Undergraduate Majors and Minors in the Geography Department

The Department of Geography offers two separate majors reflecting the discipline's position straddling the social and natural sciences: the Geography major and the Environmental Studies major. While these programs overlap to some extent, they differ in their substantive focus: the Geography major is oriented more to social, economic, and political concerns, while the Environmental Studies major revolves more explicitly around human interactions with the natural, physical, and biological environment, with a stronger interdisciplinary focus. Students may double major in Geography and Environmental Studies; a maximum of 11 credit hours may be double counted toward both majors.
Note that the Geography department, like most in the College of Social Sciences, requires a minor approved by the department undergraduate advisor. The requirements for minors vary, but generally consist of 12 credit hours in a given discipline. Minors are not listed on diplomas. Up to 7 credits can overlap between the Geography major and the Environmental Studies minor. Up to 7 credits can overlap between an Environmental Studies major and a Geography minor.

Major in Geography

A major in Geography consists of 31 semester hours with a minimum overall GPA of 2.00, including the following required 5 core courses (16 credit hours):
GEO 1400 Human Geography
GEO 2200c Physical Geography (previously GEO 3200c)
GEO 4162c Spatial Data Analysis (previously GEO 3140)
GIS 3015 Map Analysis (previously GEO 3040)
GIS 4043 Geographic Information Systems and lab (4 credit hours) (previously GEO 4151)

An additional course is required in one of the core areas of Human Geography (3 credit hours).
GEO 3502 Economic Geography (previously GEO 3540)
GEO 4421 Cultural Geography (previously GEO 4420)
GEO 4471 Political Geography
GEO 4602 Urban Geography

At least six credit hours of courses must be taken at the 4000 level (excluding GEO 4162c, GEO 4905, and GEO 4941). A maximum of three credit hours of GEO 4905 Directed Individual Study (DIS) will be credited toward the major. No credit for Geography courses with a grade below "C-" will be applied towards completion of the major. Note that GEA 1000 and GEO 1400 satisfy liberal studies multiculturalism requirements.

 

Minor in Geography

A Geography minor consists of 12 semester hours of course work in the department, including GEO 1400 and 9 additional hours, completed with a grade of "C-" or better. Courses that satisfy the minor requirements cannot be transferred from other institutions. If a Geography minor is combined with an Environmental Studies major, GEO2200C and one other course (up to 7 credits total) may count toward both the major and the minor.