COLLEGE of ARTS and SCIENCES
GEOGRAPHY
Professor John B. Wright, department head
Professor Czerniak, Wright; Associate Professors Brown, DeMers; Assistant Professors Buenemann, Campell, Dugas; Adjunct Faculty Laliberte, Rango, Stein, Whitford; College Instructors Huck, Rich
(575) 646-3509
DEGREE: Bachelor of Science
MAJOR: Geography
MINORS:
- Geography
- Geographic Information Systems
The Department of Geography emphasizes the interaction of human activities with the environment. Both geography and planning programs prepare students for professional positions in government or the private sector. The undergraduate geography program also prepares students for graduate study while the planning program emphasizes preparation for a professional career in urban planning.
The requirements for teaching fields in earth sciences are listed under the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education chapter.
A student must earn a grade of C or better for any major or minor requirements offered by the Department of Geography.
DEGREE: Bachelor of Science
MAJOR: Geography
The geography curriculum prepares students for a broad range of opportunities in government, business, and education, areas concerned with human-environment problems and place-to-place relations. Preparation for advanced graduate studies is also provided. Major requirements incorporate analytical and GIS skills, sample the spectrum of systematic geography, and expose the student to the unique characteristics of selected regions of the earth. A student must earn a grade of C or better in all courses taken for the major.
Departmental Requirements (35 credits)
| GEOG 111G, Geography of the Natural Environment | 4 |
| GEOG 112G, World Regional Geography or GEOG 120G, Culture and Environment | 3 |
| GEOG 281, Map Use and Analysis | 3 |
| GEOG 351, Biogeography or GEOG 357, Meteorology and Climatology | 3 |
| GEOG 353, Geomorphology | 3 |
| GEOG 363V, Cultural Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 365V, Urban Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 381, Cartography and Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| GEOG 382, Aerial Photo Interpretation | 3 |
| GEOG 481, Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
Choose one of the following Regional Geography courses:
| GEOG 325V, New Mexico and the American West; GEOG 326V, U.S. National Parks; GEOG 328V, Geography of Latin America; or GEOG 331V, Europe.. | 3 |
Nondepartmental Requirements (9 credits)
| ENGL 218G, Technical and Scientific Communication or ENGL 318G, Advanced Technical and Professional Communication | 3 |
| E ST 311G, Introduction to Statistical Applications or STAT 251G/E ST 251, Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| MATH 120, Intermediate Algebra | 3 |
Electives: Sufficient to bring total to 128, including 48 upper-division.
MINOR: Geography
A student may not earn both a B.S. in Geography and a minor in Geography. At least 9 credits must be upper division.
| GEOG 111G, Geography of the Natural Environment. | 4 |
| GEOG 120G, Culture and Environment | 3 |
| GEOG 281, Map Use and Analysis, or GEOG 381, Cartography and Geographic Information Systems, or GEOG 382, Aerial Photo Interpretation | 3 |
| Three of GEOG 257, Introduction to Meteorology; GEOG 351, Fundamentals of Biogeography; GEOG 357, Climatology; GEOG 361V, Economic Geography; GEOG 363V, Cultural Geography; GEOG 365V, Urban Geography; GEOG 453, Fluvial and Environmental geomorphology; and GEOG 467, Transportation Geography | 9 |
MINOR: Geographic Information Systems
Students must earn at least 18 credits, of which at least 9 must be upper division. For students earning a B.S. in Geography, GEOG 281, Geog 381, and GEOG 382 may not be counted for this minor. For students earning a B.S. in City and Regional Planning, GEOG 281 may not be counted for this minor, and whichever of GEOG 381 or 382 is counted towards the major cannot be counted for this minor. Students may need to meet prerequisites or obtain a waiver of prerequisites for some courses. Please check the undergraduate catalog.
| BCIS 210, Business Programming Using Visual Tools, or BCIS 350, System Analysis and Modeling, or BCS 475, Database Management Systems | 3 |
| E T 120, Computer and Presentation software, or ENGL 218G, Technical and Scientific Communication | 3 |
| GEOG 281, Map Use and Analysis, or GEOG 381, Cartography and Geographic Information Systems. | 3 |
| GEOG 382, Aerial Photo Interpretation, or GEOG 482, Digital Image Processing | 3 |
| GEOG 481, Fundamentals of Geographic Information systems, or GEOG 487, GIS Practicum | 3-4 |
| Honors, independent study, and graduate courses as appropriate if approved by Department of Geography, Graduate courses that may automatically be included are GEOG 521, Geographic Information Systems Applications; GEOG 581, GIS Modeling and System Design; GEOG 584, Seminar in Geographic Information Systems; and GEOG 587, Advanced Topics in Geographic Information Science. Students may also substitute as many as 6 additional credits from this area for courses in some of the above areas if approved by the Department of Geography | 3 |