Working with me

I am always looking for prospective students who share a passion for quantitative methods in Geography, whether that passion is for times series analysis of climate records or privacy-protecting mechanisms for spatial data.

Please read the following information if you are considering contacting me as a potential graduate advisor.

Please consult the geography program web pages for an overview of the program as well as for information about the degree requirements and application process.  I encourage you to communicate directly with the graduate director about general questions pertaining to our program and the application process.

Prerequisites and Training

I recognize that most geography students are not sufficiently prepared in quantitative methods through their undergraduate studies. You do need to have some familiarity with algebra. A PhD graduate should be comfortable with differential calculus and linear algebra. I am eager to help students to develop these skills if I see a clear motivation and passion to learn spatial data science.  

It's never too late to learn!  I think that you will find me a very helpful advisor as you are coming up to speed on the prerequisites of modern data science. (It's not as hard as you've been led to believe.  Really.) For those with a curiosity in all things, you will find that data science in geography is a great way to interact with experts who need help studying a wide variety of geographic processes.

International Applicants

I sometimes have funding opportunities for students once they are proficient in R or python, but most students will receive a large portion of their support through teaching assistantships (TA) offered through the Geography Department.  These TA awards are highly competitive. You can find out more about these requirements through the Graduate School.  In particular, English speaking skills are given more scrutiny at the University of Tennessee than they are at some other US schools.

Contacting me

When contacting me, please include the following in your email or letter:

 - A statement (2 to 3 paragraphs) of your research and professional interests, your research experience, and why you want to study with me.
 - your undergraduate major, university, GPA and GRE scores (percentile), and TOEFL (if appropriate).

Thank you for your interest.  I look forward to hearing from you!