Unveiling the World: What You'll Learn in Geography Classes

Geography classes offer a fascinating exploration of our planet, encompassing both its physical features and the human activities that shape it. From introductory courses to advanced seminars, geography provides a unique lens through which to understand the world's complexities. The Department of Geography offers two major programs of study: Declare a Geography Major or Minor. This article delves into the typical curriculum of geography classes, highlighting the diverse topics covered and the skills students develop.

Fundamentals: Building a Geographic Foundation

Every geography student needs the fundamentals. These introductory and advanced courses are designed to stretch your horizon, sharpen your critical thinking skills, synthesize core principles, ignite a passion for learning, and might even surprise you. Let the discoveries begin.

Introductory Core

Typically, geography curricula begin with a set of core courses that establish a foundational understanding of the discipline. These courses often include:

Physical Geography: This branch explores the Earth's natural systems, including climate, landforms, vegetation, and soils. Students learn about atmospheric processes, river systems, glaciers, climate, plate tectonics, and landforms as they relate to one another.
Human Geography: This focuses on the spatial organization of human activities and the interactions between people and their environment. Topics covered include population distribution, cultural traits, economic systems, political structures, and urbanization.
Introduction to Human Geography: Our Globalized World: An introductory course which studies the geography of human activity through a topic by topic coverage of cultural traits and complexes that characterize different societies in the world.
Our Digital World: This introductory lecture/lab has students learn and apply the principles of geospatial science within the frameworks of Geographic Information Science (GISc), Remote Sensing, Aerial Photography, Photogrammetry, Global Positioning Systems and Cartography/Visualization. The course focuses on the underlying scientific basis that is shared across all of these frameworks.
World Regional Geography: These courses provide an overview of the world's major regions, examining their physical and human characteristics, as well as their interconnections.
The Geography of Texas: This course uses the key concepts of regional geography to study the evolving character and nature of the different areas of Texas.

Advanced Core

Social Science Research & Inquiry: Required for all students.
Regional Course: Pick one regional course.
The World of Big Data: This course may cover topics such as data collection, analysis, and visualization techniques relevant to geographic research.

Breadth: Exploring Diverse Geographic Topics

With roots in exploration and travel, Geographers traverse a wide range of topics and specialties. Here, students will gain the necessary breadth to put all the pieces together. To ensure a well-rounded education, geography programs typically require students to take courses from a range of sub-disciplines. These may include:

*GIScience*Biophysical Geography*Human Geography

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Biophysical Geography

Climatology: The atmospheric environment.
Geomorphology: This course explores Earth surface processes and the evolution of landforms across spatial and temporal scales. The course emphasizes applying unifying concepts in geomorphology, quantitative methodology and modern process-oriented geomorphology to interpret landscape evolution.
Biogeography: The study of the distribution and evolution of organisms across space and through time.

Human Geography

Economic Geography: This course examines economic activity and production as a function of geographic location.
Political Geography: This course explores the interrelationship between political activities and spatial distributions.
Urban Geography: This course is designed to serve as an introduction to the complex and dynamic urban system, including the physical, economic, political, cultural, social, and environmental forces that shape the form and function of cities, as well as how individuals and groups experience urban life.
Cultural Geography: Are you fascinated with the enormous diversity of culture, language, religion, economics, politics, urbanization, agriculture, and ethnicity around the world?
Population Geography: An in-depth study of the spatial distribution and movement of human populations.

Geographic Information Science (GIScience)

Cartography: An introduction to the concepts and techniques of map construction and visual data communication.
Remote Sensing: An introduction to remote sensing science and technology.
Spatial Analysis: An introduction to spatial analysis with a focus on spatial statistics.

Concentration: Specializing in a Geographic Area

With this requirement, students gain greater depth of knowledge and skills. The concentration helps translate Geography for careers. To allow for specialization, many geography programs offer concentrations or tracks that enable students to focus on a particular area of interest. Choose one of the following concentrations and take three courses:

*Culture, Politics & Place: Social, economic, and political processes that shape and connect places*Environment, Economy & Sustainability: Human-environment interactions and sustainability*Water Science & Policy: The social, political, and physical processes that shape water and its use*Environmental Systems: The biological, climatological, and geomorphological processes that shape the earth’s surface*Geographic Information Science: Using spatial data to understand processes that shape the earth

Culture, Politics & Place

The various research interests of the human geographers in the department coalesce around issues of politics, culture, political-economy and space. Individually and collaboratively, this cohort of researchers brings together a diverse set of interests, including ethno-territorial conflict, transnational citizenship and belonging, tourism, rural development, urban politics, and human-environment interaction. Emphasizing a critical and historical approach, faculty in this area draw on a range of theoretical and methodological debates in political and cultural geography, political ecology, critical development studies, and urban studies. Specific lines of research in this area include:

Tourism, place and identity in China and Asia (Su)
The material and ideological spaces of peace and conflict (Cohen)
Land use and natural resource politics in the western United States and southern Africa (Walker)
Political economy of development and foodways in China and Asia (Buck)
Politics of climate change risk governance (Johnson)
Environmental justice and issues around nationalism and ethnicity (Pulido)

Economy, Environment & Sustainability

The study of Economy, Environment, and Sustainability is a cornerstone of Geography. We examine diverse processes related to interactions between human society and the biophysical environment, ranging from the mostly physical to the mostly social. Our interests touch upon human impacts on riverine systems; sustainable cities in the global North and South; nature conservation and protected areas; food economies and development; impacts of climate change on policy, environments and economies; and environmental conflict, politics, and governance. Faculty research includes:

Capitalism, nature, and the mechanics of power (Cohen)
Factors that shape social and ecological sustainability in the western United States and Southern Africa (Walker)
How changes in foodways are entwined in processes of urbanization and the transition to capitalism in China and Asia (Buck)
How environmental vulnerability and environmental knowledge are transformed by financial markets, especially in East Africa (Johnson)
How Environmental history can illuminate reactions to climate change in different contexts (Carey)

Environmental Systems

The Environmental Systems concentration in Geography focuses on the processes that shape the physical features of the landscape. Climate, geology, and biology interact in complicated ways to result in the weather, landforms, and life that characterize any place. The surface of the Earth as we see it today is the result of millions of years of gradual change and of past catastrophes. The long-term dynamics of natural systems provide the context for evaluating changes wrought by people over recent times, while also acknowledging and evaluating potentially long history of people shaping and interacting with environments through time. Using remote sensing, spatial modeling, natural archives in lake sediments, and field survey methods, the research in the department includes:

Quantifying the riverscape through new remote sensing technology (Fonstad)
Postglacial biogeography: reconstructing vegetation and ecosystem processes through the large climatic changes coming out of the last glaciation through the study of lake sediments and peatlands (Gavin)
Simulation modeling to understand the interacting effects of climate change, fire disturbances, and species composition change across forest landscapes (Lucash)
Modeling climate-change impacts on ice sheets and mountain glaciers; attributing environmental changes to anthropogenic climate change (Christian)

Water Science & Policy

The study of Water Science & Policy is a new focus area for this department, reflecting the breadth of research and teaching in these subjects. This also reflects a burgeoning recognition of how water operates in people’s daily lives, whether they are in Eugene or Mexico City, and in international context, such as the hydropolitics of the Jordan River in the Middle East. New and innovative research examining river dynamics, including how land management systems can effect stream flow, which can severely influence erosion and flooding, is reflected in our courses and fieldwork of faculty. Water is a universal human need, and the politics and ecologies of management will be at the forefront of the international agenda in the 21st Century. Faculty research includes:

Modeling mountain glacier contributions to stream flow, focusing on variations in time and between catchments (Christian)
Quantifying the riverscape through new remote sensing technology (Fonstad)
Understanding the influence of climate change and climate-mediated natural disturbances on the composition and structure of forests (Gavin, Lucash)

Geographic Information Science

Geographic Information Science provides students with the conceptual knowledge base and the technical skills to develop and conduct geospatial analysis and data visualization. This core area emphasizes a broad-based approach to GIScience and includes courses, research and training in cartography, geographic information systems, cognitive and information science, and remote sensing.

Cartography as a science communication tool to understand and explain environment-society interactions (Fish).
Using drones to collect and model data to inform decision-making (Fonstad)
Using Geographic Information Science and how it can illuminate environment-society interactions (Kohler).
Developing models and applying them to understand ecological dynamics of landscapes (Lucash).

The Launchpad: Applying Geography Beyond the Classroom

What can Geography do for you, beyond the classroom? Here, students will gain tangible skills in research, professional development, leadership, and applying geographical concepts and skills beyond college. Chose one of the following:

Research Experience
Thesis (requires a GPA of 3.6 or higher)
Field Studies
Practicum/ Internship
Career Readiness

Spatial Data Science & Technology

The Spatial Data Science & Technology major (SDS) requires a minimum of 48 credits in Geography and Computer Science. At least 9 courses must be taken for a letter grade. A grade of C- or better is required for any course applied towards the major, and a GPA of 2.25 is required in courses used for the major. There is no option for a minor with this program. All Geography majors seeking a BS degree will be required to complete any math sequence that satisfies the University’s math requirement for a BS degree. Math classes must be passed with a grade of at least C- or P. For students in the SDS major, we recommend a computer programming sequence. You can double dip courses between the SDS major and the requirements for a Bachelor’s of Science.

General Degree Requirements

Bachelor of Science

All Geography majors seeking a BS degree will be required to complete any math sequence that satisfies the University’s math requirement for a BS degree. Math classes must be passed with a grade of at least C- or P. For the Geographic Information Science Track, we recommend a computer programming sequence. For students interested in biophysical geography we recommend either a statistics sequence or a calculus sequence based on your interests:

For geomorphology we recommend a calculus emphasis.
For biogeography we recommend a statistics emphasis.
For climatology, we recommend a calculus or computer programming emphasis.

Bachelor of Arts

All Geography majors seeking a BA degree must demonstrate proficiency in a second language either by passing the third quarter of a second-year university language course with a grade of C- or better or by an examination indicating an equivalent level of proficiency. If you are considering applying to graduate school in the future, we strongly recommend that you complete both the math and language requirements.

Group Requirements

All undergraduates must satisfy group requirements. Geography majors should consult their advisor to determine which group-satisfying courses best support their major. Please note that for students who have Geography as their first major can only use ONE course with the GEOG subject code to satisfy the Group Requirements.

Double Majors

Geography is a broad discipline and is therefore an attractive choice for people in other majors looking to enhance their understanding of human and/or physical systems and their interactions at different scales. At only 48 credits it can be completed within about two years along with other coursework. For example, you could double major in SDS and Geography for a total of 78 credits. However, SDS would also complement other interests and majors that you may have, including Computer Science, Planning and Public Policy Management, Environmental Studies, Earth Science, Journalism, Business, Anthropology, Biology, Sociology, Economics, and much more. The Spatial Data Science and Technology major provides theoretical depth in spatial concepts and analysis and technology application. Once you understand the power of spatial data analysis, you can combine that perspective with anything you want!

ENVS Majors Considering a Double Major in Geography

Geography is an excellent second field for Environmental Studies and Environmental Science majors because it also offers you a grounding in the physical and human systems within which environmental issues are situated in a larger global context. The geography major also allows you to use the Environment, Economy & Sustainability concentration to help fine tune your understanding of the interactions of Earth’s physical and human systems. Declaring a second major in Geography will help deepen your understanding of earth’s human and environmental systems.

Consider these opportunities:

All General Education, Foreign Language, and Math requirements are the same for the two majors.
You can apply up to four classes to both majors.
You may apply any of the following Geography courses to complete your ENVS degree: GEOG 142: Human Geography, GEOG 181: Our Digital Earth, GEOG 321: Climatology, GEOG 322: Geomorphology, GEOG 323: Biogeography, GEOG 341: Population and Environment, GEOG 342: Geography of Globalization, GEOG 360: Watershed Science and Policy, GEOG 361: Global Environmental Change, GEOG 421: Advanced Climatology, GEOG 425: Hydrology, GEOG 427: Fluvial Geomorphology, GEOG 430: Long-term Environmental Change, GEOG 432: Climatological Aspects of Global Change, GEOG 442: Urban Geography, GEOG 463: Geography, Law, and the Environment, GEOG 465: Environment and Development, GEOG 468: Contemporary Food Systems, GEOG 481: GIS I, GEOG 482: GIS II, GEOG 485: Remote Sensing I, GEOG 486: Remote Sensing II.
Some ENVS courses are taught by Geography faculty. These can also be applied towards the Geography major. For example, Dr. Peter Walker from Geography regularly teaches ENVS 450: Political Ecology and ENVS 455: Sustainability, either of which could count towards requirements for the geography major. Other faculty who teach in Geography and other departments include Dr. Laura Pulido (Ethnic Studies), and Dr.

Skills Developed in Geography Classes

Beyond specific course content, geography classes cultivate a range of valuable skills, including:

Spatial Thinking: The ability to analyze and understand the spatial relationships between phenomena.
Critical Thinking: Evaluating information and forming reasoned judgments.
Problem-Solving: Applying geographic knowledge and skills to address real-world challenges.
Data Analysis: Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting geographic data.
Communication: Effectively conveying geographic information through maps, reports, and presentations.
GIS and Remote Sensing Skills: Many geography programs offer training in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies, which are increasingly valuable in a wide range of fields.

Opportunities for Further Exploration

Geography classes often provide opportunities for students to engage in hands-on learning experiences, such as:

Fieldwork: Conducting research and collecting data in real-world settings.
Internships: Gaining practical experience in geographic professions.
Research Projects: Conducting independent research on a topic of interest.
Study Abroad: Immersing oneself in a different culture and geographic environment.

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