL 5440 (Real Estate Finance) or REAL 5760 (Real Estate Investment). Geography MS students interested in this coursework must consult with the Business Geography track advisor before registering for courses in the minor.

Remaining Coursework

Depending on the courses ultimately selected, after completing all courses desired from the above categories every student will have a varying number of remaining credit hours needed to fulfill the 36 total credit hour requirement for completion of the Professional MS degree. Many course possibilities exist to complete the program, but among them you should consider:

  • GEOG 5130 Research in Human Geography (3 hours)
  • GEOG 5210 Seminar in Urban Geography (3 hours)
  • GEOG 5900 Special Problems (3 hours)

Note that GEOG 5900 is a very flexible course that can be tailored to student interests, including specific topical focus areas and internship use; this course may be taken under different titles multiple times. Please consult with the Business Geography track advisor to select coursework from this final, flexible course category that best fits your study and career objectives.

Comprehensive Exam

Toward the end of the final semester of your program of studies, you will need to schedule and pass a final set of comprehensive exams covering key facets of your cumulative coursework in the program. Please consult with the Business Geography track advisor to prepare for and schedule these exams.