B.S. in Geography

Program Goals:

The bachelor of science (B.S.) in Geography is intended for students who seek greater technical training in geographic tools that may lead to careers in such fields as environmental planning and resource management, urban and regional planning, remote sensing and geographic information systems, cartography, and in teaching.

Options to Specialize:

Students have the ability to specialize their degree in the following tracks: 

• Outdoor Recreation and Resource Management
• People, Place, Society
• Environmental Change and Sustainability

Jobs and Careers:

People with degrees in geography find employment in a variety of fields including: parks management (National and State Parks, Fish and Wildlife), oil and gas facilities mapping, international business or marketing, US government (Census Bureau, State Department, Geospatial Intelligence Agency), urban planning, transportation network analysis, Peace Corps, Non-governmental Organizations, US Diplomats, Charity or Mission work, Conservation (water, land, wildlife), alternative energies, building construction consultaion, and more!

Program Curriculum: 

The B.A. in Geography requires the following 45 hours in addition to general education and elective requirements, for a total of 120 credit hours. Click here for more information about courses in the Geography Department and here for the official degree sheet.

A) REQUIRED COURSES (18 hours):

• GEOG 1113 Introduction to Cultural Geography OR GEOG 1713 World Regional Geography
• GEOG 3333 Spatial Analysis
• GEOG 4203 Fundamentals of GIS
• GEOG 4313 Field Techniques and Geodata Collection
• GEOG 4323 Computer Cartography
• GEOG 4333 Remote Sensing OR GEOG 4343 GIS: Resource Management Applications OR GEOG 4353: GIS: Socioeconomic Applications

B) ELECTIVES IN GEOGRAPHY (21 hours):

• 21 hours (generally 7 courses) of Geography courses; at least 18 hours must be at the upper-division level (3000 or above)

C) UPPER-DIVISION ELECTIVES OUTSIDE GEOGRAPHY (6 hours):

Acceptable courses include:

1. Courses with the Contemporary International Cultures (I) general education designation are acceptable, excluding the following courses in the foreign languages which primarily cover reading, composition, grammar, or diction:

- FREN 3073, 3203, 3213, 3343, 3463, 4550
- GRMN 3013, 3023, 3343, 3463, 3803, 3813, 4550
- JAPN 3012, 3112, 3133, 3333
- RUSS 3113, 3223, 4223
- SPAN 3203, 3213, 3463, 4550

2. Any AMST, ANTH, GEOL, HIST or POLS course is acceptable except:

- AMST 3713, 4433
- GEOL 4993
- HIST 3913, 3980, 3983, 4553, 4903, 4980, 4990, 4993
- POLS 3100, 3353, 3414, 3423, 3453, 3483, 3503, 3523, 3533, 3543, 3733, 3813, 3983, 4343, 4353, 4413, 4453, 4573, 4963, 4973, 4983, 4990, 4993

3. The following courses are also acceptable:

- AG 3080 (Agriculture & Natural Resource Study Abroad)
- A&S 3080, 3090 (Study Abroad)
- BIOL 3253, 3263
- BOT 4123
- ECON 4913
- ENGL 3813, 4093
- FOR 3883, 4553
- MSIS 3103, 4013
- SOC 3213, 3413, 3423, 3713, 4383, 4513, 4533
- ZOOL 3143

4. This list is non-exhaustive, accretive, and open to modification in consultation with the Undergraduate Advisor in Geography.