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@Sum_Errosola94 Great programs! I am a business and retail geographer. My bachelor's degree is in business economics and my master's is in business geography. My research leverages spatial analysis and econometric modeling to understand the geographies of the rise of e-commerce and the concurrent decline of brick-and-mortar retail (particularly, in the United States). I'm part of a relatively small community of geographers in academia, but one with a large network of practitioners out working in real estate, retail location analytics, insurance, marketing, etc. etc. It's probably one of the smallest and least popular sub-fields of geography but I love what I do - and as business landscapes continue to change with the ubiquity of digital frontiers, I think my field will become more and more relevant and engaging! Fingers crossed. Would love to hear what everyone else is up to!

Hi all, Just prepping a thread here for discussions on 2020 admissions. Feel encouraged to share what programs you're applying to, update us on decisions, and talk shop with other applicants. I'm applying to: University of Maine University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee University of California-Santa Barbara University of Tennessee Cardiff University Technological University Dublin University College London Penn State University (maybe) Best of luck to everyone! Let's keep each other in the loop.

@whatstheplan My case was really interesting. I was nominated by the Department of Geography for the Trillium/Connaught scholarship. For those of you who are not familiar- this is a massive province-wide scholarship fund that is available to international students at almost all universities in Ontario (might be nationwide but I'm not positive, I'm from the U.S.). I was nominated for the scholarship with one other student among the whole international PhD geography/planning applicant pool, but, at the same time, was not offered a funded spot. So I was put in a situation where if I win this hyper-competitive, long-odds scholarship, terrific. I'm in. If not, then I would not be offered any funding. It kind of paints a blurry picture about my candidacy. Was I good enough to nominate for this scholarship but not for a regular admissions offer? I'm guessing the department extended international offers immediately and then nominated me as their "take it or leave it, we're kind of indifferent" candidate. For all practical purposes, was my application "rejected" the moment I was put up for a scholarship that was statistically almost impossible to get given the number of other attractive applicants from across disciplines at U of T? All just things I'm mulling over really. What an exciting journey though! Glad my application was competitive. On to the private sector and a year of regressing before playing the game all over again!

@whatstheplan Not a peep. The admissions committee met yesterday. They won't meet again until April 12. We are cutting it real close here. I have a full-time offer with a retail firm that is time sensitive. I don't want to be a jerk and use that as leverage in the admissions process but I seriously need to know what their decision is so I can start planning the rest of my life haha. The game they're playing with extending offers and putting other folks on hold as "back-ups" is a long one and it kind of puts folks like you and me in hot water. We can only juggle offers and string things along for so long. Toronto is my first choice, but do I reject an $80000 salary to wait on an admissions outcome which at this point is likely "no"? A bit of a pain now.

@whatstheplan No word from U of T for me. I think the admissions committee has met a couple of times now and made some decisions on domestic applicants. My advisor said it would be pins and needles just a bit longer. On the one hand it is an anxious wait, but it also signals that your application is clearly competitive with a lot of other strong candidates and that is kind of encouraging and exciting too. I know the international spots are very limited so being where I am now, I feel pretty fortunate that my I'm still being considered at all. Toronto is hyper-competitive. We will see!

@whatstheplan Yeah I think the top tier programs always go in rounds. There is always a nebulous period where they make some offers that get rejected and those become new spots for other candidates so definitely give it until the end of March at least. If you don't get an answer one way or another before then you might just follow up with your prospective advisor and see where the committee is at in the process.

Any folks heard back from University of Toronto yet? I believe as of today the admissions committee has met twice now. Wondering if any decisions have been made. I know they have at a few more meetings this month to continue reviewing applications so the acceptance letters might be coming out to us at different times depending on our international status and other factors.

I'm applying to PhD programs at Missouri, University of Toronto and Technological University Dublin. I'm a business geographer focusing on retail market analysis, location theory and spatial econometrics. Master's in applied geography from University of North Texas (2019) and bachelor's in economic consulting from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Haven't heard back on applications yet, but have started hearing back on scholarships! Best of luck to everyone.

@crhyme Thanks very much for your input! Your comments have been echoed by the advisors I've discussed this with in person- so that is reassuring. I may connect with you again if I go with Missouri! I grew up in Indiana so if Columbia is anything like other medium-sized mid-western cities I hope I'll feel right at home. @DRMF Thanks much for your comments too. I definitely had not thought about the potential for easy transitions that you mentioned in your second point. That is something to consider for sure. Also your dad sounds very awesome ?

Hi all, I am a retail and economic geographer and I'm wrapping up my PhD applications for next Fall. I didn't apply to many programs, but the ones I'm applying to are really really disparate: Applied Economics PhD - Missouri Geography PhD - Toronto Business PhD - Dublin Obviously, quantitative economic geography is a pretty niched and tiny field that sits at an intersection of some broader fields. I picked these programs because the advisors were doing work that fit my interests well in spite of the fact that they all teach in different departments and reside in different academic/professional ecosystems. The differences in these programs culturally, academically and professionally have me worried about how I'm branding myself. Do I want to be perceived as an economist, a geographer or a business scholar? Has anyone else been in this situation? Did you find yourself with prospective advisors that were all great fits that all came from very different worlds? What due dilligence do you recommend here so I can make the most informed decision if I'm accepted? I'm guessing visiting these places is really the safest bet. Any input is so appreciated!