Devil,
It's important to me b/c I'm tired of campuses located in 'too urban' an area. I know I'll be dealing with a huge university for a top program. At least here in the U.S. Boulder is really hard to get into and doesn't sound like the faculty is what I'm looking for. Urbana-Champaign would fit the bill, not sure yet how hard getting into their program would be. Hadn't seen Georgia in anything touting their chops for GIS, visualization or even cartography but NCSU Raleigh is 'good' it's just that they are also right in the middle of a city. Chapel Hill's program is lightweight re: GIS. Madison is vy good but also in the middle of a city, although a nice city.
AZ ST has some pros and cons but I've read that their grads aren't as respected, plus I hate the desert. Syracuse is an urban campus but I also haven't investigated their grad program as of yet. SB is interesting in that their program seems to fit the bill, and I've lived north and south of SB, and like the size of the city, but like the Oregon schools it's really far away.
But I appreciate your feedback. I just read up on some Canadian schools and like the U.S. it's hit or miss. More information is always useful.
Thank you,
Berserker