Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences, Kansas State University
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Welcome to the Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences at Kansas State University. This page is for students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends.
PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH FACILITIES: The program builds from a strong base in three traditional areas of geographic scholarship: human, cultural and regional geography; earth system geography; and geographic information sciences. Examples of collaboration involve nature-society interactions, population and health, and land change analysis. Rural landscapes and sustainability remains the thematic core
for the program, consistent with the land grant mission of KSU. Within each area students may pursue research more specific to their individual interests. Within the areas of human, cultural and regional geography, faculty specialties include landscape symbolism, ethnic landscapes, place identity, and religious landscapes. Faculty have regional expertise in North America, China, South Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Great Plains, American West, and in mountainous regions throughout the world. Earth systems geography includes geomorphology, soils, hydrology, biogeography, landscape ecology, paleoecology, climate variability and change, and environmental modeling. Nature-society interactions include studies of human dimensions of environmental change, natural hazards, rural land use and rural change, environmental modeling, water resources, and environmental perception. Population and health geographies include population migration and distribution, spatial patterns of diseases and health outcomes, rural settlement, and sustainable rural communities. Geographic information science includes GIScience, remote sensing and spatial modeling. Multidisciplinary graduate and undergraduate certificates in GIScience, administered by the department, are also available. The department has a strong research and teaching reputation and ranks highly among the social sciences at KSU. These strengths have translated into several large grants that support collaborative research between students and faculty. Benefits of the geography graduate program include a balanced curriculum, a broad-based approach to research/scholarship, and a commitment to fieldwork as a component of geographic inquiry. The moderate size of the department fosters an informal, friendly atmosphere with ample opportunity to develop close rapport with faculty members and with visiting research scholars. Department resources include the Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis Laboratory (GISSAL), a remote sensing research lab, a GIS/remote sensing teaching lab, and an environmental geography teaching lab. The rolling and tree-shaded university campus is located in Manhattan, pop. 45,000. Manhattan is situated eight miles north of I-70 in an attractive area of the Flint Hills, adjacent to Tuttle Creek Reservoir and Konza Prairie Biological Station, and one hour north of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.
10/23/2025
📢 Attention GIS Students! Are you getting ready to graduate and launch your career in geospatial science? The GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) is offering the PreGISP certification — a recognized credential that helps bridge the gap between graduation and professional certification. Earning your PreGISP demonstrates your readiness for the workforce and gives you a competitive advantage in the job market.
🗓️ Exam Window: November 17–24, 2025
đź“ť Registration Deadline: November 3, 2025
📢 Calling all Geography PhD students & post-docs doing research in environment, sustainability, or human-environment interactions!
The NRES Secondary Major is accepting applications for Spring 2026 Graduate Fellowships which are open to doctoral students or post-docs from any discipline whose research touches on natural resources, environmental science, sustainability, or human-environment interactions.
đź—“ Deadline: Dec 5, 2025
Kansas State University
đź”— For full application details and rubric, visit the NRES website:
NRES Graduate Fellows
The NRES Graduate Fellowship recognizes early career researchers with promising teaching and research potential and provides recipients with valuable experience mentoring interdisciplinary undergraduate research. Fellows receive an award of $1,500 to support their research and are eligible to apply....
10/03/2025
Looking forward to even more great things from Geocat and GISSAL!
We’re proud to announce the launch of the new Geocat website!
Learn more about K-State’s next-generation enterprise GIS platform that's built to modernize geospatial research, support teaching and learning, and strengthen outreach across Kansas and beyond.
09/02/2025
Geocat, our cloud-native ArcGIS Enterprise platform built in collaboration with AWS and ROK Technologies, has officially entered Phase 3 testing!
This milestone marks a huge step forward in modernizing geospatial research at Kansas State University. Geocat enables scalable, high-performance workflows that support research across agriculture, public health, ecology, and economic development.
We're getting close to a full rollout that will expand access for researchers, students, and extension professionals across the university.
09/02/2025
The September 2, 2025 edition of the K-State Globe is now available. Keep up-to-date on announcements, research, and opportunities in Geography and Geospatial Sciences! http://bit.ly/45KyYoA
08/28/2025
Geographer Perk Unlocked: Tracking the progress of your Boeing 787 with the in-flight map + clear skies = jaw-dropping views of southeast Greenland from 38,000 feet for Shawn Hutchinson!
08/27/2025
Exciting news! The enterprise GIS system Geocat spearheaded by GISSAL is in the spotlight. The AWS Public Sector Blog recently featured “Kansas State University modernizes geospatial research with Geocat on AWS”. Check out the full story here:
We’re thrilled to see Geocat driving innovation in geospatial research! 🌍💡
Kansas State University modernizes geospatial research with Geocat on AWS | Amazon Web Services
Kansas State University (K-State)—In collaboration with AWS and AWS Partner, ROK Technologies—is developing Geocat: a scalable, cloud-native ArcGIS Enterprise platform. Designed to serve students, faculty, and extension professionals, Geocat is advancing K-State’s land-grant mission by making ...
07/28/2025
Geography at K-State is about solving real-world problems like climate change, food security, urban growth, water management, and more. Want to turn your curiosity about people, places, and the planet into a career? Major in Geography at Kansas State University!
Geography and Geospatial Systems | Jessie '24
Geography continues to be a leader in the geosciences, environmental science, and sustainability studies through student-centered instruction, innovative res...
06/30/2025
Apply today to the NPS GIS Internship Program in partnership with Southern Utah University!
🌎 Paid internships available across the U.S.
🖥️ Some positions offer remote work
🏞️ Work on real geospatial projects at national parks
🧠Open to students and recent grads (within 2 years)
🗓️ Apply by July 9, 2025
Congrats to one of our own! Dr. Hutchinson directs the Geographic Information Systems Spatial Analysis Laboratory and is a founding co-director of the K-State Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics!
Meet our grantees | Fulbright
Morayo Abbey-Bada graduated with distinction from Duke University with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Chemistry on the pre-medical track. Originally from Fredericksburg, Virginia, Morayo’s academic and professional interests lie at the intersection of neuroscience, mental health, and sports...
06/25/2025
The Geographic Information Systems Spatial Analysis Laboratory is a core university lab leading the development and implementation of "Geocat"...the next evolution in geospatial cyberinfrastucture at Kansas State University
🚀 Geocat Phase 1: Cloud Deployment is officially underway!
Kansas State University is taking a bold step forward in geospatial cyberinfrastructure with support from ROK Technologies, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Esri, and the Kansas Water Institute.
This next-generation platform will power cutting-edge research, transformative teaching, and impactful land-grant outreach across the state and beyond. 🌎💻📡
05/14/2025
We were proud to co-sponsor the inaugural K-State DataFest this year! Congratulations to all the undergraduate participants and graduate student mentors on a rewarding weekend filled with data analysis, collaboration, and insightful presentations.
Inaugural DataFest helps students apply skills learned in the classroom
More than 20 K-State students competed in DataFest huddled together over laptops and abundant amounts of snacks. Their goal? To work together to analyze a complex set of industry-provided data and put together a winning presentation—and to do it all in less than 40 hours.
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