What You'll Learn
Want to tackle big environmental issues and shape better communities? This program blends science, social sciences, and humanities to show you how people, places, and nature connect.
Through the sustainability concentration, you’ll focus on solving complex societal challenges, paving the way for careers in environmental law, environmental management, or corporate and government sustainability analysis. If you choose the geography concentration, you’ll dive into mapping and spatial planning, leading directly to roles as a GIS analyst, city planner, or land-use manager—as well as graduate study in urban planning and public administration. No matter which concentration you select, this major gives you the tools to create thriving communities and a sustainable future.
What Makes This Program Great
- Professional-grade facilities: You'll have access to a huge collection of minerals, rocks, and fossils, as well as a vast collection of maps, a dedicated geo-spatial analysis lab, drones, an on-campus research sand dune, a seismograph, a weather station, and more.
- Real-world research opportunities: As a GEO student, you'll have the chance to do research with your professors during the academic year and summer. ذكذكتسئµ GEO students have done research into Lake Michigan coastal dunes, a Pleistocene mastadon, the Plaster Creek watershed, and more.
- Practical job experience: The GEO department hires more students than any other department. Students are hired yearly for a wide variety of positions, from managing a map library to maintaining the university weather station.
- Study off-campus: ذكذكتسئµ GEO students study off-campus in places as diverse as Montana, Hawaii, Kenya, Scotland, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, and Yosemite National Park.
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Great paying jobs that are in high demand
- The US Department of Labor Labor projects “much faster than average†growth, in excess of 20% or more, in jobs for geographers, geoscientists, cartographers, urban and regional planners, and other geographic professionals, with projected needs of upwards of 15,000 additional employees in each of these career fields between 2008-2018.
- Geospatial technology is one of the most important emerging and evolving fields in the technology industry.
- Urban planning is consistently one of the “hot jobs†in the USA.
Sustainability and geography tackle...
- Globalization: Globalization is researched heavily by geographers to understanding the dynamic changing economic, cultural and enviornmental landscapes and spatial interactions at all scales.
- Geographic technologies: Geographic technologies in digital mapping (GIS), satellite remote sensing, and GPS in cell phones and cars, and online mapping at your fingertips are driven by geographers.
- Environmental change: Environmental change is an area geographers are leading in scholarship and atmospheric science.
- And more! See below to examine the multiple trajectories you might consider with a major in environmental studies or geography!
Careers in environmental sustainability and geography
Knowing and applying geographic information about geology and the processes that shape physical landscapes (e.g. soils, hydrology, topography, erosion)
- Soil and plant specialist
- Water resources specialist
- Environmental scientist
- Geophysicist
Knowing and applying geographic information about ecosystems and ecological processes (e.g., vegetation, wildlife, natural habitats)
- Soil and plant specialist
- Natural sciences manager
- Zoologist and wildlife biologist
- Forester
- Biological science technician
Knowing and applying geographic information about natural hazards (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, fire)
- Emergency management
- Forest fire inspector
- Environmental consultant
- Ecological risk assessor
- Geotechnical engineer
- Hazards analyst
Economic Geography
Knowing and applying geographic information about the economy and economic processes (e.g., labor, development, industry, agriculture, transportation, trade, resources, land use, technology change)
- Transportation manager
- Community resource specialist
- Market researcher
- Business development
- Real estate appraiser
- Environmental economist
Political Geography
Knowing and applying geographic information about political systems and processes (e.g., governments, political activism, nongovernmental organizations, nations, states, international relations, nationalism)
- Community organizer
- Policy consultant
- Policy researcher
- Lobbyist
- Christian missionary
Cultural Geography
Knowing and applying geographic information about culture and cultural processes (e.g., religion, language, ethnicity, diffusion, meaning of landscapes, cultural significance of place)
- Tour guide and escort
- Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teacher
- Interpreter and translator
- Historic preservationist
- Writer/editor
Population Geography
Knowing and applying geographic information about population, demography, and demographic processes (e.g., population density, migration, birth and death rates, fertility rates)
- Market analyst
- Population, real estate, community association manager
- Urban and regional planner
- Demographer
- Public health officer
- Christian missionary
Knowing and applying geographic information about relationships between nature and society (e.g., pollution from industrial development, economic effects of drought)
- Tour guide
- Accredited land consultant
- Manager of sustainability
- Environmental affairs specialist
Designing paper or digital maps
- Cartographer and photogrammetrist
- Surveying and mapping technician
- Civil drafter
- Graphics editor
- Digital cartographer
Using GIS to acquire, manage, display, and analyze spatial data in digital form
- Geospatial information scientist and technologist
- Geospatial analyst
- GIS developer
- Logistic analyst
- Transportation planner
- Environmental consultant
Recording, measuring, and plotting electromagnetic radiation data from aerial photographs and remote sensing systems against land features identified in ground control
- Cartographer and photogrammetrist
- Commerical pilot
- Surveyor
- Photogrammetric compliation specialist
- Geodesist
Understanding the underlying theories and methods related to acquiring an object without contacting it physically (e.g., aerial photography, radar and satellite imaging)
- Remote sensing scientist and technologist
- Geointelligence specialist
- Remote sensing analyst
- Sensor specialist
- Radar and sonar technician
Using interviews, questionnaires, observations, photography, maps, and other techniques for measuring geographic information in the field
- Surveyor
- Water quality scientist
- Soil scientist
- Field interviewer
- Environmental health specialist