Geography B.A. Requirements

The B.A. requires a minimum of 56 credits, including 44 credits in geography and environmental systems courses and 12 credits in other disciplines. Students must complete the following 14 credits of core courses:

            GES 102 Human Geography [3]
            GES 110 Physical Geography [3]
            GES 280 Map Use and Cartographic Principles [4]
            GES 386 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems [4]

In addition, all students must complete either GES 301: Quantitative Techniques or an outside statistics course, to be selected from among the following: STAT 121, 350, 351 or 355.

Note: Outside statistics courses will not count toward the minimum number of departmental credits for completion of the major.

In addition to the core courses identified above, a minimum of 27 additional credits in other departmental electives is required for students who complete GES 301, or 30 additional credits for students who substitute an outside statistics course for GES 301. Distribution requirements are as follows:

Four human geography courses, chosen from the sequences GES 32X – 36X, 42X-46X [12] and sections of selected topics courses (GES 302 or 400) that are designated by department faculty as meeting the distribution requirement. At least one of these four courses must be a 400-level.

 Two upper-division physical geography electives chosen from the following sequences:
GES 31X or 41X [6] or sections of special topics courses (GES 302 or 400) designated by department faculty as meeting the distribution requirement.

Two additional electives, at least one of which must be a 400-level course [6]

And one geography & environmental systems techniques course at the 300 or 400 level in consultation with a faculty advisor. [3]

Internship and independent study do not count toward the minimum number of credits required for the B.A. degree.

All students, upon declaring the geography major, will be expected to take GES 280 and a statistics course the first semester each course is offered, following satisfaction of any prerequisites.

Before a candidate for the B.A. degree is permitted to take any 400-level course, the student must have completed both GES 102 and 110, as well as any other prerequisites specified in the Undergraduate Catalog.

Other courses
Nine credits must be taken in other social science disciplines, selected in consultation with the advisor. Courses may be selected with a view to increasing breadth across the social sciences or increasing depth within a specific social science. Development of a minor in another social science is encouraged. These nine credits count toward the 49 credits required for the B.A. degree.

Also required is one 300-level writing course [3] or one 300- or 400-level course in a field supporting the student’s major course of study [3 or 4], to be decided in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor. Substitution of another course for the writing course requires demonstration of strong writing skills.

No course in which the student has earned a grade lower than “C” shall count toward the major requirements. No course taken on a P/F basis shall count toward the major.