Department of Geography and Global Studies

Major in Geography

All Geography Majors experience the same general curriculum, described below.

Those students who wish to emphasize a particular area of expertise within the discipline are encouraged to persue a concentration. Concentrations include: Nature/Society, The Biophysical Environment, and Geographic Information Techniques.

Those students who prefer to take a broad curriculum, or wish to design their own major, may follow "no concentration."

The Curriculum

I. CORE COURSES (8 units)
  • Cultural Geography (3 units)
  • Physical Geography (4 units)
  • Map Reading and Interpretation (1 unit)
II. BREADTH COURSES (19-20 units)
  • Geographic Information Techniques (3-4 units)
  • Upper Division Human Geography (4 units)
  • Upper Division Physical Geography (4 units)
  • Regional Synthesis (4 units)
  • Geographic Synthesis (4 units)
III. ELECTIVE COURSES in Geography (14-5 units)
IV. SUPPORTING COURSES outside Geography (8 units)

Unit requirement for all majors:

General Education     51
Geography Courses  42
Supporting Courses   8
General Electives      10
Total                     120

Road Map to the Geography Degree

Students may wish to map out their academic plan as demonstrated in this "Road Map" to Geography