Finishing Options

Author

Sean Ahearn and Shipeng Sun

Graduation

Graduation does not happen automatically. You must apply to graduate. When you know you will have met all the program requirements and plan to graduate in the near future, you should check the records on DegreeWorks and conduct a degree audit as soon as possible. Do not wait till you finished all course and thesis/internship works. You need to apply for graduation before that.

If you have any questions regarding the audit results, you can contact them to find out what specific requirements you have not met for graduation.

If certain waivers or permissions from the program are needed to solve issues identified by the degree audit, please let us know as soon as possible, so that we can prepare the necessary documents for you timely.

Pay attention to the various deadlines from the department, the school of arts and sciences, Hunter College, and CUNY. You will receive multiple rounds of reminder emails during the process.

MGEOi Finishing Options

For MS in GeoInformatics (MGEOi), we have two finishing options: thesis or internship.

Thesis

  • Select a thesis advisor or sponsor (full-time faculty in the department) and a second reader (a PhD in relevant fields, still faculty in the department in almost all cases). This will be your thesis committee. Start exploring this as early as possible because it is a multidimensional match.

  • File the MS in GeoInformatics Faculty Committee Selection Form at the Department Resources Forms once you worked out the committee.

  • Develop a thesis research proposal with your thesis advisor and committee. Once it is approved by your thesis advisor, send it to the program advisor and request the permission to take the thesis research course (GTECH 79903). The format and length of the proposal is up to your thesis advisor.

  • Register for the thesis research course GTECH 79903, with your advisor (or someone that your advisor suggests) being the instructor. This is for thesis development. Some finished their theses during this course, but more continued to work on their theses after taking the course.

  • Finish the thesis using Arts&Sci’s thesis guidelines including the title page templates and meet the requirements in terms of topic, analysis, writing, etc. This is largely between you and your thesis advisor.

  • Make sure both committee members are apprised of your research, don’t bring on the second committee member at the last minute and expect them to approve of your work. We recommend a meeting to review all research methodology 6 months before finishing with both your advisor and committee member.

  • With the approval of your committee, schedule your defense at least 2-3 weeks from the final acceptance date by the Dean’s Office. Do NOT schedule your defense without the approval of your committee.

  • Pass the defense. It will include a public presentation and a subsequent committee meeting. The committee may ask you more questions and suggest further revisions. If so, revise your thesis accordingly till the committee approve it.

  • Deposit your approved thesis to CUNY Academic Works, per the requirements of School of Arts and Sciences.

  • Examples of master thesis in our program can be found at thesis titles on our department website

  • or at CUNY Academic Works

Internship

  • The internship option is implemented by the course GTECH 78801, 78802, and 78803.

  • Internship jobs can be paid or unpaid, remote or in-person, local or in other regions.

  • It could be any combination of 1 to 3 credits as long as the total credits are three or more.

  • Discuss with the program advisor before committing to work with a city agency, a private sector entity, or a not-for-profit.

  • You will need to register for GTECH 78801, 78802, or 78803 and conduct works arranged or agreed by the advisors/supervisors from both sides. During the semester, a mid-term and final reports are required to illustrate that you have fulfilled your responsibilities. All the information and forms are included in the fillable MGEOi Internship packet.

  • If you have already done an internship course but changed mind and decide to do a thesis for the finishing option, you can count your internship course as elective (up to three credits).

  • For those who do not plan to continue in the academic world, we recommend taking the internship option.