The Department of Geography at The University of Alabama was established in 1903. In order to reflect departmental research and teaching focus on the environment, faculty agreed to change the departmental name to “Geography and the Environment.” Today, the department includes 17 tenured or tenure-track faculty, three full-time instructors, two professional staff members, three full-time researchers, and two 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, climatologists, geomorphologists, GIS and remote sensing specialists, human geographers and planners. The department offers B.A. and B.S. degrees in geography and a B.S. in environmental science. In addition, the department offers minors in interdisciplinary environmental studies, geography, and GIS. Included within the department are multiple research laboratories including the GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Cartographic Research Laboratory, and the University Map Library.
Programs
The department 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 interdisciplinary environmental studies, a minor in geography and a minor in geographic information systems (GIS).
The Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Minor is offered by New College in conjunction with the Department of Geography and the Environment.
Faculty
Chair and Professor
- Therrell, Matthew
Professors
- Appiah Opoku, Seth
- Curtin, Kevin
- Han, Luoheng
- Hart, Justin
- Liu, Hongxing
- Messina, Joseph
- Senkbeil, Jason
- Sherman, Doug
- Steinberg, Michael
- Weber, Joe
Associate Professors
- Cohen, Sagy
- Davis, Lisa
- Magliocca, Nicholas
Assistant Professors
- Lafevor, Matthew
- Margulies, Jared
- Shao, Wanyun
Instructors
- Wallace-Pitts, Mary
- Md Rafiq Islam
- Nitasha Sharma
Adjunct associate professor
- Richetto, Jeffrey
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.