Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

• GEOG-G 425 Africa: Contemporary Geographic Problems (3 cr.) Note: This course in not being offered at this time.
• GEOG-G 427 Russia and Its Neighbors (3 cr.) Note: This course is not being offered at this time.
• GEOG-G 428 Geography of Europe (3 cr.) Note: This course is not being offered at this time.
• GEOG-G 500 Research Problems in Geography (3 cr.) Examination of current research areas and research problems in geography. Introduction to research design and research methods.
• GEOG-G 501 Research Problems in Geography II (3 cr.) P: G500. Further development of research formulation and design skills. Approaches to geographic research and the preparation of research problem statements and proposals that may lead to thesis or dissertation research. May be repeated for a maxi­mum of 6 credits in second graduate degree.
• GEOG-G 502 Introduction to Transportation Analysis (3 cr.) An examination of classical and contemporary approaches to the analysis of transport systems, spatial interaction, sustainable transport, and related environmental and economic aspects of transport at regional and national scales. Note: This course is not being offered at this time.
• GEOG-G 505 Ecological Climatology (3 cr.) Surveys the relationship between climate and vegetation and explores the consequences of human impacts. Examines the role of climate on vegetation patterns, agricultural crops, and select ecosystems and in turn, the influence of vegetation on climate.
• GEOG-G 506 Sustainable Transportation (3 cr.) P: G502. An examina­tion of non-sustainability in the transport sector. Problems of petroleum depletion, air quality and its impact on human health, carbon dioxide emissions and their impact on global warming, transport accidents and congestion are examined along with planning, policy, and technological solutions to these problems. Note: This course is not being offered at this time.
• GEOG-G 509 Seminar in the History and Philosophy of Geography (3 cr.) P: Consent of instructor. This course examines the history of geography. Particular reference is made to the use of philo­sophical traditions of positivism, structuralism, humanism, and postmodernism within geography and to the major debates about philosophy and methodology in the last two centuries within the discipline. Note: This course is not being offered at this time.
• GEOG-G 511 Sustainable Development Systems (3 cr.) P: G208 or consent of instructor. An examination of the notion of sustain­able development and its meaning and implementation in the areas of resources, agriculture, water, transport, cities, and tourism. Also considers how such systems can be implemented in developed countries.
• GEOG-G 512 Urban Transportation Analysis (3 cr.) P: G312 or G502 or consent of instructor. Aspects of urban transportation planning process. Existing travel patterns, variations in trip generation, spatial interaction and distribution models, assignment of trips to existing networks, and the evaluation of future networks. Note: This course is not being offered at this time.
• GEOG-G 513 Advanced Economic Geography (3 cr.) P: G313 or con­sent of instructor. Advanced economic geographic theory and location decision making. Applications include agricultural, industrial, and commercial location decision making as well as geographic understanding of the wider regional development process. Students will be expected to demonstrate understand­ing of theories and location decision making graphically and mathematically.
• GEOG-G 515 Sustainable Urbanism (3 cr.) P: G314 or consent of instructor. In-depth examination of “green urbanism” and sus­tainable urban development. Sustainable urbanism is viewed as an integral part of, and not distinct from, global environmental sustainability. Lessons from European cities inform the assess­ments of North America’s urban future.
• GEOG-G 517 Development Geography: Critical Perspectives of the Historical and Spatial Rhythms of Capitalism (3 cr.) Why are some places richer than others? Is inequality a necessary part of our economic system? What is the economic and political role of organizations like the World Bank? How are neo-liberalism and globalization related? These and related questions are explored through history, diffusion, and structure of global capitalism. 
• GEOG-G 520 Migration and Mobility (3 cr.) Geographers are turning attention to processes that drive, regulate and accompany various scales of movement, politics of mobility, and the experience and effect of mobility. An understanding of mobility helps investigate processes like globalization, migration, tourism, homelessness, security and transport, international flows and micro-scale bodily movements in nuanced ways.
• GEOG-G 523, Refugees and Asylum Seekers (3 cr.) This course investigates the origins of the refugee crisis, aid to refugees, states attempts to discourage forced migrants from entering, and what life is like for the 70 million displaced people today.
• GEOG-G 532 Physical Climatology (3 cr.) Introduction to the physical basis of the climate system from the global to the local scale, emphasizing the surface energy and water balances. Examples are drawn from forested, agricultural, urban, and aquatic environments, as well as issues related to climate change. Skills used to study and quantify climate processes are developed.
• GEOG-G 535 Environmental Remote Sensing (3 cr.) Principles of remote sensing of the earth and its atmosphere, emphasizing satellite data in visible, infrared, and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Emphasis on practical applications and digital image analysis. A satellite data analysis project is required.
• GEOG-G 536 Advanced Remote Sensing: Digital Image Processing (3 cr.) P: G535 or consent of instructor. Advanced remote sensing theory and digital image processing techniques with an emphasis on environmental science applications. Hands-on computer exercises provide significant experience in digital image processing techniques for extraction of qualitative and quantitative information about Earth’s terrestrial and aquatic environments.
• GEOG-G 538 Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.) Overview of the principles and practices of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Spatial data models, database design, introductory and intermediate GIS, operations and case studies of real-world GIS applications. Laboratory exercises will provide significant hands-on experience. Lecture and laboratory.
• GEOG-G 539 Advanced Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.) P: G538 or consent of instructor. Intermediate and advanced top­ics in geographic information science and spatial analysis tech­niques using GIS software. This advanced course is for students who seek a greater understanding of this rapidly developing field and want to learn how to construct, manage, and analyze their own GIS data and models.
• GEOG-G 540 Topics in Environmental Geography (1-3 cr.) P: G305 or G315 or consent of instructor. Selected topics focus on the human dimensions of environmental change/conservation. Example focus topics: population-environment interactions, transport-environment interactions, and urban-environment interactions. May be repeated four times with a different topic for a maximum of 12 credit hours.
• GEOG-G 544 Climate Change Impacts (3 cr.) Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are causing climate to change at an unprecedented rate. This course will explain how and why anthropogenic activity is causing climate to change, how this impacts society and options for adaptation and mitigation, plus the potential to reduce climate change through geoengineering.
• GEOG-G 548 Capitalism and Nature (3 cr.) How has nature been appropriated, reworked, and produced under capitalism; conversely, how does the materiality of nature shape the conditions of capitalism? Is this seminar, we will investigate how relations between capitalism and nature have evolved from the end of feudalism through the current neoliberal era.
• GEOG-G 549 Political Ecology (3 cr.) P: G315, G320, G341, G343, or consent of instructor. This seminar introduces political ecology, an approach which focuses on the political-economic context of natural resource conflicts with particular attention to issues of equity, justice, and power. This course covers the theoretical lineage of political ecology, its development over the last 20 years, and current hot topics in the field.
• GEOG-G 550 Field Methods in Physical Geography (3 cr.) Use of instrumentation for the measurement, analysis, and interpretation of field data concerning features and processes of the natural environment. Field and laboratory equipment will be used for research projects and environmental monitoring. Practical application of biogeographic, climatological, and hydrological principles.
• GEOG-G 551 Physical Hydrology (3 cr.) Introduction to hydrological processes occurring at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Principles of water resources such as infiltration, runoff, surface and groundwater flow are explored. Topics include environmental, economic, and social implications of floods, droughts, dams, water usage, current and future issues in water quality, water pollution, and water-resource regulation.  
• GEOG-G 552 Tree-Ring Science (3 cr.) Examines the science of dendrochronology. The primary focus will be the applications of the science, as ultimately the information recorded by the trees must be used in our quest to better understand natural and human processes. 
• GEOG-G 553 Water and Society (3 cr.) Do we control water, or does it control us? Introduce geographic perspectives on the interaction of water and society. Takes the holistic view and asks the big questions about how water shapes, and is shaped by, social, political, and cultural dynamics.
• GEOG-G 557 Urban Alternative Agriculture (3 cr.) From connecting with the earth to changing the food system, this course digs into the narratives surrounding community gardens and community orchards. We explore topics like sustainability, food justice, and the pastoral roots of these projects. We will utilize multimedia, speakers from community projects, and most importantly, class discussion.
• GEOG-G 558 Food and Poverty in America (3 cr.) Examines the experience of food insecurity in the U.S., the role of poverty in food production and consumption, and current mitigation strategies and social movements. Students learn the connections between food security, food justice, food sovereignty and gender, race, and ethnicity, along with the concept of food deserts.
• GEOG-G 560 Geography Internship (1-4 cr.) P: Graduate level courses in geography and consent of instructor. Faculty-directed study of geographical problems based on an internship experience. Student’s area of placement must be related to major field of study. Offered fall, spring, and each summer session. Student may complete more than one internship, but total credit earned cannot exceed 4 credit hours.
• GEOG-G 561 Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (3 cr.) P: G208 or consent of instructor. Introduction of global environmental change (GEC), focusing on the human causes and consequences of biophysical transformations of land systems. Emphasis on socioeconomic, political, institutional, and environmental dimensions of land change; tropical forests, grasslands, and urbanizing areas; international environmental regimes; spatial methodologies in GEC research; and integrated approaches.
• GEOG-G 566 Computing in the Geospatial Sciences (3 cr.) A first course in scientific computing that emphasizes practical applications in the geospatial and environmental sciences. Requires high-level programming using MATLAB for visualization, data analysis, and modeling. Teaches problem solving through analysis and interpretation of a wide range of environmental and geographic data.
• GEOG-G 567 Ecohydrology (3 cr.) This course introduces basic principles and concepts in forest ecohydrology, focusing on modeling perspectives. We will examine processes and feedback between water, carbon, and nitrogen fluxes in application to water resources and forest management, and examines control of climate, vegetation change, and disturbance regimes on hydrological and biogeochemical processes.
• GEOG-G 576 Qualitative Methods in Geography (3 cr.) Focuses on and provides practice in the various qualitative methods employed by geographers to solve problems within the geographic landscape. Each methodology is practiced in the field or within the laboratory so the students develop competency using these methods and can then apply them to a research project.
• GEOG-G 577 Topics in Climatology (3 cr.) Selected topics in applied climatology, climate change, climate impacts, climate modeling, field methods, quantitative analysis, or related subjects. May be repeated once for credit with different topic.
• GEOG-G 578 Global Change, Food and Farming Systems (3 cr.) P: G208 or consent of instructor. Introduction to food production and consumption systems, emphasizing linkages to land use and social change on food/farming system sustainability. Topics include: urbanization, population growth, and economic liber­alization; farming livelihoods, gender and poverty; biotechnol­ogy; agro-ecology; global health.
• GEOG-G 581 Terrestrial Ecosystem Modeling (3 cr.) This course introduces students to the major components of terrestrial ecosystem models - the land component of earth system models that are used in climate change projections. Components include biogeochemical, hydrology and energy cycles, as well as processes that impact ecosystems, such as disturbance, land use change and land management.
• GEOG-G 582 Cultural Geography (3 cr.) Familiarizes students with the basic concepts and ideas that underpin the study of cultural geography, including the history of cultural geography, the con­stitution of the cultural landscape, and how landscape fractures across the lines of ethnicity, gender, and age.
• GEOG-G 585 GIS Programming (3 cr.) This course introduces both spatial analysis and Python programming to undergraduate and graduate students, emphasizing hands-on based learning approaches. The ultimate goal of the course is to give students practical experience in programming based approaches in GIS and the ability to independently solve problems in GIS analysis.
• GEOG-G 588 Applied Spatial Statistics (3 cr.) P: Consent of instruc­tor. Extension of traditional statistical analysis to spatial data. Spatial means and spatial variances, the examination of differ­ences in samples over space, spatial autocorrelation, nearest neighbor analysis, map comparison techniques. Emphasis on practical applications.
• GEOG-G 589 Advanced Geospatial Data Analysis in Python (3 cr.) Students use Python to perform advanced geospatial data analyses and data visualization with large spatiotemporal datasets (e.g. modeling, remote sensing or GIS data). Includes an introduction to the Python programming language and the basics of scientific computing.
• GEOG-G 602 Topical Seminar in Climate, Land and Environmental Change (1-3 cr.) Topics will vary to consider aspects of climate, land and environmental change. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits.
• GEOG-G 603 Topical Seminar in Globalization, Development and Justice (3 cr.) Topics will vary to consider aspects of globalization, development and justice. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits.
• GEOG-G 604 Topical Seminar in Food and Agriculture (3 cr.) Topics will vary to consider aspects of food and agriculture. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits.
• GEOG-G 605 Topical Seminar in Water Resources (3 cr.) Topics will vary to consider aspects of water resources. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits.
• GEOG-G 615 Graduate Seminar in Geography (3 cr.) Exploration of different topics in Geography at the Graduate Level, topics vary. This course may be repeated with various topics.
• GEOG-G 639 GIS and Environmental Analysis (3 cr.) Applications of Geographic Information Science principles in the collection, analysis and visualization of spatial data. Integration of GIS, remote sensing, and GPS technologies with web-based GIS applications. Review of current literature on techniques, theory, technology, and applications. Discussion, laboratory, and research project.
• GEOG-G 830 Readings in Geography (arr.-12 cr.) P: Advanced courses in geography or closely related fields. Supervised read­ings on selected topics. Note: This course is eligible for a deferred grade.
• GEOG-G 831 Advanced Research in Geography (1-6 cr.) P: Consent of faculty member. Individual research. S/F grading.
• GEOG-G 840 Research in Geography (arr. cr.) P: Consent of faculty member. This course is eligible for a deferred grade. Individual research.
• GEOG-G 845 Master’s Papers (1-6 cr.) P: Consent of instructor. Re­search papers under supervision of faculty. Note: This course is eligible for a deferred grade.
• GEOG-G 850 Master’s Thesis (arr.-6 cr.) This course is eligible for a deferred grade.
• GEOG-G 860 Ph.D. Thesis (arr. cr.) This course is eligible for a deferred grade.