The Minor

The Geography minor provides students with exposure to fundamental concepts in the field of geography, enables them to become familiar with the application of these concepts; and complements concepts and perspectives emphasized in the student’s declared major field of study. In practical terms the Geography minor enables students to acquire specific skills and competencies (e.g., GIS, field analysis) which contribute to career preparation. For those students interested in careers in teaching, the Geography minor broadens their perspectives in the area of social studies education. The minor complements perspectives provided by the student’s academic major, and in doing so potentially enhances the scope of employment prospects. Students can choose to focus their upper-division coursework for the minor in a specific area such as environmental geography, urban geography, or climate change, or they can sample a range of geography courses to develop a more general background.

The department expects students majoring in the following disciplines to be most interested in a minor in geography: Anthropology, Earth Systems, Economics, Education, Environmental Design, Geology, History, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Journalism, Management, Political Science and Sociology, as well as all of the foreign language majors.

Advising

Students consult with the Chief Undergraduate Adviser in Geography to design a set of courses that best complements their academic program.

Requirements

The minor requires 15 credit hours of courses in Geography. One of the courses should be at the 100 level and the other four courses should be at the 200 level or above.

Restrictions

Transfer credits: Maximum of 6 credits allowed. These must fit into the minor to be allowed.

No Pass/Fail courses are allowed in the minor. Independent Study/Practicum courses: maximum of 6 credits allowed. In general we expect students to take 3 credits of Independent Study/Practicum courses at most.