Majoring in Geography

“When I declared Geography several years ago, not only did I feel I had found my academic calling, but that I had discovered part of myself as well. I've loved working in a field where the main counterparts are the understanding of human and environment processes, the use of cutting-edge technology, and the endless possibilities for creative implementation of these tools in worldwide issues” (Laura Harrison, Geography major).

Are you interested in one or more of the following?
•Atmospheric Sciences
• Civil & Environmental Engineering
•Computer Science (including Databases/Information
   Systems & Graphics/Human Computer Interfaces)
• Earth Sciences (including Environmental Sciences,
   & Soil Science)
• Forestry & Forest Sciences
• Information Science
• Meteorology
• Oceanography
• Operations Research, Systems Engineering, & Industrial
   Engineering
• Psychology (including Cognition & Perception)
• Sociology (including Demography, Population, & Ecology
   as well as Place and Environment)
• Statistics & Probability
• Urban Studies & Planning

If you said yes, then you’re a candidate for a major in GEOGRAPHY!

Geography is the most interdisciplinary department on the UCSB campus and is best represented by three cross-cutting themes:

Earth System Science (ESS): This systematic area emphasizes the measurement, analysis, and modeling of hydrologic, atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial systems and the interactions between systems. A large proportion of the problems addressed by researchers in ESS involve three common elements: large regional issues; mathematical and computational modeling; and large, spatially-indexed datasets.

Human-environment Relations (HER): This systematic area covers the major components of Human Geography offered by the Department, including: human spatial behavior; spatial decision making and decision support; spatial and geographic cognition; urban and regional modeling, planning, and policy; human movement and transportation systems; resource and environmental management; environmental ethics; human response to the changing environment.

Modeling, Measurement and Computation (MMC): This area is the investigation of those sets of techniques from the areas of analysis, statistics and computation that are particularly well-suited to the modeling of the complex, geographic phenomena that are the subject of investigation in both ESS and HER. Important sub-areas include numerical modeling, spatial statistics, remote sensing, computational modeling and database systems (including GIS) and visualization, all of which are increasingly dependent on knowledge of computational theory and practice.

Within and cutting across these three broad conceptual categories, the Department of Geography has seven specific fields of strength: 1) measurement, modeling, and computation; 2) the geography of transportation; 3) human-environmental relations; 4) ocean processes; 5) terrestrial processes; 6} climate; and 7) cognitive and behavioral geography. Each field is covered by several faculty, plus affiliates, emeriti, and interdisciplinary units and cross-appointments. All of our faculty members have expertise that transcends any single field, thus providing cohesive linkages.

In each of these fields, the UCSB Department of Geography provides national leadership. Indeed, the National Research Council ranked our Department number four in the nation in 1995—the highest NRC ranking of any department on the UCSB campus —and we expect to be ranked number one when the next NRC rankings are released in 2007. We currently have 5 Assistant Professors, 2 Associate Professors, and 16 Full Professors in the following fields:
• Climate: Gautier, Michaelsen
• Cognitive & Behavioral Geography: Golledge, Montello, Raubal
• Human Environmental Relations: Carr, Couclelis, Eakin, Schneider, Sweeney
• Measurement, Modeling, and Computation: Clarke, Goodchild, Kyriakidis, T. Smith
• Ocean Processes: Dickey, Siegel, Washburn
• Terrestrial Biophysical Processes: Chadwick, Loaiciga, Roberts, Still
• Transportation: Church, Goulias

Our faculty members are nationally and internationally renowned for their expertise. For example, Goodchild, Clarke, Chadwick, Siegel, Roberts, and others have participated heavily at NASA and the National Research Council; Goodchild named the discipline of GIScience; Golledge is widely acknowledged as a founder of behavioral geography, but also has considerable strength in transportation research; Dickey (and associated faculty members Tom Dunne and Jeff Dozier at Bren) are Fellows of the American Geophysical Union; Michaelsen heads the UCSB branch of the internationally renowned Climate Hazard Group; Church developed software for scheduling systems for manpower deployment and training that is now used by the US NAVY, the German Air Force, and the Australian Army; Gautier developed award winning education software for K-12; Goulias provides transportation engineering and planning consulting services to State/Federal agencies and International organizations and firms; and the list goes on. Not surprisingly, the Department boasts three members of the National Academy of Sciences, three members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and numerous recipients of other major academic awards and honors.

The Department of Geography also happens to be at the top of the scale as far as funded research support is concerned. Over the past six years, the Geography faculty has been awarded approximately a total of $48,746,860 or about $350,000 per each full time faculty member per year—in other words, each UCSB Geography faculty member raises almost $1000 a day in research funding, probably the highest amount of research funding of any Department of Geography in the United States!

Geography majors are among the most marketable of all majors, according to placement counselors. As the Association of American Geographers Career Guide points out, Geography’s theories and methods provide analytical techniques applicable to a wide range of questions asked over a broad spectrum of occupations. For students planning to end their formal education with the bachelor's degree, a major in Geography provides marketable skills and the broad perspectives on environment and society that enable graduates to move beyond entry-level positions. Geography also provides a sound foundation for students who plan to enter graduate work in a variety of fields, from geography and the physical sciences to business, land use planning, law, and medicine. Geography majors find work as public sector transportation planners; environmental impact analysts; airline route specialists; import / export and shipping logistics planners; geodemographic analysts and marketers; strategic planners in banking, insurance, and real estate; software developers; web designers and programmers; urban and regional planners; computer cartographers using Geographic Information Systems; international trade consultants; teachers at all levels; and much, much more.

Have we piqued your interest? If so, stop by and talk to our Undergraduate Advisor, Kathy Davis (1834 Ellison Hall; davis@geog.ucsb.edu). Kathy would love to talk to you!

Undergraduate Program Description

Geography is the study of the Earth as the home of humanity. As such, it involves analyses of the spatial and temporal phenomena that make up the human and natural environment of Earth, from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The Department of Geography at UCSB is on the cutting edge of geographic research, technologies, and interdisciplinary studies.

The year 2004 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Department of Geography at UCSB. The Department has grown over the past three decades and is now one of the crown jewels of UCSB. With 23 tenured faculty, 5 affiliated faculty, 22 administrative and 25 research staff, almost 100 graduate and 200 undergraduate students, the Department is not only among the largest geography departments in the country, it is also the highest ranked program within its discipline on campus, according to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

The Department offers two undergraduate and two graduate degrees: Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Geography, Bachelor of Science (BS) in Physical Geography, Master of Arts (MA) in Geography and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Geography. The majors are designed to provide a fundamental background for students seeking an interdisciplinary understanding of our planet and the varied human and natural systems that interrelate within it.

Undergraduate courses are arranged into four main areas: physical systematics, human systematics, techniques, and regional courses. 1) Physical systematics courses teach students how the Earth's systems work in conjunction with each other. A variety of oceanography, meteorology, hydrology, soil science, and biogeography courses are offered each year. 2) Human systematics courses cover the myriad ways that humans interact with each other and with their environment. These issues are discussed in courses on population, migration, and economic geography; transportation systems; urban and regional planning and modeling; human-nature relationships; and behavioral and cognitive geography. 3) Geographic techniques involve the collection, processing, and interpretation of information about geo-referenced phenomena, and are studied in courses on remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), cartography, and spatial statistics. The department is well known for it's technical training in these rapidly expanding fields, and a number of students from other departments take advantage of our technical courses. 4) Regional courses discuss in an integrated way the physical, human, and historical characteristics of various regions of local and global interest.

Majoring in Geography

The Bachelor of Arts in Geography (BA) is an interdisciplinary program that offers students maximum flexibility with a minimum number of units. This major permits students the freedom of choosing their own path through various courses offered in the human, physical, and technical areas. The interdisciplinary nature of the major is supported by our Related Course List, which contains hundreds of classes from over 20 different departments which students can apply towards their upper-division electives. These courses allow students to apply their geographic knowledge toward specific areas like archaeology, land use and planning law, plant ecology, or social change in developing nations. The low unit requirement makes this an ideal major to pursue multiple objectives with. Many Geography students complete double majors with related departments such as Business Economics, Environmental Studies, Anthropology, and Global Studies; while others finish such diverse double majors as Geography and Art History, Renaissance Studies, or Microbiology.

UCSB’s Department of Geography now offers a BA in Geography with an Emphasis in Geographic Information Science. To prepare for this option, students must complete specific courses in geography, plus one course from either a physical science or a social science (the GIS emphasis requires both). Additionally, students must take one statistics course. A course in computer programming and a course in calculus with applications is recommended (the GIS emphasis requires a course in computer programming). Students should complete these major-preparatory classes in their freshman and sophomore years. The major requires completion of upper-division (junior and senior level) course work distributed between the areas of systematics, techniques, regional geography, and areas of the student’s own choosing. Systematics courses include those in meteorology, hydrology, and soil formation. Techniques courses include those in spatial analysis, computational concepts, remote sensing, photo interpretation, and cartography. Regional courses include those in the geography of arid lands, jungles, and the geography of nations.

The BA in Geography with an Emphasis in Geographic Information Science is intended to build upon the Geography BA with a deeper study of the science behind spatial information technologies. Geographic Information Science includes geographic information technologies (such as geographic information systems, computer cartography, remote sensing, global positioning systems, and visualization) as well as the bodies of theory that relate the tools to problem solving in geography. Students will choose one or more tracks in GIScience specializations. They may combine tracks for breadth and depth, as well as pursue interests in particular technologies, methods, or approaches. Graduates with the GIS Emphasis will find themselves well prepared to start a career in any of the geographic information technology fields or to continue their education in graduate school.

The Bachelor of Science in Physical Geography (BS) provides majors with rigorous training in earth and environmental science. The BS offers students the option of choosing a more structured, directed program, which emphasizes the quantitative and scientific approaches to studying the Earth's physical environment. At the same time, the major offers the flexibility of deciding on what areas of the systematics the student wants to focus on: soils and hydrology, oceanography and meteorology, biogeography and soils or any other combination. BS students are offered a specific list of related courses from Biology and Geology to supplement their selection of systematics courses.

To declare Geography as a major, students need to have completed two Geography classes and have at least a 2.0 overall grade point average. All major courses must be completed for a letter grade. The department undergraduate program assistant is available for counseling on matters such major requirements, quarterly scheduling, honors programs, petitions, internships, career planning, and graduate school information.

Research Opportunities

Students are encouraged to take part in research within the department. Faculty and graduate students welcome assistance on various research projects. Many faculty members integrate their research projects into teaching and independent studies, and the large number of Geography majors participating in internships shows that Geographers engage well with the workplace. Our students find employment in a huge variety of fields, in industry, government, and academia. Consult the undergraduate advisor for more information regarding Independent Studies (Geog 199), Independent Research Assistance (Geog 199RA), and Internships (Geog 193).

Study Abroad

Distinction in the Major

Students who maintain a 3.5 overall grade-point average and a 3.6 grade-point average in the major are welcomed to pursue Distinction in the Major. In addition to maintaining the GPA, by the time of graduation, students must have completed 8 units of Independent Studies (Geography 199), graduate-level courses or a combination of the two. Students must obtain permission from a faculty member and the department chair to take part in these courses. Please contact the undergraduate advisor for more information.

Careers in Geography

The undergraduate major is designed to prepare you for careers in several different areas. There are career possibilities in state and local government offices, urban and regional planning agencies of the federal government, and in international organizations. Geographers are involved in business and as consultants to businesses. There is the possibility of college and university teaching and research, which requires three to six additional years of graduate-level study, or primary and secondary level teaching, with oneadditional year of education normally required. There are also career opportunities in specialized areas such as remote sensing and aerial photography, resource evaluation, urban and regional planning, industrial location, marketing resources, transportation and cartography.

Although you won't find notices in the classified ads for "Geographer," job prospects are actually quite good and extremely varied. Mary Lynne Bird gave an interesting talk about "Hidden Geographers" — people with geographic training who make use of their knowledge in careers one might not expect to find them. We've included a copy of her talk on the website. For your convenience, there's a link to an on-line brochure about careers in cartography and geographic information systems: please go to the brochure at the Cartography and Geographic Information Society site. By the way, UCSB Geography faculty, staff, and an undergraduate student had a hand in producing this document.