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Geography, B.S.

Requirements

Geography is the study of the earth’s places, peoples, environments and their interrelationships from both the physical and social science perspectives. Geographers use many different scientific tools to study the relationships between earth’s systems including geospatial technology and are employed in public agencies, local governments, federal offices, technology sectors, business planning, and careers related to spatial planning. The Bachelor of Science in Geography provides students with a program of study in the fundamentals of geography and prepares them to succeed as geographers as well as in many other careers related to geography. Students learn theories and methods of analysis related to land use and land cover change, urbanization, sustainability, human-environment interactions, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology through the core courses of the program. Through elective courses, students can choose to further focus their studies on physical sciences, social sciences, and/or geospatial techniques to meet their career goals.  

Total Program Credits: 120

General Education Requirements: 36 Credits
  ENGL 1010 Introduction to Academic Writing CC 3
or ENGH 1005 Literacies and Composition Across Context CC (5)  
  ENGL 2010 Intermediate Academic Writing CC 3
  MATH 1050 College Algebra QL 4
 or MATH 1055 College Algebra with Preliminaries QL (5)  
Complete the following: 3
  HIST 2700 US History to 1877 AS (3)
and HIST 2710 US History since 1877 AS (3)
  HIST 1700 American Civilization AS (3)
  HIST 1740 US Economic History AS (3)
  POLS 1000 American Heritage SS (3)
  POLS 1100 American National Government AS (3)
Complete the following:
  PHIL 2050 Ethics and Values IH 3
  HLTH 1100 Personal Health and Wellness TE 2
or EXSC 1097 Fitness for Life TE (2)
Distribution Courses
  METO 1010 Introduction to Meteorology PP 3
or METO 1060 Fundamentals of Weather Forecasting PP  
or ENVT 1110 Introduction to Environmental Management PP  
or GEOG 1800 Mapping the World with Geospatial Technology PP  
or GEO 1010 Introduction to Geology PP  
or GEO 1030 Natural Disasters and the Environment PP  
or GEO 1040 The Dinosaurian World PP  
or GEO 1050 Geology of National Parks PP  
  GEOG 1000 Introduction to Physical Geography PP 3
  GEOG 130G Survey of World Geography GI SS 3
  Biology Distribution 3
  Humanities Distribution 3
  Fine Arts Distribution 3
Discipline Core Requirements: 84 Credits
  GEOG 140G Introduction to Human Geography  SS GI 3
  GEOG 2000 Sustainability and Environment SS 3
  GEOG 3110 Urban Geography WE 3
  GEOG 3200 Geography of Utah 3
  GEOG 3500 Geomorphology WE 4
  GEOG 3600 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems 4
  GEOG 3650 Advanced Geographic Information Systems 4
  GEO 480R Earth Science Seminar (taken twice) 1
  STAT 2040 Principles of Statistics QL 4
Select 12 credits from the following physical and life science courses1, 2  12
  GEOG 1005 Introduction to Physical Geography Lab (1)  
  GEO 1015 Introduction to Geology Laboratory (1)  
  GEOG 1800 Mapping the World with Geospatial Technology PP  
  GEOG 3300 Biogeography (4)  
  GEOG 3400 Environmental Remote Sensing  (3)  
  GEOG 3700 Wetland Studies  (3)  
 and GEOG 3705 Wetland Studies Laboratory (1)  
  BIOL 3700 General Ecology (3)  
  ENVT 2730 Introduction to Soils (4)  
  ENVT 3790 Applied Hydrology WE (4)  
  ENVT 3800 Energy Use on Earth (3)  
  GEO 1010 Introduction to Geology PP (3)  
or GEO 1030 Natural Disasters and the Environment PP  
or GEO 1040 The Dinosaurian World PP  
or GEO 1050 Geology of National Parks PP  
  GEO 3200 Geologic Hazards  (3)  
  GEO 3080 Earth Materials WE (3)  
 and GEO 3085 Earth Materials Laboratory (1)  
  GEO 4790 Hydrogeology  
  GEOG 4100 Geospatial Field Methods (3)  
  METO 3100 Climate and the Earth System (3)  
Select 12 credits from the following social science classes1 12
  GEOG 2100 Geography of the United States SS (3)  
  GEOG 2500 Geography of Latin America and the Caribbean (3)  
  GEOG 3010 Economic Geography (3)  
  GEOG 3250 Cultural Geography (3)  
  GEOG 3430 Political Geography (3)  
  GEOG 3350 Geography of Africa (3)  
  GEOG 3800 Environmental History of the United States (3)  
  SOC 3520 Environmental Sociology (3)  
or ENST 3520 Environmental Sociology (3)  
  SOC 4020 Survey Research Design (3)  
 or ANTH 3850 Ethnographic Methods WE (3)  
  ENST 3000 Introduction to Environmental Studies (3)  
  ENVT 3770 Natural Resources Management  (3)  
  ENVT 3750 Land Use Planning  (3)  
  ENVT 3850 Environmental Policy WE (3)  
Elective Requirements: 31 Credits
Choose any classes from the following list or any classes from the following prefixes: GEOG, GEO, ENVT, ENST, AIST, ANTH, SOC, BIOL, CHEM, PHYS, NSS, HIST, GIS, MATH, STAT, CS.  
  GEOG 482R GIS Internship  (1-3)  
  GEOG 489R Student Research in Geography (1-4)  
  AIST 327G Indians of Utah GI (3)  
  HIST 384G American Indian History since 1890 GI (3)  
  ANTH 3150 Culture Ecology and Health (3)  
  ANTH 3300 Culture Development and International Aid (3)  
  ANTH 3660 Globalized Society (3)  
  BIOL 2500 Environmental Biology BB (3)  
  CHEM 1210 Principles of Chemistry I PP (4)  
  CHEM 1215 Principles of Chemistry I Laboratory (1)  
  CHEM 1220 Principles of Chemistry II PP (4)  
  CHEM 1225 Principles of Chemistry II Laboratory (1)  
  STAT 2060 Introduction to Statistical Computing (1)  
  STAT 3040 Probability and Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences (3)  
  ENGL 373R Literature of Cultures and Places (3)  
  ENVT 1110 Introduction to Environmental Management PP (3)  
  ENVT 2560 Environmental Health (3)  
  ENVT 3600 Appropriate Technology and Sustainable Development for the Developing World (3)  
  GEO 1220 Historical Geology (3)  
  GEO 3100 Isotope Geochemistry (3)  
  GEO 3000 Environmental Geochemistry (3)  
  GEO 3700 Structure and Tectonics (4)  
  GEO 4500 Sedimentary Geology WE (4)  
  MATH 1060 Trigonometry QL (3)  
  MATH 1210 Calculus I QL (5)  
  PHIL 3530 Environmental Ethics (3)  
  PHYS 2010 College Physics I PP (4)  
  or PHYS 2210 Physics for Scientists and Engineers I PP (4)  
  PHYS 2020 College Physics II PP (4)  
 or PHYS 2220 Physics for Scientists and Engineers II PP (4)  
  SOC 3030 Social Research Methods WE (3)  
  SOC 2370 Sociology of Gender (3)  
  SOC 3690 Internet and Society (3)  
  SOC 3850 Rural Life--Global and Local (3)  
  STAT 2050 Introduction to Statistical Methods (4)  

Graduation Requirements:

  1. Completion of a minimum of 120 semester credits, including 40 hours of upper-division credit.
  2. Overall grade point average of 2.0 (C) or above.
  3. Grade of C- or better in every ENVT, GEO, GEOG, METO, and core curriculum course.
  4. Residency hours--minimum of 30 credit hours through course attendance at UVU, with at least 10 hours earned in the last 45 hours.
  5. Successful completion of at least one Global/Intercultural course.
  6. Succesful completion of at least two Writing Enriched (WE) courses.
Footnote

1You need at least 40 hours of upper division credit to graduate. Work with your advisor to make sure you are meeting the 40 credits of upper division requirement.

Courses used for GE distribution credits cannot double count as  core or elective classes.

Graduation Plan

This graduation plan is a sample plan and is intended to be a guide. Your specific plan may differ based on your Math and English placement and/or transfer credits applied. You are encouraged to meet with an advisor and set up an individualized graduation plan in Wolverine Track.

Semester 1 Course Title Credit Hours
Distribution Class (e.g. METO 1010) 3
GEOG 1000  Introduction to Physical Geography PP 3
MATH 1050 College Algebra QL 4
ENGL 1010 Introduction to Academic Writing CC 3
American Institutions 3
  Semester total: 16
Semester 2 Course Title Credit Hours
GEOG 130G Survey of World Geography GI SS 3
ENGL 2010 Intermediate Academic Writing CC 3
HLTH 1100 or EXSC 1097 Personal Health and Wellness TE or Fitness for Life TE 2
METO 1010 Introduction to Meteorology PP 3
PHIL 2050 or 205G Ethics and Values IH GI 3
  Semester total: 14
Semester 3 Course Title Credit Hours
GEOG 3600 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems 4
STAT 2040 Principles of Statistics QL 4
GEOG 3200 or GEOG 140G Geography of Utah or Introduction to Human Geography SS GI 3
GEOG 2000 Sustainability and Environment SS 3
  Semester total: 14
Semester 4 Course Title Credit Hours
Humanities Distribution 3
Biology 3
Core Elective 3
GEOG 3650 Advanced Geographic Information Systems 4
Fine Arts Distribution 3
  Semester total: 16
Semester 5 Course Title Credit Hours
GEO 480R Earth Science Seminar 0.5
GEOG 3110 Urban Geography WE 3
Core Elective 3
Core Elective 3
Core Elective 3
Core Elective 3
  Semester total: 15.5
Semester 6 Course Title Credit Hours
GEOG 3500 Geomorphology WE 4
Core Elective 4
Core Elective 4
Core Elective 3
  Semester total: 15
Semester 7 Course Title Credit Hours
GEO 480R Earth Science Seminar 0.5
Core Elective 4
Core Elective 4
Core Elective 4
Core Elective 3
  Semester total: 15.5
Semester 8 Course Title Credit Hours
Core Elective 3
Core Elective 3
Core Elective 4
Core Elective 4
  Semester total: 14
  Degree total: 120

 

Department

Earth Science

The Earth Science department is in the College of Science. To find the most up-to-date information, including Program Learning Outcomes for degree programs offered by the Earth Science department, visit their website.

Earth Science

Program Details

Program Learning Outcomes
  1. Technical Knowledge: Prior to graduation, our students will develop the necessary technical knowledge in Earth system science, geology, environmental science and management, geoscience education and geography, as well as underlying foundational and interdisciplinary sciences including physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics to succeed in professional careers related to their degree programs or in associated graduate programs.
  2. Skill in oral and written communication:Our students will demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills that will enable them to succeed at presenting and publishing scientific data and reports. This includes orally presenting the results of research to technical and non-technical audiences and write technical and non-technical reports based upon original research and reviews of other literature and reports.
  3. Skill in problem solving and reasoning: Our students will develop skills to critically evaluate scientific questions and address those questions using both logical, laboratory, geospatial, and other creative approaches.
  4. Knowledge of agencies, laws, and regulations:Our students will graduate with knowledge of the relevant agencies (e.g., EPA, BLM, USGS, UGS, etc.) and the associated laws and regulations relevant to their field of study. Their knowledge will be sufficiently deep that they understand where and how to seek additional information to further educate themselves and conduct their work with accordance to all agencies, laws, and regulations.
  5. Knowledge of Professional Options and Responsibilities: Our students will graduate with sufficient knowledge of the breadth of career opportunities available to them that they can obtain career satisfaction. Additionally, they will know of the primary responsibilities and the expectations of them within their chosen professional track such that they are successful in the eyes of their employer(s).
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