Geography

College of Arts and Sciences, The Department of Earth, Environment, and Society
John Roach Center for the Liberal Arts (JRC) 432, (651) 962-5566 
Lorah, Kelley (Co-chair), McKay

Program Website

The mission of Geography and Environmental Studies program is to provide both the highest quality liberal arts education and applied, career-oriented preparation. Our students learn to integrate knowledge and gain the depth of expertise to prepare them competitively for professional life and/or graduate school.  We value the application of theory and research to real-world problems that affect the common good.

The Department of Earth, Environment, and Society offers multiple courses of study including a major and minor in geography, a major in environmental studies with various concentrations, a geographic information systems (GIS) minor (for non-geography majors) and a concentration area in GIS for majors, as well as a minor in sustainability.

With foundations in both the natural and social sciences, our courses prepare students for a wide range of careers in government, the private sector, and education. Geography and environmental studies graduates collect and analyze demographic data, model landscapes with GIS, perform location analysis for retail and service stores, are urban planners and land use managers, teach, and hold a wide variety of other jobs in the public and private sectors. Graduates also pursue advanced degrees in geography, environmental studies, business, urban and regional planning, community development, GIS, and natural resource management.

The GIS major and minor pair well with other majors in the physical and social sciences, and complement studies in education, marketing, real estate, and entrepreneurship.  Our emphasis on GIS laboratory work, internships, collaborative faculty-student research, and service learning give our students a solid foundation in geographic principles and techniques, as well as an appreciation for the diversity of people and places.

The Environmental Studies major and Sustainability minor provide students with a broad interdisciplinary background as well as a basis for career specialization and practical application and problem solving. The program is based upon an investigation both of the Earth’s environment and the wide variety of human interactions with that environment.

Elementary Education with a Specialty in Social Studies (5-8)
Co-major in Social Studies (5-12) and a Co-major in Secondary Education

See Education

• GEOG 111 Human Geography (4 credits)
• GEOG 113 Globalization & World Regions (4 credits)
• GEOL 111 Introductory Physical Geology (4 credits) or GEOL 114 The Science of Natural Disaster (4 credits) or GEOL 115 Environmental Geology (4 credits)
• GEOG 321 Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)
• GEOG/ENVR 401 Field Seminar (4 credits)

Plus sixteen credits from the following courses:

• GEOG 151: Enviornomnetal Problems & Sustainable Solution (4 credits)
• GEOG 230 Weather and Climate (4 credits)
• GEOG 322 Geographical Analysis (4 credits)
• GEOG 330 Geography for Business and Planning (4 credits)
• GEOG 350: Geography of Global Health (4 credits)
• GEOG 331 Conservation Geography (4 credits)
• GEOG 421 Applied Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)
• GEOG 298 Special Topics in Geography [focus changes with each offering] (4 credits)
• GEOG 478 Experiential Learning (4 credits) or GEOG 491 Research (4 credits)

Note: At least twelve of the credits used to fulfill the major must be at the 298-level or above.Plus sixteen credits from the following courses:

• GEOG 111 Human Geography (4 credits)
• GEOG 113 Globalization & World Regions (4 credits)
• GEOL 111 Introductory Physical Geology (4 credits) or GEOL 114 The Science of Natural Disasters (4 credits) or GEOL 115 Environmental Geology (4 credits)
• GEOG 321 Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)
• GEOG/ENVR 401 Field Seminar (4 credits)

Plus sixteen credits from the following courses:

• GEOG 223 Remote Sensing (4 credits)
• GEOG 330 Geography for Business and Planning (4 credits)
• GEOG 350: Geography of Global Health (4 credits)
• GEOG 331 Conservation Geography (4 credits)
• GEOG 421 Applied Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)
• GEOG 478 Experiential Learning (4 credits) or GEOG 491 Research (4 credits)

Plus:

• STAT 220 Statistics I (4 credits)

This Certificate is a three-course, 12-credit certificate as follows:

• GEOG 321 Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)

Any two of the following courses:

• GEOG 223 Remote Sensing (4 credits)
• GEOG 331 Conservation Geography (4 credits)
• GEOG 350 Geography of Global Health (4 credits)
• GEOG 393 (with a GIS component) Individual Study (4 credits)
• GEOG 421 Applied GIS (4 credits)
• GEOG 478 Experiential Learning (with a GIS component) (4 credits)
• GEOG 491 Research (with a GIS component) (4 credits)

This Certificate is only available to non-Geography majors or minors.

• Twenty credits (5 courses) in Geography
  • no more than eight credits of which may be at the GEOG 100-level
  • and at least four credits of which must be numbered GEOG 300 or above.

Selection of the specific courses to fulfill the requirements should be done in consultation with a member of the department faculty.

This minor is only available to non-geography majors.

• GEOG 321 Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)

Plus sixteen credits from the following courses:

• GEOG 223 Remote Sensing (4 credits)
• GEOG 330 Geography for Business and Planning (4 credits)
• GEOG 350: Geography of Global Health (4 credits)
• GEOG 331 Conservation Geography (4 credits)
• GEOG 421 Applied Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)
• GEOG 478 Experiential Learning (4 credits) or GEOG 491 Research (4 credits)