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 five tracks:
- Geographic Information
- Urban
- Environmental
- Physical Systems
- Globalization, Cultures, and Societies
Geography majors may earn either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. The physical systems track is recommended for Bachelor of Science students. In satisfying their major requirements, all students must complete at least 37 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 GPA. Majors must have a 2.0 GPA in all geography credits attempted at UWM. In addition, students must attain a 2.0 GPA in all major credits attempted, including any transfer work.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Curriculum | ||
| Select one of the following courses in human geography: | 3 | |
GEOG 105 | Introduction to Human Geography | |
GEOG 110 | The World: Peoples and Regions | |
GEOG 114 | Geography of Race in the United States | |
GEOG 115 | Globalization and Economic Development | |
GEOG 140 | Our Urban Environment: Introduction to Urban Geography 1 | |
| Select one of these courses in physical or environmental geography: | 3 | |
GEOG 120 | Our Physical Environment 2 | |
GEOG 125 | Introduction to Environmental Geography | |
| Select one of the following regional or world geography courses: | 3 | |
GEOG 213 | Geography of Asia | |
GEOG 214 | Wisconsin | |
GEOG 216 | Geography of the United States and Canada | |
GEOG 231 | Muslim Geographies: Identities and Politics | |
GEOG 309 | Nationalities and Nations of the World | |
GEOG 330 | Europe: East and West | |
GEOG 400 | Population, Environment, Development | |
GEOG 410 | Gendered Geographies | |
GEOG 421 | Geography of Latin America | |
GEOG 470 | Geography of South Asia | |
GEOG 531 | Insurgent Cities - Global Geographies of Urban Social Movements | |
| 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 | |
GEOG 403 | Remote Sensing: Environmental and Land Use Analysis | |
GEOG 405 | Cartography | |
GEOG 437 | Qualitative Methods in Geography | |
GEOG 525 | Geographic Information Science 3 | |
GEOG 547 | 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: | 3 | |
GEOG 650 | Geography Field Work 4 | |
GEOG 654 | Tropical Field Course: | |
GEOG 489 | Internship in Geography, Upper Division 5 | |
GEOG 497 | Study Abroad: 5 | |
| Major Tracks | ||
| Select a Major Track | 9-15 | |
| Total Credits | 33-40 | |
| 1 | Students in the Urban Track are required to take GEOG 140. |
| 2 | Students in the Physical Systems Track must take GEOG 120; those in the Environmental Track must take GEOG 125. |
| 3 | Students in the Geographic Information Track must take GEOG 525. |
| 4 | Fieldwork is only offered in the June summer session. Check with the department for further details. |
| 5 | Students must obtain PRIOR approval to select either of these two courses. With approval, students can fulfill this requirement by completing a minimum of 90 hours of field research in one of the following courses: GEOG 489 or GEOG 497. |
Major Tracks
Geographic Information Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 625 | Intermediate Geographic Information Science | 4 |
| Select two upper-level techniques courses 1 | 7-8 | |
| GEOG 698 | GIS/Cartography Internship | 3 |
| Total Credits | 14-15 | |
| 1 | In addition to GEOG 525, listed in requirement of the core curriculum, (7-8 cr. beyond core) |
Urban Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
GEOG 430 | Geography of Transportation | |
GEOG 441 | Geography of Cities and Metropolitan Areas | |
GEOG 443 | Cities of the World: Comparative Urban Geography | |
GEOG 540 | Globalization and the City | |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
GEOG 464 | Environmental Problems | |
GEOG 520 | Physical Geography of the City | |
GEOG 564 | Urban Environmental Change and Social Justice | |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Environmental Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select three of the following: | 9 | |
GEOG 350 | Conservation of Natural Resources | |
GEOG 520 | Physical Geography of the City | |
GEOG 464 | Environmental Problems | |
GEOG 564 | Urban Environmental Change and Social Justice | |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Physical Systems Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required | ||
| Select three of the following: | 9 | |
GEOG 310 | General Climatology | |
GEOG 340 | Biogeography | |
GEOG 415 | Hydrogeography | |
GEOG 420 | Methods and Principles in Land Form Geography | |
GEOG 424 | Karst Geomorphology | |
GEOG 450 | Climates of the Past and Climate Change | |
GEOG 475 | Geography of Soils | |
| Electives | ||
| Select 6 credits 1 | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 15 | |
| 1 | Any two upper-division (numbered 300 or above) courses approved for natural science credit that have not been selected to fulfill the above requirements. A maximum of 3 credits from outside Geography may be applied to the major. |
Globalization, Cultures, and Societies Track
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select any three of the following regional, world, or urban geography courses, with at least two at the 400-level or above. 1,2,3 | 9 | |
| Regional: | ||
GEOG 213 | Geography of Asia | |
GEOG 330 | Europe: East and West | |
GEOG 421 | Geography of Latin America | |
GEOG 470 | Geography of South Asia | |
| World: | ||
GEOG 231 | Muslim Geographies: Identities and Politics | |
GEOG 309 | Nationalities and Nations of the World | |
GEOG 400 | Population, Environment, Development | |
GEOG 410 | Gendered Geographies | |
| Urban: | ||
GEOG 430 | Geography of Transportation | |
GEOG 441 | Geography of Cities and Metropolitan Areas | |
GEOG 443 | Cities of the World: Comparative Urban Geography | |
GEOG 520 | Physical Geography of the City | |
GEOG 540 | Globalization and the City | |
GEOG 564 | Urban Environmental Change and Social Justice | |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
| 1 | In addition to the regional or world course taken to satisfy major core requirement above. |
| 2 | If the course taken to meet core requirement is a Regional course, then the course selected to complete track requirement should be a World course, or vice versa, for a total of one Regional course and one World course in the major. |
| 3 | If not selected for core requirement above. |