Development of the international schools of cartographic thought

A notion of a school of cartographic thought and its criteria are defined in this research. As an example, the characteristics of Russian, German, French, and American schools of cartographic thought were described using the literature, survey, and in-depth interviews. The development of these schools is analyzed by studying the university curricula of cartographic study programs. The research result is the theoretical framework of the school of cartographic thought based on of four international schools of cartographic thought with their interactions and development from the second half of the 20th century until nowadays.