The curriculum below is effective beginning in Fall 2023. If you declared your Geography major before Fall 2023, you may change to the new requirements by declaring the Geography major again on this page. If you need advice on which set of requirements will work best for you, please consult with the Geography Undergraduate Chair or the Geography Undergraduate Advising Assistant.
Geography Major Requirements
Students must meet with the department's undergraduate advisor to declare geography as a major. All majors must complete the 24- or 25-credit core curriculum and the additional requirements as defined in one of the three tracks:
- Geographic Information
- Climate-Environment
- Human Geography
Geography majors may earn either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. In satisfying their major requirements, all students must complete at least 33 credits in geography, 18 of which must be at or above the 300 level, with at least 15 of those taken in residence at UWM. Courses taken outside geography that fulfill geography requirements will be included in the major GPA. Majors must have a 2.0 GPA in all geography credits attempted at UWM, as well as in any transfer work counting toward the Geography major.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Curriculum | ||
| Select one of the following courses in human geography: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Human Geography | ||
| The World: Peoples and Regions | ||
| Geography of Race in the United States | ||
| Globalization and Economic Development | ||
| Our Urban Environment: Introduction to Urban Geography | ||
| Select one of these courses in physical or environmental geography: | 3 | |
| Our Physical Environment | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Geography | ||
| Select one of the following regional or world geography courses: | 3 | |
| Geography of Asia | ||
| Nationalities and Nations of the World | ||
| Europe: East and West | ||
| Gendered Geographies | ||
| The following two courses are required for all tracks: | ||
| GEOG 215 | Introduction to Geographic Information Science | 3 |
| GEOG 247 | Quantitative Analysis in Geography | 3 |
| Select one of the following techniques courses: | 3-4 | |
| Remote Sensing: Environmental and Land Use Analysis | ||
| Cartography | ||
| Qualitative Methods in Geography | ||
| Geographic Information Science 1 | ||
| Spatial Analysis | ||
| The following course is required for all tracks: | ||
| GEOG 600 | Perspectives on Geography (satisfies L&S research requirement) | 3 |
| Select one of the following upper-level experiential learning courses: | 3 | |
| Geography Field Work | ||
| GIS/Cartography Internship 2,3 | ||
| Independent Work 2 | ||
| Internship in Geography, Upper Division 2 | ||
| Study Abroad: 2 | ||
| Major Tracks | ||
| Select a Major Track | 9-15 | |
| Total Credits | 33-40 | |
- 1
Students in the Geographic Information Track must take GEOG 525.
- 2
Students must obtain faculty approval to select one of these courses: GEOG 489, GEOG 497,GEOG 698, or GEOG 699.
- 3
Students in the Geographic Information Track must take GEOG 698.
Major Tracks
Geographic Information Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 625 | Intermediate Geographic Information Science | 4 |
| Select two additional upper-level techniques courses from these: 1 | 7-8 | |
| Remote Sensing: Environmental and Land Use Analysis | ||
| Cartography | ||
| Qualitative Methods in Geography | ||
| Spatial Analysis | ||
| GEOG 698 | GIS/Cartography Internship | 3 |
| Total Credits | 14-15 | |
- 1
You will already have taken GEOG 525 as listed in the core curriculum and as a prerequisite to GEOG 625.
Climate-Environment Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select three of the following: | 9 | |
| Human Impact on the Environment | ||
| Natural Hazards 1 | ||
| General Climatology 1 | ||
| Biogeography 1 | ||
| Conservation of Natural Resources | ||
| Hydrogeography 1 | ||
| Climates of the Past and Climate Change 1 | ||
| Environmental Problems | ||
| Watershed Analysis and Modeling 1 | ||
| Physical Geography of the City 1 | ||
| Urban Environmental Change and Social Justice | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
- 1
These courses are approved to satisfy the L&S Advanced Natural Sciences requirement for the B.S. Students pursuing the B.S. option will need to complete at least 15 credits in upper-division courses (numbered 300 or above) in Geography, and 30 of their 36 credits in upper-division L&S courses must be in approved L&S Advanced Natural Science courses.
Human Geography Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select four from the following: 1 | ||
| Systematic Geography Focus (at least TWO courses) | 6 | |
| Nationalities and Nations of the World | ||
| Gendered Geographies | ||
| Geography of Cities and Metropolitan Areas | ||
| Cities of the World: Comparative Urban Geography | ||
| Globalization and the City | ||
| Urban Environmental Change and Social Justice | ||
| Regional Geography Focus (at least TWO courses) | 6 | |
| Geography of Asia | ||
| Europe: East and West | ||
| Total Credits | 12 | |
- 1
In addition to the world or regional course taken as part of the core curriculum.