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Undergraduate Bulletin College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Geography

Bachelor of Arts in Geography

Students on Summer 2020, Fall 2020, or Spring 2021 requirements GEOGBA

The Bachelor of Arts in Geography is intended to provide a strong liberal arts degree focusing on the major subject areas of geography while maintaining a great deal of flexibility. This allows students to focus on a particular transcriptable concentration area while also pursuing additional majors and/or minors. Students with a Geography B.A. take their education in many directions, whether moving directly into a career or going on to graduate or professional studies. They are prepared to work in education, federal and state government, research, nonprofit organizations, and business. Graduates have gone into a variety of career areas including: environmental management, sustainable development, urban planning education, alternative energy, land acquisition, food bank management, public safety, public health, international aid, business logistics, marketing, and geospatial technology.

Requirements

The major requires at least 30 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
  1. Environment and Society. One (1) course:
    • GEOG-G 208 Environment and Society
  2. Geographic Methods.
    1. Geographic Methods Core. One (1) course:
      • GEOG-G 237 Mapping our World: From Mercator to Mashups
    2. Geographic Methods Electives. One (1) additional course:
      • GEOG-G 250 Computing in the Geospatial Sciences
      • GEOG-G 336 Environmental Remote Sensing
      • GEOG-G 350
      • GEOG-G 388 Qualitative Methods in Geography
      • GEOG-G 438 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
      • GEOG-G 488 Applied Spatial Statistics
  3. Job and Internship Search. One (1) course:
    • ASCS-Q 296 College to Career II: Navigate Your Arts and Sciences Experience
  4. Capstone. One (1) course:
    • GEOG-G 498 Capstone in Geography
    • GEOG-G 499 Honors Research in Geography
  5. Concentration. Choose one of the following options:
    • Comprehensive Option. 15 additional credit hours in Geography courses.
    • Concentration Option. One (1) of the Geography concentrations listed below.
  6. 400–499 Level Geography Courses. Six (6) credit hours:
    • Any GEOG-G 400–499
  7. Electives. Additional Geography courses, as needed, to complete remaining requirements.
  8. Major GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
    1. Major GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the major—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
    2. Major Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the major.
    3. Major Upper Division Credit Hours. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed at the 300–499 level.
    4. Major Residency. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
    5. College Breadth. At least 58 credit hours must be completed in courses from College of Arts and Sciences disciplines outside of the major area.

Major Area Courses

Unless otherwise noted below, the following courses are considered in the academic program and will count toward academic program requirements as appropriate:

  • Any course at the 100–499 level with the GEOG prefix—as well as any other subject areas that are deemed functionally equivalent
  • Any course contained on the course lists for the academic program requirements—as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent—except for those listed only under Addenda Requirements
  • Any course directed to a non-Addenda requirement through an approved exception
  • Any course, consistent with the policies herein, that is part of a concentration, track, and/or specialization being pursued as part of this academic program
Restrictions

The following restrictions apply to the minimum credit hours required in the major:

  • No more than 6 combined credit hours of the following may be counted toward major:
    • GEOG-X 274 Sophomore Laboratory in Geography
    • GEOG-X 374 Junior Lab in Geography
    • GEOG-X 473 Internship in Geographical Analysis
    • GEOG-X 474 Senior Lab in Geography
  • No more than 6 combined credit hours of the following may be counted toward major:
    • GEOG-G 450
    • GEOG-X 490 Undergraduate Readings and Research in Geography

This program of study cannot be combined with the following:

  • Bachelor of Science in Geography (GEOGBS)
  • Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (GISRSACRT)
  • Minor in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing (GISRSMIN)
  • Minor in Geography (GEOGMIN)

Exceptions to and substitutions for major requirements may be made with the approval of the unit's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.

Concentrations