UC Santa Barbara Geography / Undergraduates / BA in Geography

The B.A. in Geography 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 a related Course List, allowing 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 for students wishing to pursue multiple objectives.

• Preparation for the Major (BA Checklist)
• Requirements Map [HTML]
• Requirements Map

Requirements

Preparation for the major - 24 lower division units required

1. Strongly Recommended: Math 3A and 1 course in computer programming
2. Required courses
   • Geog 3A - Oceans and Atmosphere
   • Geog 3B - Land, Water and Life
   • Geog 5 - People, Place and Environment
   • Geog 12 - Maps and Mapping
3. Plus one course from Area A, B or C
   • A: Natural Science
   • Chem 1A/AL - General Chemistry
   • EEMB 2/L - Introductory Biology II: Ecology and Evolution
   • EEMB/MCDB 20 - Concepts of Biology
   • EEMB 21 - General Botany
   • ES 2 - Introduction to Environmental Science
   • Geol 2 - Principles of Physical Geology
   • Geol 4 - Introduction to Oceanography
   • Phys 10 - Concepts of Physics
   • B: Social Science
   • Anth 2 - Introductory Cultural Anthropology
   • Anth 5 - Introductory Physical Anthropology
   • Comm 1 - Introduction to Communication
   • Econ 1 - Principles of Economics: Micro
   • Econ 2 - Principles of Economics: Macro
   • ES 3 - Introduction to the Social and Cultural Environment
   • Ling 20A - Language and Linguistics
   • Pol S - 7 Introduction to International Relations
   • Psych 1 - Introduction to Psychology
   • Soc 1 - Introduction to Sociology
   • C: Geography
   • Geog 7 - Oil and Water
   • Geog 8 - Living with Global Warming
   • Geog 20 - Geography of Surfing
4. Plus one statistics course
   • Comm 87 - Statistical Analysis for Communication
   • PSTAT 5A - Statistics
   • PSTAT 5E - Statistics with Economics and Business Applications
   • PSTAT 5LS - Statistics for the Life Sciences
   • Psych 5 - Introductory Statistics

Upper division major - 40 upper division units required

1. Area A: 12 Units Distributed as Follows
2. A1: 4 Units from Physical Geography Courses
   • Geog 102 - Introduction to Environmental Optics in Physical Geography
   • Geog 104 - Physical Geography of the World’s Oceans
   • Geog 110 - Introduction to Meteorology
   • Geog 112 - Environmental Hydrology
   • Geog 114A - Soil Science
   • Geog 114B - Soil Genesis and Classification
   • Geog 116 - Groundwater Hydrology
   • Geog 133 - Tropical Meteorology
   • Geog 134 - Earth System Science
   • Geog 144 - Forms, Process, and Human Use of Rivers
   • Geog 162 - Environmental Water Quality
   • Geog 163 - Ocean Circulation
   • Geog 165 - Waves and Tides in the Ocean
   • Geog 167 - Biogeography: The Study of Plant and Animal Distributions
   • Geog 170 - Introduction to Vegetation Analysis
   • Geog 175 - Environmental Data Analysis
3. A2: 4 Units from Human Geography Courses
   • Geog 101 - Transportation Futures
   • Geog 108 - Urban Geography
   • Geog 109 - Introduction to Economic Geography
   • Geog 111A - Transportation Planning and Modeling
   • Geog 111B - Transportation Modeling and Simulation
   • Geog 141A - Population Geography
   • Geog 141B - Population and Development
   • Geog 141C - California Population Analysis and Policy
   • Geog 146 - Introduction to Transportation Systems Planning
   • Geog 153A - Behavioral Geography
   • Geog 153B - Introduction to Spatial Decision Making and Behavior
   • Geog 153C - Environmental Perception and Cognition
   • Geog 153D - Spatial Decisions in Retailing
   • Geog 153E - Geography of Everyday Life
   • Geog 180 - Geography of the Information Society
   • Geog 185A - Geography Planning and Policy Making
   • Geog 185B - Environmental Issues and Location Decision Making
   • Geog 185C - Urban and Regional Modeling and Planning
   • Geog 190 - Location Theory in Geography
4. A3: One additional course from either A1 or A2 above
5. Area B: 8 Units from Techniques Courses
   • Geog 115A - Geographic Photo Interpretation
   • Geog 115B - Geographic Remote Sensing Techniques
   • Geog 115C - Intermediate Geographic Remote Sensing Techniques
   • Geog 117 - Research Methods in Geography
   • Geog 126 - History of Cartography: Maps in Science and Society
   • Geog 128 - Analytical and Computer Cartography
   • Geog 168 - Field Studies in Biogeography
   • Geog 172 - Intermediate Geographical Data Analysis
   • Geog 176A - Introduction to Geographical Information Systems
   • Geog 176B - Technical Issues in Geographic Information Systems
   • Geog 176BL - Lab in Geographic Information Systems I
   • Geog 176C - GIS Design and Applications
   • Geog 183 - Cartographic Design and Geovisualization
   • Geog 184 - Introduction to Cartographic Programming
   • Geog 191 - Intro to Optimization Models for Geographic Problems
   • Geog 191L - Lab in Optimization Models for Geographic Problems
   • Geog 193 - Internship in Geography (max 4 units toward the major for 193)
6. Area C: 8 Units from Integrative and Regional Geography Courses
   • Geog 135 - Mock Environmental Summit
   • Geog 135S - Mock Environmental Summit (Summer)
   • Geog 140 - Environmental Issues in Human History
   • Geog 148 - California
   • Geog 149 - The California Channel Islands
   • Geog 150 - Geography of the U.S.
   • Geog 155 - Geography of Latin America
   • Geog 158 - Geography of the California Current
   • Geog 159 - Geography of Europe
   • Geog 161 - World Agriculture, Food, and Population
   • Geog 169 - Cultural and Biological Diversity of Food Plants
   • Geog 171BT - Biotechnology, Food, and Agriculture
   • Geog 171FP - Small-Scale Food Production
   • Geog 182 - Global Cities in the Information Age
7. Area D: 12 Units of Upper Division Electives These electives may be fulfilled by any additional UD course Listed above.

Note: Geography 193, 194, 195, 198, 199, 199RA can be applied to area A1 or A2 by petition, depending on the subject matter. A maximum of 8 UD units from related fields can be counted towards the 40 unit total, if (a) they are selected from an approved list of related courses, or (b) are approved by petition. The list of related courses is available in the department office and on the department web site. Geography 193 (Internship) can count at most 4 units towards the major.

Major Regulations

1. Prerequisites
   Check the General Catalog for the prerequisites to all listed courses, or the listing of geography courses here on the geog website.
2. P/NP Grading Option
   Allowed for up to four units of Geography 193 and 199RA. All other major courses (prep or UD),including those applied to the major from other departments, must be completed on a letter-graded basis.
3. Substitutions
   In the major requirements are permissible only by petition to the department chair and dean.
4. Residence Requirements
   At least 20 UD units in major while in residence at UCSB.
5. G.P.A. Requirements
   At least 2.0 overall UC average in all upper-division major courses and all courses (Prep and UD) for the major, including courses in excess of minimum requirements.
6. Double Majors
   With the approval of each department chairperson, up to a total of 8 units may be applied simultaneously to both UD majors.