With mentorship from a faculty advisor, students may choose a capstone course (3 credits) or thesis option (6 credits) to fulfill their culminating experience requirement and demonstrate integration of knowledge and research experience acquired during their time in the spatial data science degree program.

Students who choose the capstone course option GEOG 570 (3 credits) must produce a work product, paper suitable for publication, and formal oral presentation that demonstrates analytical thinking and synthesis of knowledge in the field of spatial data science. Students are encouraged to utilize an industry internship or current employer to identify a relevant or practical problem of importance that spatial data science methods could address and to advance the state of the art in order to solve that problem.

Students who choose the thesis option GEOG 600A and GEOG 600B (2 classes for a total of 6 credits) must write and defend, at an oral examination, a thesis based upon original research in the field of spatial data science. The thesis will demonstrate depth of knowledge to their advisor, a second reader, and the director of the SDS graduate program. Students who choose the thesis option for their culminating experience should expect the the two thesis classes to span multiple semesters. Students will need committee approval to move from the first class to the second.