Podcast: The GIS PhD Dilemma
By Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg
December 09, 2008
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Take advantage of a special year-end sale on SPOTMaps, the 2.5 meter, seamless, color mosaic made to fit your area of interest. Save 25% off all SPOTMaps through November 10th, when you mention this ad! Click here for detailsHave you considered getting a PhD in GIS? What is a PhD in GIS? What schools offer them? Why would you want one? Is it a degree that can get you ahead outside of academia? We look at two programs that offer this top level degree and explore its emerging role in our marketplace.
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Show Notes
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Your Comments Post a comment All comments provided in this section are those of the individual who has created the post. These are not the opinions of Directions Media, its editors, staff or owners unless otherwise noted. Directions Media retains the right to edit or delete any comments posted herein.
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| I'm considering doing a PhD, after having worked at a research institute for 4 years, where most staff were pushed to complete a postgrad degree. There: without a PhD, you are seen as a technician only, but with a PhD you can suggest your own projects and influence your (research) direction. But before doing the PhD, I wanted to see what state government (in Australia) considers valuable, how to get into interesting projects there. At state govt, I feel a PhD is seen as 'overqualified' (they might get bored and leave), and 'thinking a lot but not making decisions & tools'. I don't know yet what I want to do. The reason why I want to do a PhD, is to be able to do one project real well in stead of having to rush a project to finish it within a few months: bite into the spatial statistics, error analysis, comparing what MODIS can do for wetland connectivity data creation compared to Landsat, LIDAR or spatial hydrology models like MIKE SHE. I reckon that if I do this well, a job will follow, because it is also about improving skills. It is also about selling yourself when applying for a job: showing that you will not get bored and are not overqualified, but that "this GIS job opportunity was the sole reason you did a PhD"... And my goal is to move away from being seen as a GIS technician that pushes buttons, to a spatial analyst that can suggest new ideas or methods in someone's project, or lead my own projects: doing something that is 100% my interest. Therefore I choose to do the PhD under the school of biology (spatial ecology?): I have heard of GISers with PhDs that are still seen as technicians. I have seen spatial jobs where a PhD was required (in Australia): doing error analysis and spatial statistics in remote sensing projects for state government; or spatial modelling for a research institute. If I decide to do the PhD, I am hoping something like that will come along in a few years, or that people will hire me as a wetland hydrologist with GIS skills, or a spatial ecologist... |
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| I listened with interest to your podcast on a PhD in GIS. Admittedly I'm a PhD candidate, but not in GIS. Rather I have a graduate certificate of GIS that I've completed along with my PhD, that's a nice compliment to my PhD work in Plant Pathology. Thanks for the podcast, it was interesting to listen to. |
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| Thanks for the interesting discussion. I think that the emphasis on the vertical differentiation among credentials (e.g., PhD, MS, BS, AS) is less important at this time than the horizontal distinction between academic and professional degrees. The fact is that although more than 80% of graduate degrees are professional (practice-oriented) masters degrees, very few professional graduate programs focused on geographic information science and technology are offered. I believe that PhD degrees in GIS&T will remain rare until professional masters degrees in GIS&T take root and prosper within colleges and universities. The thread about interdisciplinary degrees is appealing, but conflicts with the persistent disciplinary structure of universities. Academic departments rooted in disciplines do confer PhD degrees, after all. And while GIScience is certainly an emerging discipline within the GIS&T field, it still has not crystallized in the form of discrete programs in many PhD-granting institutions. |
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| I couldn't agree more with your ... assessment of the degree. Having the advanced degree in 2008 is a bit early to achieve an advantage, however, I do have some comments about my particular situation which might apply to others in academia. I have a masters degree in Geography (1988) from UCLA with no GIS course work - there was one course in 'computer cartography and I did get a little experience making "X & 0" maps. My bachelors in Geography (1984) gave me experience with manual cartographic methods only. I subsequently had 11 years experience working at Hughes Aircraft Company (2 yrs) and ESRI (9 yrs) where I got my remote sensing and GIS experience. The past 9+ years I've been in academia. It was accidental mostly because I left my job at ESRI to be with my husband who accepted a job at Texas Tech. I got my foot in the door as an underpaid lab instructor, but within a year began developing relationship so that now I mostly write grants, develop database designs, manage and develop projects with lots of hands on with my staff and students. I never thought I'd find myself in an academic situation, but here I am. With a masters degree I'm considered 'non-tenured staff'. ... A lot of people think I have a doctorate, but I quickly correct them. But if I did have a PhD, I believe I would have a lot more respect from other faculty. It has taken a while for my colleagues to recognize that they need to bring us in to help them write the GIS component "before" they submit a proposal. In the early years some of our colleagues thought of our work as an add-on to their grants and treated us more as an add-on 'contractor' and not as a 'co-principal investigator' (an important distinction in recognition at a university). It has taken several years, but I have been and currently am part of many grant teams and subsequently successful projects. We established a Center for Geospatial Technology a few years ago and our own unique repuation in Texas and have been involved in grants where we are the PIs. So while my masters in Geography (with GIS experience) has served me well in academia, it took several years to establish myself within the PhD community. ... I also have been able to enjoy the job flexibility enjoyed by academics and, like most GIS people, still work a lot of hours, becasue there is always sooo much work to do. |
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| This is a great research-focused GIS program! Certainly the best around the world. Take a look at our faculty publications. Check it out: www.spatial.umaine.edu |
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| Very interesting discussion. I personally believe the best academic route is a bachelor in a hard science with GIS minor, masters in geography, and PhD in your chosen specialty. That way you have a solid base, tools for analysis, an overall geo-perspective, and specialized research oriented training. In the geospatial industry, I see remote sensing PhDs being the most in demand in the future. FYI Texas State University (formerly Southwest Texas) has had a GIScience PhD since 2002. ---"The GIScience Ph.D. program, which will begin in fall 2002, will include GIS, remote sensing, cartography, visualization and spatial modeling." http://www.txstate.edu/news/news_releases/news_archive/2002/04/gisciencephd042302.html |
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| Hi everyone .. Im doing my MS at IIIT-Hyderabad and want to continue the work in PHD .. So can anyone tell me good universities in this area of research (Preferably European ). It would be great if someone can help . |
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| Hi everyone, the above discussion is very intresting, informative and boosting for research. I am M.Tech Degree holder in RS & GIS, but still i strongly feel the need to do Ph. D. in GIS only and that is also from Australia. The Modelling part is really challenging and I want to do something in that. Please help me out...!! |
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| i have B.tech Degree in IT,M.Tech in RSand GIS.i want to pursue my PhD in computer science or IT. am i eligible as i have master Degree in RS and GIS |
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