Graduate Program in Spatial Analysis
About the Program
The Master of Spatial Analysis with its unique MSA degree designation is an academically rigorous yet professionally oriented, 12-month graduate program with a 16 to 20-month thesis option. Through project-based lectures and labs, a work placement, and a major research paper or thesis, MSA students are prepared to think geographically and master geographic information systems (GIS) to support operational and strategic decision-making in government and industry.
Spatial analysts work for major banks, retailers, and real-estate developers to delineate market areas, estimate sales potentials, and recommend facility locations. Other career fields include environmental analysis and consulting, crime analysis, epidemiology, telecommunications, and natural resource management, to name just a few. Through the effective use of GIS-based analysis, mapping, and reporting, our graduates are shaping the economic and social wellbeing of cities, the settlement and conservation policies of regions, and the health and connectivity of people across the globe. MSA students are also increasingly involved in faculty research and scientific publication, and decide to pursue doctoral studies after graduation.
The following tagcloud provides an illustration of the MSA graduates’ first and current job titles that are known to the program.
The MSA program has its academic home in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, at Ryerson University in downtown Toronto, Canada’s economic engine and one of the most progressive, multi-cultural, and vibrant cities in North America. Ryerson’s Centre for the Study of Commercial Activity (CSCA) was a founding partner of the MSA program, and remains a key contributor to the business geomatics field of study.
The MSA degree can be completed in 12 months (three semesters) by fulltime students and 24 months (six semesters) by parttime students. The degree requirements include four core and two elective courses, a practicum placement (waived for most parttime students), and a major research paper or thesis. Although much of the curriculum is in common for all students, and many of the spatial analysis skills are transferable, three fields of study are recognized: physical/environmental geography and landscape analysis; business/commercial applications; and social and community information analysis. Students participate in one of the fields by selecting electives, the practicum host, and their research topic according to their interests.