Undergraduate Geography Curriculum Overview
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Are you interested in an exciting education that integrates the study of human activity and the natural environment? Do you want to change the world? If so, Geography may be for you!
There are many opportunities for field trips and other forms of hands-on learning including internships and participating in faculty research. Our curriculum spans perspectives from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities while providing rigorous training in important skills.
In addition to a standard degree in Geography, the department offers transcripted concentrations in Geographic Information and Data Sciences, Human Geography, and Environmental and Earth Sciences.
The Department of Geography offers courses in:
- Environmental and Earth Sciences which explores topics of climatology, geomorphology, biogeography, arctic and alpine systems, hydrology, ecology, and global change.
- Geographic Information and Data Sciences which includes topics such as Geographic Information Science (GIS), cartography, remote sensing, drones, and computer programming.
- Human and Social Geography which includes topics like population, economics, public health, politics and culture, urban housing and development, GEO-justice, and regional geography.
The Department also offers regionally focused courses on mountain geography and geographies of China, Latin America, Africa, and South Asia.Ìý To complement its curriculum, the Department also offers internship opportunities and encourages study abroad for geography majors.
Students must complete at least 37 and no more than 45 credit hours in Geography with grades of C- or better (23 hours must be upper division). No pass/fail grades are allowed in the major. Transfer students majoring in Geography must complete at least 12 hours of upper-division Geography courses at CU-Boulder. No course may be used to fulfill more than one requirement for the major.
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate knowledge of geographic theories and concepts in the discipline, and a thorough understanding of interactions between human and environmental processes, through a geographical lens.
- Demonstrate the ability to perform critical inquiry in the discipline, including acquiring, analyzing, and interpreting geographical data to be used in statistical analyses, creating basic maps, and performing geospatial analyses.
- Demonstrate information literacy in relevant geographic scholarship.
- Effectively communicate about geographical issues through scholarly writing, presentations, and visualizations.
- Demonstrate critical thinking skills and logical approaches to problem solving within interdisciplinary settings.
- Demonstrate the ability to address real-world problems by applying advanced analytical techniques ranging from qualitative, to quantitative, to spatial and field survey methodologies.
Bachelor of Science (BS)
The Bachelor of Science in Geography is a degree program that focuses on the interdisciplinary study of the spatial and temporal distribution and interrelationships of people, natural resources, and plant and animal life.
The curriculum offers two tracks, Geographic Information Science and Physical Geography; it also includes offerings in historical and political geography, cultural geography, environmental geography, economic geography, regional science and urban geography.
Applications of the skills and methods learned in the BS in Geography degree program encompass a wide variety of areas such as land-use planning, conservation, modeling, development studies, and studies of various countries, regions and resources.
The Department of Geography offers courses in:
- Environmental and Earth Sciences which explores topics of climatology, geomorphology, biogeography, arctic and alpine systems, hydrology, ecology, and global change.
- Geographic Information and Data Sciences which includes topics such as Geographic Information Science (GIS), cartography, remote sensing, drones, and computer programming.
- Human and Social Geography which includes topics like population, economics, public health, politics and culture, urban housing and development, GEO-justice, and regional geography.
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate knowledge of geographic theories and concepts in the discipline and a thorough understanding of interactions between human and environmental processes, through a geographical lens.
- Perform critical inquiry in the discipline, including acquiring, analyzing and interpreting geographical data to be used in statistical analyses, to create basic maps and perform geospatial analyses.
- Demonstrate information literacy in relevant geographic scholarship.
- Effectively communicate about geographical issues through scholarly writing, presentations and visualizations.
- Demonstrate critical thinking skills and logical approaches to problem solving within interdisciplinary settings.
- Address real-world problems by applying advanced analytical techniques ranging from qualitative, to quantitative, to spatial and field survey methodologies.
GeographyÌýMinor
Overview
Declaration of a minor is open to any student enrolled at ̽»¨ÊÓƵ, regardless of college or school affiliation.
- A minimum of 18 credit hours must be taken in the Department of Geography, including a minimum of 9 upper-division credit hours.
- All coursework applied to the minor must be completed with a grade of C- or better. No pass/fail work may be applied. The GPA of all minor coursework must equal 2.00 (C) or greater.
- Student pursuing an individually structured major, or who are pursuing a major in distributed studies, will not be eligible to earn a minor.
- Students will be allowed to apply no more than 9 credit hours (including 6 upper-division) of transfer work toward a minor.
- Coursework applied toward a minor may also be applied toward Gen Ed as well as the requirements for other majors.
Certificates
The department offers the following undergraduate certificates: