Departmental Unit № 1
Department of Geography
PhD in Geography
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (GTA/GRA)
Funding Package: Full tuition waiver + 9-month living stipend (~$23,000–$26,000/yr + summer teaching opportunities) + university health insurance subsidy.
Fall Priority Deadline: January 15 (Fall Priority)
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 80 or IELTS 6.5
MS in Geography (Thesis Track)
Eligible for GTA/GRA Tuition Waivers and Stipends
Funding Reality: FSU Geography awards departmental teaching assistantships covering tuition and stipends to qualified MS thesis students.
Application Deadline: January 15
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (1 Profiles)
Prof. Xiaojun Yang
Professor of Geography
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He analyzes 40 years of satellite images along Florida's coastline to measure how rising ocean tides are drowning saltwater marshes and how building developments threaten coastal wetlands.
Core Research Topics: Satellite remote sensing, geographic information science, coastal environmental change, urban growth simulation, environmental monitoring.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Utilizing long-term Landsat and Sentinel constellations to quantify coastal wetland loss, shoreline retreat, and urban sprawl dynamics along the Florida Gulf Coast, developing machine-learning based land-cover projections (USGS / Florida Sea Grant 2024–2026).
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: ENVI, ERDAS Imagine, Google Earth Engine, ArcGIS Pro, Python, multi-spectral time-series analysis.
Recruiting Context: Longstanding leader in satellite remote sensing applications for coastal and urban environments.
Candidate Match:
Remote SensingGISCoastal HydrologyEnvironmental Monitoring
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your interest in long-term satellite time-series analysis, coastal wetland monitoring, and Google Earth Engine workflows in your research group."