Undergraduate
Bachelor's Degree Programs
Geography
Major in Geography
Geography, like history, is a way of looking at the world. Whereas historians study variation through time, geographers study variation through space: how and why the earth’s natural and human features vary from place to place. Underlying this spatial approach are such recurring themes as spatial diffusion of people, goods, and ideas; the significance of relative location in human interaction; the power of place in human consciousness; and the interaction of physical and human processes to create characteristic landscapes. Geographers work at the intersection of social and natural sciences, using the concepts and methods of both to examine human-environmental relationships in their full complexity. This integrative approach is a hallmark of geography and one of its main attractions. Geographers can be found in a great variety of positions often not specifically identified as geographic: environmental management, urban planning, conservation, recreation and tourism, transportation planning, international affairs, and many others.
Students completing the Geography B.A. program will achieve the following:
- Describe the subject's disciplinary scope and central questions
- Apply geographic theories and concepts
- Engage in geo-spatial inquiry
- Create maps and graphics appropriate to audience, purpose, context
- Critically analyze the source and content of geo-spatial data
- Demonstrate ability to collect, process, and investigate geo-spatial data sets
- Apply principles of ethical collection and handling to geo-spatial data
- Use geographic knowledge to appreciate the diversity of people and places, ranging from local to global
- Contribute to local and regional geographic knowledge base
- Apply skills and knowledge needed to collaborate with others
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography provides a general introduction to the philosophy, content, and methods of the discipline. The Department of Geography is also developing an applied emphasis in environmental analysis, including courses in field methods, remote sensing, cartography, and geographic information systems. Students can thus select a broad academic program or emphasize acquisition of job-related skills.
The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Geography (GEOG) requires satisfactory completion of the following:
- A minimum of 120 credit hours is required for a B.A degree from the IU School of Liberal Arts.
- A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (C) is required for graduation.
- A minimum of 30 credit hours must be completed after formal admission to IU Indianapolis.
- A minimum of 21 credit hours of major coursework must be completed in residence in the IU School of Liberal Arts at IU Indianapolis. Course work completed on an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program counts as residential credit.
- A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in each major course.
- Once a course has been applied toward one requirement, it cannot be used to satisfy a second requirement, except where explicitly stated otherwise. In addition, except in cases of variable title courses, internships, and other special courses, no course will be counted more than once toward graduation.
IU Indianapolis General Education Core
A list of accepted courses in the IU Indianapolis General Education Core can be found here.
Core Communication (6 credits)
- ENG-W 131: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I (3 credits) or ENG-W 140: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry: Honors (3 credits) completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) sections of ENG-G 131 have been designated for students whose first language is not English.
- COMM-R 110: Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 credits)
Analytical Reasoning (6 credits)
- College math from List A (3 credits)
- List A or List B (3 credits)
Cultural Understanding (3 credits)
- A world language course is recommended
Life and Physical Sciences (6 credits)
- A laboratory science component is required
Arts/Humanities and Social Sciences (9 credits)
- Arts & Humanities (3 credits)
- Social Science (3 credits)
- Additional Arts & Humanities or Social Science (3 credits)
Transfer students entering IU Indianapolis from another public university in Indiana who have completed the transferable general education core at their home campus will not need to complete the IU Indianapolis General Education Core.
Liberal Arts Baccalaureate Competencies
First-Year Experience (1-3 credits)
- SLA-S 100: First Year Success Seminar
- Other: First Year Seminar from another school at IU Indianapolis
Transfer students with 18 or more credit hours are not required to take this course.
Writing Proficiency (3 credits), completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher, chosen from the following:
- ENG-W 230: Writing in the Sciences
- ENG-W 231: Professional Writing Skills
- ENG-W 270: Argumentative Writing
Transfer students may satisfy the writing proficiency by completing course work equivalent to ENG-W 231, ENG-W 230, ENG-W 270, or GEWR-UN 200 with a grade of C (2.0) or higher at another campus or institution.
Transfer students with 80 or more transfer credits may petition for exemption from the Writing Proficiency requirement. Petition available in the Miriam Z. Langsam Office of Student Affairs, Cavanaugh Hall room 401.
Analytical Proficiency (3 credits), chosen from the following:
- ECON-E 270: Introduction to Statistical Theory in Economics and Business
- PHIL-P 208: Causality and Evidence
- PHIL-P 262: Practical Logic
- PHIL-P 265: Introduction to Symbolic Logic
- POLS-Y 205: Analyzing Politics
- SOC-R 359: Introduction to Sociological Stats
Analytical Proficiency is in addition to the Analytical Reasoning area in the IU Indianapolis General Education Core. Analytical Proficiency courses may be shared with major requirements if applicable.
Life and Physical Sciences Laboratory
One laboratory science course is required, but may be part of the coursework taken in the IU Indianapolis General Education Core.
Arts and Humanities (3 credits) - Courses in one’s first major field of study cannot be used to fulfill this requirement
100 or 200 level course chosen from the following disciplines
- Africana Studies (AFRO)
- American Studies (AMST)
- American Sign Language (ASL) excluding World Languages courses
- Classics (CLAS) excluding World Languages courses
- Communication Studies (COMM-R, excluding COMM-R 110, and COMM-T only)
- East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) excluding World Language courses
- English-Creative Writing or Writing and Literacy (ENG-W), excluding courses in the Writing Proficiency area.
- English Literature (ENG-L)
- Film Studies (FILM)
- Folklore (FOLK) excluding FOLK-F 101
- German (GER) excluding World Language courses
- History (HIST) excluding HIST-H 105, HIST-H 106, HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, HIST-H 114
- Latino Studies (LATS)
- Medical Humanities and Health Studies (MHHS)
- Museum Studies (MSTD)
- Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS)
- Philosophy (PHIL)
- Religious Studies (REL)
- Spanish (SPAN) excluding World Language courses
- Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) excluding WGSS-W 105
- World Languages and Cultures (WLAC)
Social Sciences (3 credits) - Courses in one’s first major field of study cannot be used to fulfill this requirement
100 or 200 level course chosen from the following disciplines
- Africana Studies (AFRO)
- Anthropology (ANTH)
- Communication Studies (COMM-C and COMM-M only)
- Economics (ECON)
- English-Linguistics (ENG-Z)
- Folklore (FOLK)
- Global and International Studies (INTL)
- History (HIST) only HIST-H 105, HIST-H 106, HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, HIST-H 114
- Journalism and Public Relations (JOUR)
- Latino Studies (LATS)
- Medical Humanities and Health Studies (MHHS) excluding MHHS-M 201
- Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS)
- Political Science (POLS)
- Psychology (PSY)
- Sociology (SOC)
- Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS)
World Language and Perspectives (0-14 credits) - This requirement may be satisfied in one of the following ways:
- Completion of second-year proficiency in a single world language.
- Second-year proficiency is demonstrated by:
- passing the full second-year sequence of courses in a single language or
- completing a third or fourth-year course1
- Second-year proficiency is demonstrated by:
- Completion of third-semester proficiency in a single world language and one course in History selected from HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, or HIST-H 114.
- Completion of first-year proficiency in a single world language; one history course selected from HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, or HIST-H 114; and one course selected from the Global History and Perspectives list:
- ANTH-A 104: Intro to Cultural Anthropology
- CLAS-C 213: Sport and Competition in the Ancient World
- EALC-E 232: China Past and Present: Culture in Continuing Evolution
- ENG-L 245: (The Empire Writes Back) Intro to Caribbean Literature
- HIST-H 108: Perspectives on the World to 1800
- HIST-H 109: Perspectives on the World since 1800
- HIST-H 113: History of Western Civilization I
- HIST-H 114: History of Western Civilization II
- INTL-I 100: Intro to International Studies
- LATS-L 228: An Interdisciplinary Look at U.S. Latino/a Identities
- POLS-Y 217: Introduction to Comparative Politics
- POLS-Y 219: Introduction to International Relations
- REL-R 212: Comparative Religions
- Non-English native speaker with approved waiver.
Courses in World Language and Perspectives may also satisfy General Education Core Cultural Understanding.
1 Students interested in receiving credit for lower-division language courses, see the section ‘‘Special Credit for Foreign Language Study.’’
Advanced Courses
Students are required to have 42 credit hours in 300-400 level coursework including courses in their major. Of the 42 advanced credits, 9 credit hours must be 300-400 level coursework outside the first Liberal Arts major field of study and from the School of Liberal Arts. Students seeking dual degrees are exempt from completing 9 credits hours in 300-400 level coursework outside their major and from the School of Liberal Arts.
Major Requirements (31 credits)
Intro courses at 100/200 level (12 credits):
- GEOG-G 107: Physical Systems of the Environment (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 108: Physical Systems of the Environment: Laboratory (2 cr.)
- GEOG-G 110: Human Geography in Changing World (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 111: Hurricanes (1 cr.)
- GEOG-G 112: Thunderstorms and Tornadoes (1 cr.)
- GEOG-G 114: The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming (1 cr.)
- GEOG-G 123: Soil Survey (1 cr.)
- GEOG-G 130: World Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 208: Environment and Society (3 cr.)
Advanced courses at 300/400 level (15 credits):
- GEOG-G 302: Introduction to Transportation Analysis (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 303: Weather and Climate (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 309: Frontiers in Geographic Thought (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 310: Human Impact on Environment (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 311: Intro to Research Methods in Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 314: Urban Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 315: Environmental Conservation (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 321: Geography of Europe (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 323: Geography of Latin America (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 324: Geography of the Caribbean (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 326: Geography of North America (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 327: Geography of Indiana (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 328: Rural Landscapes of North America (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 330: North American House Types (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 331: Economic Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 334: Field Geography of North America (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 336: Introduction to Remote Sensing (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 337: Computer Cartography and Graphics (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 338: Intro to Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 355: Political Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 363: Landscapes and Cultures of the Caribbean (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 390: Topics in Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 404: Soils Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 410: Medical Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 418: Historical Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 421: Environments of Tropical Lands (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 424: Geography of Africa (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 436: Advanced Remote Sensing (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 438: Advanced Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 465: Field Methods in Physical Geography (3 cr.)
- GEOG-G 488: Applied Spatial Statistics (3 cr.)
Capstone Course (3 credits)
- GEOG-G 439: Seminar in Geographic Information Science (3 cr.)
Open electives
Candidates for a degree in the IU School of Liberal Arts must complete the IU Indianapolis General Education Core requirements, the baccalaureate competencies, and the requirements of their major department. Usually, students will still need to complete additional hours in order to reach the graduation requirement of 120 credit hours. These remaining credit hours are known as open electives.
Dual Degree Advantage
The Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies are waived for IU Indianapolis undergraduate students whose first major is outside the School of Liberal Arts and whose second major is a Bachelor of Arts degree from the IU School of Liberal Arts at IU Indianapolis. Students are only required to complete the courses in their major of choice in Liberal Arts. The IU Indianapolis General Education Core or the Indiana transferable general education core must be successfully completed. Students must complete the degree outside Liberal Arts in order to have the Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies waived for degree completion. The Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies are only waived for students who actively pursue and complete another degree program outside of Liberal Arts. Both degrees must be completed at the same time.
The Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science (BSES) is an interdisciplinary degree within the School of Science that is offered in partnership with the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the School of Liberal Arts. The Department of Geography is engaged with the BSES program through the Environmental Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis concentration. Spatial information technologies provide important tools for measurement, analysis, and modeling of environmental systems. The Environmental Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis concentration within the BSES builds theoretical background and advanced knowledge in spatial analytical techniques using remote sensing (satellite and airborne sensors), geographic information systems (GIS), and global positioning system (GPS) technologies. The concentration emphasizes integration of these technologies and their applications to problems of environmental modeling and analysis. For more information about the BSES degree, click here.
