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Department of Geography

Bachelor of Science in Geography

Students on Summer 2021, Fall 2021, or Spring 2022 requirements GEOGBS

The Bachelor of Science in Geography provides additional science and quantitative requirements that prepare science-oriented students for graduate school and science-related jobs at the bachelor's degree level.

Requirements

The major requires at least 32 credit hours (47 with the Addenda requirements), 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
      • GEOG-G 338 Geographic Information Systems
    2. Computing in the Geospatial Sciences. One (1) course:
      • GEOG-G 250 Computing in the Geospatial Sciences
    3. Applied Spatial Statistics. One (1) course:
      • 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. Comprehensive or Concentration option.
    • 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:
    • GEOG-G 405 Ecological Climatology
    • GEOG-G 407 Climate Dynamics
    • GEOG-G 411 Sustainable Development Systems
    • GEOG-G 415 Advanced Urban Geography
    • GEOG-G 417 Development Geography: Advanced Theory and Practice
    • GEOG-G 425 Africa: Contemporary Geography Problems
    • GEOG-G 426 Refugees and Asylum Seekers
    • GEOG-G 427 Russia and Its Neighbors
    • GEOG-G 428 Geography of Europe
    • GEOG-G 433 Advanced Synoptic Meteorology and Climatology
    • GEOG-G 436 Advanced Remote Sensing: Digital Image Processing
    • GEOG-G 438 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
    • GEOG-G 439 GIS and Environmental Analysis
    • GEOG-G 440 Topics in Environmental Geography
    • GEOG-G 441 Migration and Mobility
    • GEOG-G 444 Climate Change Impacts
    • GEOG-G 447 Multi-Species Relations: Plant/Animal/Human/Insect/Fungi/Bacteria
    • GEOG-G 448 Capitalism and Nature
    • GEOG-G 449 Political Ecology
    • GEOG-G 451 Physical Hydrology
    • GEOG-G 452 Tree-Ring Science
    • GEOG-G 453 Water and Society
    • GEOG-G 454 Feminist Political Ecology
    • GEOG-G 461 Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change
    • GEOG-G 463 Political Geography of South Asia
    • GEOG-G 467 Ecohydrology
    • GEOG-G 469 Food and Global Poverty
    • GEOG-G 474 Solidarity Economy in Latin America
    • GEOG-G 475 Climate Change
    • GEOG-G 477 Topics in Climatology
    • GEOG-G 478 Global Change, Food, and Farming Systems
    • GEOG-G 481 Terrestrial Ecosystem Modeling
    • GEOG-G 485 Geospatial Programming
    • GEOG-G 488 Applied Spatial Statistics
    • GEOG-G 489 Geospatial Analysis of Big Data in Python
    • GEOG-G 498 Capstone in Geography
    • GEOG-G 499 Honors Research in Geography
  7. Electives. Additional Geography courses, as needed, to complete remaining requirements.
  8. Addenda Requirements*.
    1. Calculus. Choose one (1) of the following options:
      • Brief Survey Option. Two (2) courses:
        1. Brief Survey of Calculus I. One (1) course:
          • MATH-M 119 Brief Survey of Calculus I
        2. Brief Survey of Calculus II. One (1) course:
          • MATH-M 120 Brief Survey of Calculus II
      • Regular Option. Two (2) courses:
        1. Calculus I. One (1) course:
          • MATH-M 211 Calculus I
        2. Calculus II. One (1) course:
          • MATH-M 212 Calculus II
    2. Science/Quantitative Methods. Choose one (1) of the following options:
      • Biology option. At least nine (9) credit hours in BIOL courses, including the following:
        • BIOL-L 111 Foundations of Biology: Diversity, Evolution, and Ecology
        • BIOL-L 473 Ecology
      • Chemistry option. Nine (9) credit hours in CHEM courses with at least one (1) course at the 300–499 level and including the following:
        • CHEM-C 117 Principles of Chemistry and Biochemistry I
      • Computer Science option. Nine (9) credit hours in CSCI courses, including at least one (1) course at the 300–499 level.
      • Economics option. Nine (9) credit hours in ECON courses, including at least one (1) course at the 300–499 level.
      • Statistics option. Nine (9) credit hours in STAT courses, including at least one (1) course at the 300–499 level.
  9. 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.

Major Area Courses

Courses that may apply toward the Credit Hours and GPA requirements in this academic program include all courses listed on the requirement course lists at the time the course was taken as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent.

Restrictions

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

  • May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours:
    • 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
  • May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours:
    • GEOG-G 450
    • GEOG-X 490 Undergraduate Readings and Research in Geography

This program of study cannot be combined with the following:

  • Bachelor of Arts in Geography (GEOGBA)
  • 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.