Why Minor in Geography?

The 21st-century world is becoming increasingly complicated and fragile. Geography studies the spatial distributions and interactions of peoples, places, and environments across the globe. Geographers are trained to "see the big picture" to understand these complex interactions. A geography minor relates to practically any other discipline, particularly to fields with a robust spatial sub-fields such as Environmental Science, History, Criminal Justice, Biology, Political Science, Leisure Studies, Cultural Studies, Ethnic and Gender Studies, and Economics and Management. The department offers a minor in geography that supports undergraduate preparation for a wide range of careers, including teaching and preparation for graduate work.

Requirements for the Minor in Geography

Requirements for the Geography Minor

The minor requires a total of 18 - 19 credits as follows:

Part I: Foundation Courses: Any three GPS courses

• GPS 0101 - World Regional Geography
• GPS 0102 - Physical Geography
• GPS 0106 - Envir., Substain. & Society
• GPS 0210 - Cultural Geography

Part II: Methods Courses: Any one GPS Course

• GPS 0243 - Introduction to Remote Sensing
• GPS 0244 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
• GPS 0246 - Quantitative Methods for Social and Physical Science
• GPS 0340 - Data Collection and Analysis
• GPS 0360 - Field Methods

Part III: Environmental Geography: Any one GPS course

• GPS 0107 - Climate Change
• GPS 0230 - Meteorology
• GPS 0236 - Environmental Analysis II
• GPS 0245 - Sustainable Energy
• GPS 0250 - Political Ecology
• GPS 0331 - Severe and Unusual Weather

Part IV: Urban and Social Justice: Any one GPS course

• GPS 0203 - Geography of Hunger and Poverty in the United States
• GPS 0204 - Housing in America
• GPS 0216 - The (Un)Just City
• GPS 0217 - Contemporary Global Issues
• GPS 0218 - Recreation Geography
• GPS 0252 - Cities of the Global South
• GPS 0314 - Transportation Geography

Additional Graduation Requirements

All students must meet the University Graduation Requirements and complete a common core of studies, distributed among the different academic areas as detailed in the Common Core .