Admission into the Major
Students are expected to formally declare a major no later than the fourth semester of full-time enrollment (or at 61 semester hours for transfer students). Students may declare a major by completing the Change of Major/Minor Application online under the Student tab of myBama.
Special Opportunities
The Department of Geography and the Environment offers internship opportunities with the Geological Survey of Alabama and local planning agencies. The department also offers certificate programs in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and in regional and urban planning. Additional information is available in the Department of Geography and the Environment office.
Students earning the bachelor of science (BS) degree with a major in geography must complete all University, College and departmental degree requirements. These include the general education requirements, the following major requirements, all requirements for an approved minor and other sufficient credits to total a minimum of 120 applicable semester hours.
| Code and Title | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Major Courses | ||
| GY 101 | Atmospheric Proc & Patterns | 4 |
| GY 102 | Earth Surface Processes | 4 |
| GY 105 | World Regional Geography | 3 |
| GY 110 | People, Places, & Environment | 3 |
| GY 204 | Maps and Spatial Reasoning | 4 |
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 18 | |
| Concentration | ||
| Select a GY concentration | 12 | |
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 12 | |
| Electives | ||
| Select six hours of GY electives | 6 | |
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 6 | |
| Ancillary Courses | ||
| Grades in ancillary courses are not computed into the major GPA. The major in geography culminating in a bachelor of science (BS) degree requires the successful completion of the following courses outside the major: | ||
| MATH 125 or | Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 145 | Honors Calculus I | |
| Select a statistics course: | 3 | |
| Statistical Data Analysis | ||
| Elem Statistical Methods | ||
| Educational Statistics | ||
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 7 | |
| Total Hours | 43 | |
Grade Point Average
A 2.0 grade point average in the major is required for completion of the degree. Please see the Grades and Grade Points section of this catalog for an explanation on grade point average calculations.
Upper-level Residency
A minimum of 12 hours of 300- and 400-level courses in the major must be earned on this campus.
Required Minor
The geography major requires completion of a minor.
Additional Major Requirements
A maximum of three hours of internship or practicum credit can be applied to the major. Each geography course applied to the 36-hour requirement must be completed with a grade of C- or higher. Students are responsible for ensuring that they have met all University, College, major and minor requirements. However, each student must meet with an adviser in the major department for academic planning and to be approved for registration each semester. College advisers are also available for additional assistance with minor, College and University requirements.
Concentrations
Students must earn at least 12 hours from one of the following three concentrations. With approval, topic appropriate GY 470 Special Topics may be substituted in each concentration.
Concentration I: Earth System Science (minimum of 12 hours)
| Code and Title | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| GY 202 | The Water Planet | 4 |
| GY 302 | Climatology | 3 |
| GY 363 | Geomorphology | 3 |
| GY 404 | Physical Geography SE US | 3 |
| GY 405 | Dir Res Physical Geog | 1-3 |
| GY 409 | Forest Ecosystem Restoration | 4 |
| GY 412 | Hydroclimatology | 3 |
| GY 413 | Applied Climatology | 3 |
| GY 414 | Climate Change and Health | 3 |
| GY 416 | Geostatistics Using R | 3 |
| GY 451 | Global Environmental Change | 3 |
| GY 462 | Land Use Science | 4 |
| GY 470 | Special Topics | 3 |
| GY 472 | Soil Science | 4 |
| GY 485 | River Hydrology | 3 |
| GY 486 | Watershed Science and Managmnt | 3 |
| GY 489 | Forest Ecology Veg Analy | 4 |
| GY 491 | Fluvial Geomorphology | 3 |
| GY 492 | Eastern Forest Communities | 4 |
| GY 494 | Forest Measurement & Methods | 4 |
| GY 496 | Forest Ecosystems | 4 |
Concentration II: Regional, Urban and Environmental Planning (minimum of 12 hours)
| Code and Title | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| GY 317 | Natural Hazards | 3 |
| GY 339 | Natural Resource Envirmn Plang | 3 |
| GY 341 | Geography Of Us And Canada | 3 |
| GY 344 | Geography Of Africa | 3 |
| GY 346 | Geography of Europe | 3 |
| GY 370 | Special Topics | 3 |
| GY 375 | Sports Geography | 3 |
| GY 377 | Cultural Geography | 3 |
| GY 385 | Watershed Management Plan Development (Watershed Management Plan) | 3 |
| GY 406 | Dir Res Human Geography | 1-3 |
| GY 410 | National Parks | 3 |
| GY 415 | The Geography of Extinctions and Endangered Species | 3 |
| GY 417 | Extreme Weather and Society | 3 |
| GY 418 | Spatial and Geostats | 3 |
| GY 440 | Commun Facil Planning | 3 |
| GY 441 | Land Use Regulations | 3 |
| GY 444 | Field Studies In Africa | 6 |
| GY 445 | Agriculture | 3 |
| GY 449 | Field Studies: Ireland | 6 |
| GY 450 | Field Studies in Belize | 6 |
| GY 452 | Environ Decision Making | 3 |
| GY 453 | Environment & Society | 3 |
| GY 454 | Field Studies in Costa Rica | 4 |
| GY 456 | Planning Internship | 3-9 |
| GY 457 | Environmental Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| GY 458 | Urban Planning And Analysis | 3 |
| GY 459 | Water Energy and Food | 3 |
| GY 461 | Political Ecology | 3 |
| GY 462 | Land Use Science | 4 |
| GY 464 | Conservation Politics | 3 |
| GY 468 | Grant Writing for Nonprofits | 3 |
| GY 466 | Geography of Automobility | 3 |
| GY 470 | Special Topics | 3 |
Concentration III: Geographic Information Techniques (minimum of 12 hours)
| Code and Title | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| GY 330 | Computr Mapping Graphics | 4 |
| GY 418 | Spatial and Geostats | 3 |
| GY 420 | Remote Sensing I | 4 |
| GY 424 | Cartography Practicum | 3-9 |
| GY 425 | Cartography Internship | 3-9 |
| GY 430 | Intro Geographic Info Systems | 1 or 3 |
| GY 433 | Gis Practicum | 3-9 |
| GY 434 | Gis Internship | 3-9 |
| GY 435 | Remote Sensing II | 4 |
| GY 436 | Adv Geographic Info Syst | 4 |
| GY 437 | GIS for Transportation | 4 |
| GY 439 | GIS Programming | 4 |
| GY 443 | Location Science | 3 |
| GY 488 | Digital Terrain and Watershed | 4 |
Types of Jobs Accepted
Our graduates accept positions such as environmental consultant; forest technician; geographic information systems analyst; land steward; park ranger; regional and urban or environmental planner; remote sensing analyst; scientist; software engineer; agent with the Central Intelligence Agency; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency staff person; U.S. Forest Service staff person; U.S. Geological Survey staff person; National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration staff person; city, county and regional planning commissioner.
Learn more about opportunities in this field at the Career Center