Geography Undergraduate Program
The Department offers both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Geography. We also offer concentrations in Geographic Information Systems and Travel & Tourism, and a minor in geography. A Bachelor of General Studies with a concentration in Geography is offered through the College of Continuing Studies.
A Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in geography consists of 36 credit hours plus two years of college work in one foreign language or the equivalent as determined by the Department of Foreign Languages.
Lower division requirements
- GEOG 1000 - Fundamentals of World Regional Geography - 3 credits or
- GEOG 1020 - Introduction to Human Geography - 3 credits,
- GEOG 1060 - Physical Geography: Climate and Waters - 4 credits, and
- GEOG 1070 - Physical Geography: Soils and Landforms - 4 credits,
* If Geography 1030 is taken prior to a major declaration, then Geography 1070 and Geography 3510 must be taken to satisfy the core in physical geography. Geography 3510 in this case then also counts toward upper division physical requirements.
Advanced Writing Course
English 2400 has been approved as the advanced writing course for geography Majors (both B.S. and B.A.)
Upper division requirements: (Courses with an asterisk following the name are offered only on an irregular basis.)
Courses from the following group are required:
Group 1
a. Physical (choose one of the following):
- GEOG 3510 - Meteorology - 3 credits,
- GEOG 4040 - Geoarchaeology* - 3 credits
- GEOG 4100 - Biogeography* - 3 credits
- GEOG 4260 - Process Geomorphology - 3 credits
- GEOG 4320 - Climatology - 3 credits
- GEOG 4330 - Soil Genesis, Morphology and Classification* - 3 credits
- GEOG 4340 - Water Resources* - 3 credits
b. Human (choose two of the following):
- GEOG 3130 - Economic Geography - 3 credits
- GEOG 3440 - Nebraska Resource Management* - 3 credits
- GEOG 3930 - Political Geography - 3 credits
- GEOG 4010 - Conservation of Natural Resources - 3 credits
- GEOG 4120 - Urban Geography - 3 credits
- GEOG 4150 - Geography, Gender, and Work - 3 credits
- GEOG 4160 - The American Urban Landscape* - 3 credits
- GEOG 4550 - Geography of Economic Globalization - 3 credits
- GEOG 4900 - Urbanization in Developing Areas - 3 credits.
Regional (choose one from a and one from b)
a. US (choose two of the following):
- GEOG 3330 - United States and Canada - 3 credits
- GEOG 4230 - Great Plains and Nebraska - 3 credits
- GEOG 4530 - Historical Geography of the United States* - 3 credits.
b. World (choose two of the following):
- GEOG 3000 - Travel Study in Geography - 3 credits (offered in the first summer evening session)
- GEOG 3030 - Geography of Africa* - 3 credits
- GEOG 3050 - Geography in Film - 3 credits (Fall semester)
- GEOG 3060 - Geography of Middle America - 3 credits
- GEOG 3070 - Geography of South America* - 3 credits
- GEOG 3080 - East and Southeast Asia* - 3 credits
- GEOG 3230 - Geography of Europe* - 3 credits
- GEOG 3240 - Russia and the Former Soviet Republics - 3 credits
Techniques
The following two courses are required and offered every semester
- GEOG 3530 - Cartography and GIS - 2 credits
- GEOG 3540 - Cartography and GIS Lab - 2 credits
b. one of the following:
- GEOG 2620 - Aerial Photographic Interpretation* - 3 credits
- GEOG 4020 - Quantitative Methods in Geography* - 3 credits
- GEOG 4030 - Computer Mapping and Data Analysis - 3 credits
- GEOG 4050 - Geographic Information Systems I - 4 credits (offered Fall and Spring)
- GEOG 4610 - Field Methods in Geography and Geology - 3 credits
- GEOG 4630 - Environmental Remote Sensing - 4 credits
- GEOG 4660 - Geographic Information Systems II - 4 credits (offered Spring semester)
- GEOG 4800 - Internship in Environmental / Regional Planning / Earth Science
One additional upper level course (3000- or 4000-level) from the three groups must be selected to complete the major.
Bachelor of Science
Requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in geography are the same as for the B.A. except that in lieu of a foreign language, the following courses are required:
- Computer Science 1500 and College of Information Science and Technology Core Course(CIST) 1400, or other computer course by arrangement with an advisor.
- Mathematics 1530, or Statistics 3000, or other statistics course by arrangement with an advisor,
- English 2400,
- plus 3 additional hours in Mathematics, Computer Science, or Statistics.
Geographic Information Systems Certificate
The Department also offers, in addition to a general geography major, an undergraduate concentration in Geographic Information Processing within the Bachelor of Science Program. In order to receive a certificate for the special concentration, a student must include the following courses as part of or in addition to the 36 hour minimum in geography and 15 hours B.S. requirement:
- Computer Science- 9 credit hours of approved coursework
- Mathematics 1530 (or other approved statistics course)
- Math 1320, 1330
- Geography 3530, 3540 and either 4050 or 4030
Travel & Tourism
The courses in this track examine the world's culture regions and the socio-economics of tourism. Additional courses can be chosen to help the student acquire a sense of place as well as strategies for learning about new locations. Some students might also want to study geographical information systems (GEOG 4050 GIS I) to assess the character of specific tourist destinations.
- Geography 1000 and 1020
- Geography 3000
- Two courses from the following group (Geography 3060, 3130, 3230, 3240, 3330, 4230)
- Geography 3530 and 3540
- Recreation and Leisure Studies 2440 and 2920 or 4000 (when taught as Travel and Tourism)
Minor
A minor in geography requires a minimum of 22-24 credit hours including 1000 or 1020, 1060, 1070, plus an additional four upper level courses under specific faculty advisement.
Bachelor of General Studies, Concentration in Geography
A concentration in Geography is also offered through the College of Continuing Studies which leads to the Bachelor of General Studies.