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Geography



Geography

J. Matthew Shumway, Chair
690-B SWKT, (801) 422-2707

College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences Advisement Center
151 SWKT, (801) 422-3541


Admission to Degree Program

All degree programs in the Department of Geography are open enrollment. However, special limitations apply for teaching majors.


The Discipline

Geography offers a variety of programs centered around spatial analysis and tailored, so far as possible, to meet the future needs of individual students. Our modern computer laboratory allows students to gain practical experience with geographical information systems (GIS), remote sensing, cartography, and other programs in planning, urban, travel, and population studies.


Career Opportunities

Graduates are employed in a wide range of both private and governmental positions. Job titles include geographer; teacher of geography; city or regional planner; cartographer; photo interpreter; commodities and industrial location analyst; intelligence, travel industry, or environmental and GIS specialist; and many others.

Skills in spatial analysis make geography a valuable minor or supporting field for many other disciplines.


Graduation Requirements

To receive a BYU bachelor’s degree a student must complete, in addition to all requirements for a specific major, the following university requirements:

  • The university core, consisting of requirements in general and religious education. (See the University Core section of this catalog for details. For a complete listing of courses that meet university core requirements, see the current class schedule.)
  • A minimum of 30 credit hours in residence
  • A minimum of 120 credit hours
  • A cumulative GPA of at least 2.0


Undergraduate Programs and Degrees
BS Geographic Information Systems
BS Geography
    Emphases:
      Global Studies
Physical Environment Studies
Travel and Tourism Studies
BS Geography Teaching
BS Urban, Rural, and Environmental Planning
Minors Geographic Information Systems
Geography
Geography Teaching
Travel and Tourism Studies

Students should see their college advisement center for help or information concerning the undergraduate programs.


Graduate Programs and Degrees

MS    Geography

For more information, see the BYU 2005-2006 Graduate Catalog.


General Information
1.
  
The Department of Geography has three majors, each with four main components: core or foundation courses, skill courses, specialization courses, and a capstone experience. Core courses emphasize core geographic concepts and ways of creating knowledge that are common to all of the majors, courses designed to help build frameworks for understanding the world. Students are required to take two courses from each of the four core areas of geographic knowledge (physical, regional, human, and mapping). Required core courses:
Geog 100, 101, 120, 130, 211; 222 or 223.
Stat 221.

2.
  
Prerequisite: all students admitted to one of the geography majors listed above must complete the following courses within one year of declaring a major:
Geog 100, 101, 120, 130, 211.

3.
  
Capstone experience: The capstone experience integrates material learned in each emphasis. Students will participate in 400/500-level courses or seminars that emphasize individual (or collaborative) research and creative thinking. These studies emphasize active learning, reflective analysis by the student on the continuity and complementary nature of geographic knowledge beyond the classroom, and the development of the student’s identity as a geographer. Senior seminars, internships, service learning courses, and mentored-learning environments may be included.

 
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