The Department of Geography at The University of Alabama was established in 1903. The department includes 17 tenured or tenure-track faculty, three full-time instructors, two professional staff members, three full-time researchers, and three administrative assistants. Departmental teaching and research interests span the discipline and the globe. The department fosters an exciting and synergistic environment where opportunities for discovery abound. Faculty consists of bio-geographers, a cartographer, climatologists, geomorphologists, GIS and remote sensing specialists, human geographers and planners. The department offers B.A. and B.S. degrees in geography with concentrations in earth system science, regional and urban planning, and geographic information techniques. In addition, the department offers minors in geography and GIS, and certificates in GIS and urban and regional planning. Included within the department are the GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Cartographic Research Laboratory, and the University Map Library.
Programs
The department of geography offers majors in environmental science and geography. The major in geography may culminate in either a bachelor of arts (BA) degree or a bachelor of science (BS) degree. The department also offers a minor in geography, a minor in geographic information systems and certificate programs in geographic information systems or regional and urban planning.
Faculty
Chair and Professor
- Therrell, Matthew
Professors
- Appiah Opoku, Seth
- Curtin, Kevin
- Han, Luoheng
- Hart, Justin
- Liu, Hongxing
- Messina, Joseph
- Sherman, Doug
- Steinberg, Michael
- Weber, Joe
Associate Professors
- Cohen, Sagy
- Davis, Lisa
- Senkbeil, Jason
Assistant Professors
- Lafevor, Matthew
- Magliocca, Nicholas
- Margulies, Jared
- Shao, Wanyun
Instructor
- Wallace-Pitts, Mary
Adjunct associate professor
- Richetto, Jeffrey
Associate Research Professor
- Bearden, Bennett
Director Cartographic Research Laboratory
- Remington, Craig
Geospatial Services Manager
- Courchesne, Eric
Courses
The primary objective of this course is to provide an introduction to the complex themes of environmental science that arise from the interactions between humans and the environment. Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field that synthesizes information from natural and social sciences and humanities to understand the natural world and our relationship to it. The content includes overviews of select biophysical systems and how they impact and are impacted by human agencies, and interdisciplinary approaches necessary to contend with modern environmental challenges are emphasized. Current environmental issues will be considered theoretically and through case studies.
Three hours lecture and one two-hour laboratory period. Earth-space relations, latitude and longitude, seasons, time, weather, climate, and vegetation. Particular attention is given to the causes of weather and climate and why they tend to be different from place to place.