---

About

The School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (SGSUP) advances geospatial knowledge for a complex world, emphasizing education, research, and applied solutions to urban and environmental problems.

Our work pairs rigorous theory with hands-on, real-world application: addressing societal and environmental challenges at local, regional, and global scales.

---

Areas of Expertise

Geography Human, physical, and environmental geography. Geographic Information Science Spatial analysis, cartography, and geocomputation. Urban Planning Sustainable cities, land use, and transportation.

Spatial Data Science Machine learning and AI for geospatial problems. Climate & Environment Urban heat, fire ecology, and climate adaptation. Applied Research Evidence-based solutions for communities and policy.

---

Research Impact

#1 Global Rank Research impact in urban heat studies

$37M Funded Research Over the past five years

$25M DOE Funding Extreme heat research in Arizona

---

Research Centers

• Urban Climate Research Center (UCRC) Leading global research on urban heat, climate resilience, and sustainable urban systems.

• Spatial Analysis Research Center (SPARC) Advanced spatial analytics, geocomputation, and methodological innovation.

• Southwest Urban Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL) Integrated urban climate science across the U.S. Southwest.

---

Academic Programs

Undergraduate: explore degrees →

• Geographic Information Science (BS)
• Geography (BA / BS)
• Geography: Meteorology-Climatology (BS)
• Urban Planning (BSP)

Graduate: explore degrees →

• Master of Arts in Geography
• Master of Urban and Environmental Planning
• Master of Advanced Study in Geographic Information Systems
• PhD in Geographic Information Science
• PhD in Geography
• PhD in Urban Planning

Minors & Certificates: explore options →

• Atmospheric Sciences (Certificate)
• Geographic Information Science (Certificate)
• Geography (Minor)
• Urban Planning (Minor)

Online Programs: learn more →

Flexible, fully online pathways in geography, GIS, and urban studies.

---

Career Pathways

Our graduates work as GIS analysts, urban and regional planners, cartographers, environmental analysts, conservation scientists, transportation planners, meteorologists, and across 15+ additional geospatial specializations.

---

On Hugging Face

This organization hosts open research artifacts from the SGSUP community, including:

• Geospatial datasets (urban heat, land use, climate)
• Pretrained models for spatial data science and remote sensing
• Reproducibility packages for peer-reviewed research
• Educational materials for GIS, urban planning, and spatial AI

---

Connect With Us

---