Geography of Global Environmental Change

One of the challenges facing human society today is to understand the main causes and possible impacts of current global environmental change, and then to find appropriate ways to adapt to that change. The main goal of the study program is to offer students a geographical view of the current very dynamic environmental changes. The physical basis of the global environmental change is studied from the perspective of the main disciplines of physical geography. The part of the study program that focuses on the impact on society and the possibilities of adaptation is the domain of social geography. Knowledge and skills associated with methods of studying the spatio-temporal variability of the global change manifestations are covered by subjects in the field of geoinformatics and cartography.

“Understanding the causes of the global change turns it from threat to opportunity”

Practical training

Practical training is not required.

Further information can be found here:

https://geogr.sci.muni.cz/en

Further information

Further information can be found here:

https://geogr.sci.muni.cz/en

There is growing urgency for experts in the field of the environmental change globaly. Your career opportunities will not be restricted to a national level. Graduates may develop careers around the world across the scientific and educational institutions, non-profit organizations, environmental agencies and state administration.

The admission procedure is held in two rounds during April 2024. Admission is based on the overall results of the entrance exam and the programme's capacity. It is recommended to have a Bachelor's degree in Geography or a related field of study.

1) In the first stage, applicants must submit all required documents (see below) and complete a short competency questionnaire. Based on these documents, the committee will shortlist suitable candidates and invite them for a personal interview.

Required documents:

• Cover letter
• CV
• Competency questionnaire (to be downloaded in the e-application)
• Transcript of Records and Bachelor's degree diploma
• English language certificate (in case English is not the native language)

In the competency questionnaire, the applicant evaluates his/her abilities and skills to study the programme (e.g. the ability to define a research problem, to understand and interpret a scholarly article, or to communicate and present research results). These declared prerequisites will be discussed during the entrance interview.

2) Those applicants who will successfuly pass the first round will be invited for an on-line interview which will be hold between April 17, 2024 and April 19, 2024, expected duration 30-40 minutes. During the interview, the applicant should prove a basic orientation in the field of physical geography, human geography, and geoinformatics methods. Applicants should also expect a general question (applicant’s introduction, experience in the field, motivation, expectations of the study). English language skills will be evaluated during the entrance exam.

More information can be found here.

Criteria for evaluation

Admission is based on the entrance exam's overall results and the programme's capacity.

In the first stage, the applicant must obtain at least 20 points out of 30.

• Competency questionnaire (max. 20 points)
• Quality of the other required documents (max. 10 pts.)

In the second stage, the applicant must obtain at least 50 points out of 70.

• Exam interview (max. 50 pts.)
• English language skills (max. 20 pts.)

 

Recommended literature

STRAHLER, Alan H. Introducing Physical Geography. 5. vyd. Wiley, 2010. 656 s. ISBN 0-470-13486-0.

DE BLIJ, Harm Jan a Alexander B. MURPHY. Human geography: culture, society, and space. 7th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2003. xii, 555. ISBN 0471441074.

DEMERS, Michael N. Fundamentals geographic information systems. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2000. xiii, 498. ISBN 0471314234.

The graduation of this Master’s degree should motivate talented and involved students to continue their PhD studies either at the Department of Geography Masaryk University or in the study of other environmentally oriented PhD programmes worldwide.