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College of Social Sciences

Geography

Geography bridges the natural and social sciences and employs a spatial framework for the analysis of society, analogous to the chronological framework of history. Central to geographic inquiry is a concern with the human occupancy of the earth, the character of the human environment, and the interrelationships that link humans and the physical world. In short, geography provides a broad understanding of the world, its peoples, and its problems.

Not surprisingly, the subject matter of geography is diverse. Geographers examine and analyze patterns of rural and urban settlement, resource exploitation, land use, and other cultural phenomena. They are also concerned with such natural features and processes of the earth's surface as the atmosphere and hydrosphere, landforms, and the earth's biota. Using sophisticated techniques of remote sensing, computer cartography, and new geographic information systems, geographers today are leading the way in analysis of many of the problems of our world. The department offers a Bachelor of Arts in Geography, minors in urban studies and geography, as well as certificate of completion in geographic information system.