Undergraduate Course Catalog 2010-2011
College of Liberal Arts
» http://www.unh.edu/liberal-arts/
Geography (GEOG)
» http://www.unh.edu/geography
» Click to view course offerings
Chairperson: Blake Gumprecht
Professor: Alasdair D. Drysdale
Associate Professor: Blake Gumprecht
Assistant Professor: Joel N. Hartter, Mary D. Stampone
Lecturer: Biniam Iyob
Geography is best defined as the discipline that describes and analyzes the variable character, from place to place, of the Earth as the home of human society. As such, geography is an integrating discipline, studying many aspects of the physical and cultural environment that are significant to understanding the character of particular places and regions. Geography aims to provide students with a basis for understanding the world in which we live.
Because its integrating character establishes common areas of interest with many other fields of knowledge, geography provides an excellent core discipline for a liberal education. Those who would understand geography must also know something of the Earth sciences, as well as economics, cultures, politics, and processes of historical development.
Students who have a strong interest in the spatial organization of the world and the distinctive character of its major regions and who also want a broad educational experience can achieve these goals effectively by majoring in geography.
Students with degrees in geography have found their education valuable in such fields as urban and regional planning, locational analysis for industry and marketing organizations, cartography, geographical information systems (GIS), library work, military intelligence, international studies, the Foreign Service, travel and tourism, and journalism.
Students planning careers as scholars or teachers in the field should concentrate their coursework in geography and appropriate related disciplines and should plan to go on to graduate study after completing an undergraduate major in geography. Students from this department have been admitted to first-rate graduate schools in all parts of the United States.
Students who major in geography are required to take 10 courses with a minimum grade of C-.
Requirements for the major
To major in geography, the following course requirements must be fulfilled with a grade of C- or better.
All of the following core courses
GEOG 401, Regional Geography of the Western World
GEOG 402, Regional Geography of the Non-Western World
GEOG 572, Physical Geography
GEOG 581, Human Geography
GEOG 658, Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
and
Any five additional geography courses.
Students are strongly encouraged to complete an introductory statistics course before enrolling in GEOG 658. Several statistics courses are offered at UNH, including ADM 430, BIOL 528, EREC 525, HHS 540, MATH 439, PSYC 402, and SOC 402.
The Discovery Program capstone requirement may be fulfilled by passing a comprehensive examination during a student's senior year.
Candidates for a degree must satisfy all of the University Discovery Program requirements in addition to satisfying the requirements of each individual major program. Bachelor of arts candidates must also satisfy the foreign language proficiency requirement.
The university's foreign language requirement may be met in any of the following: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Latin, or Greek. Other languages may be considered by petition.
Major department courses taken to satisfy major requirements cannot be used to satisfy Discovery requirements.
Students interested in majoring or minoring in geography should consult with the chair, Blake Gumprecht.
