The Department of Geography and Environmental Systems offers a program for majors who wish to become certified to teach geography/social studies at the secondary level. This program has been approved by the Maryland State Department of Education. Students must complete the major as described below and prescribed courses in other social sciences. In addition, students must be admitted to and complete UMBC's secondary teacher education program. Upon successful completion of the course work and student teaching, students are recommended for teacher certification in the State of Maryland.

The major requirements include 37 credits distributed as follows:
GES 102 - Geography of Human Activities
GES 110 - Geography of Environmental Systems
GES 280 - Map Use and Cartographic Principles
GES 300 - History of Geographic and Environmental Thought
GES 31x - Physical Geography Elective
GES 327 - Cultural Ecology
GES 330 - Geography of Economic Development
GES 332 - Natural Resources: Problems and Policies
GES 34x - Urban Geography Elective
GES 400 - Special Topics: Geography and Education
GES 3xx - Geography Elective
GES 3xx - Geography Elective

An additional 15 credits in social science include:
HIST 100 - Western Civilization
HIST 101 - American History to 1877
HIST 102 - American History 1877 to Present
HIST 3xx - History Elective
POLI 100 - American Government and Politics

For a description of the 37 credits in teacher education courses, see the secondary education program of the UMBC department of Education.

Students must consult with a departmental advisor for information on the academic courses required for this program