About the Geography Bachelor’s Program
The Bachelor of Arts in Geography combines a liberal arts education with the technical skills necessary to be successful in the modern workforce. The undergraduate program also provides a solid foundation for those students who wish to pursue graduate study in geography or a related professional field.
As a discipline, Geography provides a unique framework for understanding our world based on location. Geography is concerned with where things are located, why they are located where they are, and how it all works together to form a tapestry of human and physical landscapes across the surface of the Earth. The degree program emphasizes coursework in both the social and physical sciences to provide students with a broad understanding of world’s physical environment and the human experience in that world.
Students completing the degree program will have the knowledge, tools and technical skills necessary to understand and address many of the social and environmental problems facing society and the planet at large. This allows students in geography to pursue their interests in a wide variety of topics including social and cultural change, globalization, urbanization, impacts of climate change, natural resource management, natural hazards, food and water security, resilience and sustainability.
Students in the geography program are strongly encouraged to pursue a minor in Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST). When taken together, the GIST minor provides students with knowledge and technical expertise in geographic information science. Courses in the minor cover geographic information systems (GIS), database design, spatial analysis, satellite remote sensing, cartographic design and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).
The geography major consists of 31 hours of coursework in geography plus MATH 2300 or MATH 2345 . Required courses are GEOG 1401 , GEOG 2300 , GEOG 4300 , GIST 3300 , and 18 hours of junior- and senior-level GEOG and GIST courses. Students who select a GIST minor will use GIST 3300 in the minor, not the major, and select another junior/senior GEOG elective. ATMO 3310 and GEOL 3322 can also apply for 6 hours of the electives. Students majoring in geography must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours of geography courses from Texas Tech.
Communication Literacy Requirement. Geography graduates will develop the skills necessary to communicate with the public and their peers in a professional work environment. Geography majors will be competent in written and oral communication, data analysis, and both graphic and cartographic representation. Courses in the Communication Literacy Plan for the B.A. in Geography are GEOG 4300 and two from: GEOG 3351 , GEOG 3353 , GEOG 4301 , and GEOG 4357 .
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