USC Catalogue 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED CATALOGUE]
Spatial Sciences Institute
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Return to: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Since its founding in 2010, the USC Spatial Sciences Institute has been using the power of spatial thinking and literacy – the ability to connect place and space – to help address global challenges. Through its innovative academic programs and research enterprise, the Spatial Sciences Institute educates and cross-trains scholars at every higher-educational level to expand our ability to collect, analyze, model, present and share location-based data and information in support of policies and decisions that help sustain our planet, promote public health and ensure human security.
Spatial Sciences Institute students work in the field, studio and lab with an internationally-recognized faculty who are contributing to the rapidly-evolving body of geospatial knowledge. Student researchers in the Spatial Sciences Institute join its interdisciplinary faculty on their funded research with agencies, businesses, non-profits, NGOs and other entities to produce actionable impact. The Spatial Sciences Institute provides numerous opportunities for internships, conference paper and poster presentations and networking, so its students are poised for geospatial careers, which are among the fastest-growing in the United States and world today, and other endeavors.
The Spatial Sciences Institute has been designated by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the United States Geological Survey as a Center of Academic Excellence in Geospatial Sciences, is a founding member of the UNIGIS International Association, a network of universities around the world that lead and share in the development of online GIS education program, and is an Esri Education Development Center.
Allen Hancock Foundation Building B55
(213) 740-5910
FAX: (213) 740-9687
Email: spatialsciences@dornsife.usc.edu
Director: John P. Wilson, PhD
Managing Director: Susan Kamei, JD
Faculty
Professors: Francois Bar, PhD (Communication); Myles Cockburn, PhD (Preventive Medicine); Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, PhD (Public Policy); Maged Dessouky, PhD (Industrial and Systems Engineering); Philip Ethington, PhD (History); Sofia Gruskin (Preventive Medicine); Matthew E. Kahn, PhD (Economics); Cyrus Shahabi (Computer Science); Kelly Shannon, PhD (Architecture); John P. Wilson, PhD (Sociology)*
Associate Professors: Jennifer Hook, PhD (Sociology); Lon Kurashige (History); Mansour Rahimi, PhD (Industrial and Systems Engineering)
Assistant Professors: Jennifer Ailshire, PhD (Gerontology); George Ban-Weiss, PhD (Civil & Environmental Engineering); Laura Ferguson (Preventive Medicine); Meredith Franklin, PhD (Preventive Medicine); Travis R. Longcore, PhD (Architecture); Ann Owens, PhD (Sociology); Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, PhD (History); Alexander Robinson, PhD (Architecture); Kelly Sanders, PhD (Civil & Environmental Engineering); Emily Smith-Greenaway, PhD (Sociology)
Professors of the Practice of Spatial Science: Steven D. Fleming, PhD; Karen K. Kemp, PhD
Professors (Research): Brian Finch, PhD (Sociology); Yolanda Gil, PhD (Computer Science); Craig Knoblock, PhD (Computer Science)
Associate Professors (Research): Yao-Yi Chiang, PhD; Tatiana Tatarinova, PhD (Pediatrics)
Associate Professors (Teaching): Darren M. Ruddell, PhD; Jennifer N. Swift, PhD
Assistant Professors (Teaching): Thomas Garrison, PhD (Anthropology); Katsuhiko Oda, PhD; Robert O. Vos, PhD
Lecturers: Su Jin Lee, PhD; Laura Loyola, PhD; Elisabeth Sedano, PhD; An-Min Wu, PhD
*Recipient of university-wide or college teaching award.
Degree Programs
The Spatial Sciences Institute offers a Bachelor of Science in GeoDesign (with the USC School of Architecture and USC Price School of Public Policy), minors in Human Security and Geospatial Intelligence and in Spatial Studies, an online Master of Science and a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science and Technology as well as online Graduate Certificates in Geospatial Intelligence and Geospatial Leadership, a Master of Science in Spatial Informatics (with the Department of Computer Science), a Doctor of Philosophy in Population, Health and Place (with the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Sociology), and a Graduate Certificate in Spatial Analytics.
All of the programs and courses offered by the Spatial Sciences Institute explore the various ways in which space is used to acquire, represent, organize, analyze, model and visualize information. They seek to engage students enrolled in a range of academic programs in the natural and social sciences, the humanities and the professional schools.
Undergraduate Degrees
The BS in GeoDesign is an interdisciplinary major that includes curriculum from the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the USC School of Architecture and the USC Price School of Public Policy. This degree treats planning as a globally relevant framework for collective action, the spatial sciences as a platform for supporting science-based decision-making, and design as a vehicle for solving the world’s wicked problems. With a broad base of knowledge from these disciplines around a liberal arts core, GeoDesign majors are poised for graduate studies and professional opportunities in the public, private and not-for-profits sectors, including urban planning, geographic information science and technology, real estate development, community health and preventive medicine. GeoDesign majors may take advantage of USC’s progressive degree path to obtain a BS in GeoDesign with an MA in Environmental Studies, a Master of Planning, or an MS in Geographic Information Science and Technology in as few as five years.
Honors Program
Candidates for the BS in GeoDesign can qualify for graduation with departmental honors by meeting these requirements: a 3.7 GPA in the courses counted toward the major at the time of graduation and completion of a research project or thesis under the guidance of a faculty member teaching the capstone course SSCI 412 . In addition, students must receive an A or A- in the capstone SSCI 412 course. Departmental honors are noted on academic transcripts but not on the diploma.
Minors
The undergraduate minor in Spatial Studies can be combined with any major and provides the scientific understanding and technical skills in geographic information science, mapping and geospatial interpretation. Graduates with competencies in spatial sciences have competitive edges in sectors such as finance, healthcare, retail, logistics, communications, manufacturing and conservation.
The undergraduate minor in Human Security and Geospatial Intelligence educates future leaders in location-based analytics to gather, interpret and implement actionable intelligence to promote human security. In combination with any major, this minor helps position graduates for career paths and/or graduate education in areas such as humanitarian relief, law enforcement, national security and defense.
Graduate Degrees
The online Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science and Technology provides the foundation for professional advancement utilizing geographic information science and the latest geospatial technologies. The online Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Intelligence is accredited by the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, and develops career readiness for those interested in the human security applications of geographic information science and technology. The online Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Leadership is for individuals with some training and experience looking to increase their potential for advancement in the geospatial field. In addition, all three of these online graduate certificates may be taken by USC master’s and doctoral students in other disciplines.
The online MS in Geographic Information Science and Technology provides state-of-the-art education in core geographic information science and accompanying applications. Students may choose among four tracks: Spatial Data Acquisition and Integration; Spatial Data Analysis and Visualization; Spatial Application Development; and Spatial Thinking.
The courses in the online Graduate Programs in Geographic Information Science and Technology are offered year-round and students can start these programs in the fall, spring or summer semesters. Students in the online Master of Public Health program offered by the Keck School of Medicine of USC can complete a GeoHealth track by completing four spatial sciences concentration courses offered by the Spatial Sciences Institute. Students interested in this GeoHealth track should contact the Master of Public Health program in the Department of Preventive Medicine.
In the Spatial Informatics (MS) , offered jointly with the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Department of Computer Science, individuals with either a computer science or social sciences background can learn about spatial data and analytics across many domains in which informatics skills can be applied to critical organization missions and real-world challenges. Those interested in the MS in Spatial Informatics should contact the Department of Computer Science.
The Graduate Certificate in Spatial Analytics provides USC doctoral students with customized opportunities to learn about the fundamental geographic information science principles and a series of rapidly evolving geospatial technologies that take advantage of the Cloud and the Web along with advances in analytical techniques, modeling tools and online geographic data sources. The learning goals and outcomes in the courses that contribute to this certificate can be customized to match the student’s disciplinary interests and research objectives.
In the interdisciplinary Population, Health and Place PhD program, faculty from the USC Dornsife Department of Sociology, the Department of Preventive Medicine of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and the USC Dornsife Spatial Sciences Institute provide training for careers in research, teaching and applied work with large data sets and varied modeling and computation approaches in epidemiology, demography, biostatistics, sociology, medical geography, spatial sciences and other fields.
PhD Admission Requirements
The courses required for admission are an introductory geography or sociology course, a course in statistics, a course in research methods or experimental design and at least one course from each of the following lists: (1) one or more of social demography, society and population, medical sociology; (2) one or more of cartography, human geography, medical geography, spatial analysis.; and (3) one or more of climatology, hydrology, environment and health. Additional courses are desirable, as is work in the biological, physical and social sciences, in mathematics and in philosophy. Students with less background in public health, sociology or the spatial sciences, but outstanding undergraduate records in related fields are also encouraged to apply.
Students are selected on the basis of undergraduate records, scores on the Graduate Record Examinations’ General Test, course background, three letters of evaluation, personal statement of interests and goals, and evidence of research skills or interests (e.g., publications or participation in research projects).
Application for admission to the PhD Program in Population, Health and Place requires submission of two sets of material: special program forms and university application forms. Students are admitted only for study beginning in the fall semester; both sets of completed application forms must be submitted by December 1 for admission the following fall.
Degree Requirements
These degrees are under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Refer to the Requirements for Graduation section and the Graduate School section of this catalogue for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.
Bachelor’s Degree
Minor
Master’s Degree
University Certificate
Doctoral Degree
Spatial Sciences Institute
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