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Graduate Program in Spatial Analysis

Curriculum and Degree Requirements

This page provides an overview of the program of studies for the MSA degree. For detailed information on degree requirements, see the Graduate Calendar at http://www.ryerson.ca/graduate/graduate_calendar/

Given the location of the University in the core of Canada's largest metropolis with its heavy concentration of information-based employment, The MSA is offered to students on either a full-time or part-time basis. Core courses are scheduled at either 4-6pm or 6-8pm when full-time and part-time students may attend as one group. The full-time program is scheduled to be completed in one year (12 months), the part-time program takes two years (24 months). The program is the same for full-time and part-time students, except that the practicum requirement is waived for part-time students in appropriate program-related employment. Students are not normally admitted to the part-time program unless they are in program-related employment.

Full-time option - are you considering to continue your education immediately after a Bachelor's degree, or to take a year off from work?

The typical schedule to complete the MSA program on a full-time basis starting this Fall (MRP = major research paper)

  • September to December: 4 core courses; develop ideas for MRP
  • January to April: 2 elective courses and practicum; start work on MRP
  • April 30th: MRP proposal due
  • May to August: research and writing of MRP
  • May 31st: literature review due
  • June 30th: analysis completed
  • July 31st: complete MRP draft due to supervisor
  • Mid-August to early September: oral defence of MRP
  • By mid-September: required MRP revisions completed and submitted to the Yeates School of Graduate Studies

Part-time option - are you thinking of upgrading your education while working as a data analyst, GIS or geomatics professional?

The MSA program is set up deliberately to encourage those working in related fields to be able to continue their education while working. Indeed, part-time students with suitable jobs are exempted from the practicum requirement in the program.

The typical schedule to complete the MSA program on a part-time basis starting this Fall (MRP = major research paper):

  • September to December: 2 core courses; develop ideas for MRP
  • January to April: 2 elective courses; develop ideas for MRP
  • April 30th: MRP short proposal due
  • May to August: start work on MRP
  • August 31st: literature review due
  • September to December: 2 core courses (coursework now finished); work on MRP
  • December 31st: methods chapter due
  • January to July: research and writing of MRP
  • April 30th: analysis completed
  • July 31st: complete MRP draft due to supervisor
  • Mid-August to early September: oral defence of MRP
  • By mid-September: required MRP revisions completed and submitted to the Yeates School of Graduate Studies

Time commitment for both options - You should assume that each course will take one day per week of your time. In addition, the practicum is for two full work days per week and any funded teaching or research assistantship will require an additional time commitment. The successful completion and defence of the MRP requires your full-time commitment during the period of May to September (full-time students).The vast majority of students are completing the MSA in the scheduled time. At the last program evaluation (2007), 84% of full-time students and 81% of part-time students had completed the degree on time. The extra time needed by the remainder can usually be attributed to personal circumstances such as changing jobs (part-time students), moving, becoming a parent, or illness, through which the program director will counsel the student to successfully return and complete the program.

 

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Program-Related News

20 March 2013 – Alumni news: Congratulations to GIS Analyst Manoj Dangwal (MSA ’04) on winning a 2012 Employee Excellence Award at Allstate Insurance Company of Canada.

26 February 2013 – She did it again! Second peer-reviewed journal article by Lisa-Jen Ferrato (MSA ’12) on her research “Comparing Hyperspectral and Multispectral Imagery for Land Classification of the Lower Don River, Toronto” with supervisor Dr. Wayne Forsythe.

21 February 2013 – MSA program director Dr. Shuguang Wang led the publication of an article on “Recent Trends of Ethnic Chinese Retailing in Metropolitan Toronto”, which is partially based on Jason Zhong’s (MSA ’09) major research paper on “Delineating Ethnoburbs”.

15 February 2013 – Congratulations to MSA faculty member Dr. Doug Banting, who is part of a team that won a major research contract from the City of Toronto to develop “GIS-Based Hydrologic and Hydraulic Models for Combined-Sewer-System Management”. The Ryerson team will help the City to comply with new federal wastewater systems effluent regulations.

20 December 2012 – Congratulations to MSA faculty members Dr. Wayne Forsythe and Dr. Claus Rinner: Wayne received a 2012/13 Faculty Service Award for exceptional contributions to the Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, Ryerson University, and the profession of Geography. He currently serves as Vice President of the Canadian Association of Geographers - Ontario Division (CAGONT). Claus received a 2012/13 Faculty SRC Award for outstanding achievements in scholarly, research, and creative activities. His research program and publication record is driven by MSA student research.

01 November 2012 – Emily Hazell (MSA ’12) gave an invited presentation on “Geographic variation and clustering of gastroschisis in Canada, 2005-2010” at the Canadian Congenital Anomalies Surveillance Network conference. This work was the outcome of Emily’s MSA Practicum in the Maternal-Infant Care Research Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital.

13 October 2012 – Four 2012 MSA graduates supervised by Professors Forsythe and Swales presented their research at the CAGONT conference this weekend. The work by L. Ferrato, J. Floroff, C. Krnic, and M. Wilson ranged from thermal energy site selection to land cover classification, fire modeling, and the analysis of river sediment contamination. And for the second year in a row, the CAGONT Master’s Research Paper award went to an MSA: Congratulations to Lisa Ferrato on her winning paper on “Comparing Hyperspectral and Multispectral Imagery for Land Cover Classification of the Lower Don River, Toronto”!

10 September 2012 – We are welcoming 24 new MSA students from a variety of education, career, and life paths into the program. We are looking forward to an exciting year of learning and collaboration. At the same time, 16 out of 17 fulltime and 2 out of 3 second-year parttime students have defended their major research papers and are working on their final revisions. Best of luck with your future endeavours!


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