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Minor in Geography
Geographers examine issues such as distribution and consumption of natural resources, air and water quality, climate changes and ecosystem dynamics, growth and development of urban areas, population dynamics, politics and practice of international development, social justice, and gender relations. They view society and the environment as a physical/social/cultural system. They apply uniquely geographical perspectives and tools, as well as knowledge from other social and scientific disciplines, to analyze the emergent properties of these systems.
Current undergraduates wishing to declare a Geography Major or Minor - You may contact the Department of Geography office at 319-335-0151 or stop by 316 Jessup Hall. |
Major Areas of Study
Each student majoring in geography selects one of four programs of study: sustainability, health and society, environmental studies, or geographic information science. The course offerings in these programs include some overlapping of requirements. Transfer students must earn at least 15 s.h. of geography course work in residence at The University of Iowa.
Sustainability Track
The sustainability track is designed for students interested in finding ways for people to live that do not threaten the survival of future generations. It includes training in scientific and social scientific methods and requires students to look at the world on scales ranging from local to global. The sustainability track prepares students to be effective leaders and agents of change for sustainability in varied professions, such as academic researcher and teacher, technology specialist, grassroots advocate, government official, or corporate officer.
The undergraduate program in environmental studies is designed for students interested in the environment from physical and sociocultural perspectives. These students may have career expectations or personal interests in resource management, physical geography, climatology, environmental policy or law, global environmental change, sustainable development, or other complex environmental issues. Career goals may involve one of the environmental professions, such as landscape ecology or climatology; environmental planning and regulation; or environmental law, policy, and politics. The program stresses the interrelationships among social and natural processes that affect the environment.
Training in field observation, remote sensing, geographical information systems, quantitative analysis/computing, and cartographic representation are included in this concentration. The program also provides a sound foundation for graduate or professional-level studies in either the natural or social aspects of the environment.
Geographic Information Science
The undergraduate program in geographic information science is designed for students who are preparing for positions in government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, international development agencies, and business. It also provides preparation for graduate work in geography, planning, and other disciplines. Students in this program develop an understanding of the design, implementation, and use of geographic information systems. Courses address how geographic data are acquired, stored, accessed, displayed, managed, and analyzed.
Geographic information science students learn to address problems such as modeling environmental systems, identifying the best locations for service facilities, assessing environmental impacts, and forecasting the populations of small areas. The Geographic Information Systems Instructional Laboratory (GISIL) is used extensively in courses to enable students to develop their expertise in the use of GIS software.
Core geographic information science courses cover methods of spatial analysis and geographical modeling and include database management and computer programming. Students supplement their work in GIS core courses through 12 s.h. of additional geography course work. Those who choose to focus on GIS for environmental analyses select supplementary geography courses from the department’s environmental studies program, while those whose main interests are in socioeconomic analyses select supplementary course work from the department’s geography and social change program.
Health and Society
The undergraduate program in health and society is designed for students preparing for positions in government, nongovernmental organizations, international development agencies, and business. It also provides preparation for graduate programs in geography or public health, or for professional programs such as law, business, or planning. The program provides an understanding of how disease and health services vary geographically and the causes and consequences of these patterns. Included concepts are the increasing globalization of the modern world; the role of the natural environment in effecting social change in different parts of the world; and the processes through which economic and policy decisions are reached. Courses cover social and economic theories of location and regional formation, hazards, vulnerability and environmental justice, and methods of spatial analysis and geographic modeling.
Students develop requisite skills in quantitative analysis and the development, management, and application of geographic information systems and computer methods. They have opportunities to work on applied problems, such as assessing patterns of disease, identifying the best locations for health facilities, forecasting the populations of small areas, and assessing the social dimensions of environmental impacts. This concentration also gives students interested in international development the opportunity to examine competing theories intended to explain international and regional inequalities, and to investigate and evaluate the patterns and practice of development worldwide.
BA/BS Requirements (Updated Spring 2012)
All geography majors must complete the following courses. NO CLASS MAY BE USED TOWARD MORE THAN ONE REQUIREMENT.
All of these:
044:001 Introduction to Human Geography 3 s.h.OR
044:010 Globalization and Geographic Diversity 3 s.h.
044:003 The Global Environment 3-4 s.h.
044:005 Foundations of GIS 3 s.h.
One of these, in addition to any course required to fulfill a track requirement:
044:010 Globalization and Geographic Diversity 3 s.h.
044:011 Population Geography 3 s.h.
044:019 Contemporary Environmental Issues 3 s.h.
044:030 The Global Economy 3-4 s.h.
044:060 Geography of Asia 3 s.h.
One of these except for students in the GISci track:044:105 Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing 3 s.h.
044:109 Introduction to Geographic Visualization 3 s.h.
044:110 GIS for Environmental Studies: Introduction 3 s.h.
044:112 Mapping American Cities and Regions 3 s.h.044:142 Simulation in Environmental Geography 3 s.h.
044:180 Field Methods in Physical Geography 3 s.h.
044:181 Field Methods: Mapping and Mobile Computing 3 s.h.
One of these:
044:150 Senior Project Seminar 3 s.h. (Offered in Spring Semester only)
044:151 Senior Thesis 3 s.h. (by arrangement with a faculty advisor)044:199 Honors Thesis (by arrangement with a faculty advisor) 3 s.h.
044:197 Special Topics courses may be used to fill any track requirement depending on the specific course. 3 s.h.
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Statistics for the Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts students must complete a minimum of 3 s.h. in statistics by taking one of the following courses or a statistics course equivalent to or numbered above one of these:
07P:143/22S:102 Introduction to Statistical Methods 3 s.h.
22S:008 Statistics for Business 4 s.h.
22S:025/07P:025 Elementary Statistics and Inference 3 s.h.
22S:039 Probability & Statistics for the Engineering & Physical Sciences 3 s.h.
22S:101 Biostatistics 3 s.h.
22S:130 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics I 3 s.h.
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Statistics/Math for Bachelor of Science:
Option 1:
Either these two:
22S:102 Introduction to Statistical Methods 3 s.h.22S:148 Intermediate Statistical Methods 4 s.h.
OR these two
171:161 Introduction to Biostatistics 3 s.h.
171:162 Design and Analysis of Biomedical Studies 3 s.h.
AND one of:
012:178 Applied Geostatistics 3 s.h.
22M:016 Calculus for the Biological Sciences 4 s.h.
22M:017 Calculus and Matrix Algebra for Business 4 s.h.
22M:025 Calculus I 4 s.h.
Option 2:
22M:015-22M:016 Mathematics for the Biological Sciences - Calculus for the Biological Sciences 8 s.h.
22M:025-22M:026 Calculus I-II 8 s.h.
22M:031-22M:032 Engineering Mathematics I: Single Variable Calculus - Engineering Mathematics II: Multivariable Calculus 8 s.h.
AND one of:
07P:143/22S:102 Introduction to Statistical Methods 3 s.h.
22S:101 Biostatistics 3 s.h.
22S:130 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics I 3 s.h.___________________________________________________________
In addition, all geography majors must complete one of the four programs of study described above under Sustainability, Health and Society, Environmental Studies, or Geographic Information Science. Students should pay close attention to prerequisites for the upper-level courses in each sequence so that they can develop and complete their programs in a timely fashion.
A list of all courses available through geography is available here:
Department of Geography Courses
A full description of undergraduate course requirements can be found here:
Department of Geography General Catalog
