Geography

408A Smith

Geography is the science of understanding the relationships among people, spaces, and environments as they take place and shape place around the world. In the twenty-first century, these spatial relationships have become more globally integrated, more globally consequential, and more globally contested than previously, compelling renewed demands for understanding about the complexity of spatial relations. In this context, geography provides important insights into the spatial transformations associated with globalization, global environmental change, and migration, as well as the geographic reordering of governance, geopolitics, health, population, regional economic development, and rural and urban transformation. The discipline offers sufficient skills training to enable graduates to be competitive in many job markets.

Geography seeks to understand the complex processes that result in the patterns, trends, and impacts of urbanization, migration, trade, and development. Geographers use interviews, statistical analysis, databases, scholarly research, and observation to construct models, maps, and other tools for understanding.

Undergraduate Program

Advisers
415 A & B Smith, Box 353550
206-543-3246
rroth@u.washington.edu

The Department of Geography offers the following programs of study:

• Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in geography
• A minor in geography

Individual undergraduate programs are built around five program concentrations. Students are encouraged to develop a specific, individualized focus of study within their chosen concentration.

1. Urban, Social, and Political Processes and Patterns. Human population distribution, migration, settlement systems, and organization. Geographic facets of ethnicity, race, sexuality, and gender; wealth and poverty; and health and disease. Cultural landscapes; politics, nationalism, and identity formation; geopolitics. Location of urban services, including health-care systems, urban transportation, housing, neighborhood development and land use, as well as issues raised by questions of law and social control. Urban spatial policies. Courses include: GEOG 230, GEOG 245, GEOG 276, GEOG 277, GEOG 280, GEOG 310, GEOG 330, GEOG 342, GEOG 371, GEOG 375, GEOG 377, GEOG 378, GEOG 380, GEOG 401, GEOG 430, GEOG 431, GEOG 432, GEOG 440, GEOG 445, GEOG 461, GEOG 474, GEOG 477, GEOG 478, GEOG 480, GEOG 490.
2. Economic Geography. Key questions in this concentration include the following: Why do some cities and regions grow while others decline? What local characteristics attract businesses and employment? What determines the flows of goods, services, ideas, people, and capital that bind together the world economy and the regions within it? What can governments and non-governmental organizations do to affect these characteristics and flows? What are the relevant economic analysis tools to apply to questions of environmental regulation and land use? What effects do global corporations have on the economies of regions and nation-states? To what extent is international development driven by questions of political economy? Courses include: GEOG 207, GEOG 208, GEOG 230, GEOG 236, GEOG 302, GEOG 330, GEOG 336, GEOG 349, GEOG 366, GEOG 367, GEOG 370, GEOG 371, GEOG 430, GEOG 435, GEOG 440, GEOG 447, GEOG 448, GEOG 449, and GEOG 478.
3. Regional Geography and International Development Studies. Continental and global patterns of international relations and development. Political economy of development; development theory and practice; globalization. Analysis of geographic concepts in the regional context, especially on such topics as population growth and migration; development history, theory, and practice; hunger, resources, and poverty; and interconnections in the global economy. Special emphasis on East Asia, South Asia, Russia and the former Soviet republics, Latin America, Canada, and the United States. Courses include: GEOG 230, GEOG 236, GEOG 271, GEOG 302, GEOG 330, GEOG 335, GEOG 336, GEOG 349, GEOG 371, GEOG 375, GEOG 430, GEOG 431, GEOG 435, GEOG 436
4. Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Role, design, and use of geographic information systems for research, planning, management, and decision making. Use of computers in the collection, manipulation, analysis, and presentation of geographical data. Courses include: GEOG 360, GEOG 458, GEOG 460, GEOG 461, GEOG 463, GEOG 465, GEOG 471.
5. Society and Environment. Examines the key debates on the causes and outcomes of environmental change and degradation and the paths to sustainable development; the use of data in the formulation of human-environment interaction models; perceptions of nature; nature-culture relationships; and historical and contemporary societal responses to environmental degradation, health problems, and resource consumption. Courses include: GEOG 270, GEOG 280, GEOG 360, GEOG 370, GEOG 371, GEOG 380, GEOG 460, GEOG 461, GEOG 463, GEOG 471, GEOG 472, GEOG 480, GEOG 490.

Bachelor of Arts

Suggested First- and Second-Year College Courses: Any 100- or 200-level GEOG course. Courses that develop strong writing, analytical, and qualitative- and quantitative-reasoning skills. Geography is inherently interdisciplinary, so exposure to many social science fields of study in the first two years is ideal.

Department Admission Requirements

Students in good academic standing may declare this major at any time.

Major Requirements

60 credits as follows:

1. Core courses, required for all majors (15 credits): GEOG 315; GEOG 326; GEOG 360
2. Foundations (15 credits)
   1. Societies, Cities, & Economies (10 credits): Any two of the following: GEOG 100, GEOG 123, GEOG 200, GEOG 207, GEOG 208, GEOG 230, GEOG 236, GEOG 245, GEOG 276, GEOG 277, GEOG 280, GEOG 302.
   2. Environment & Society (5 credits): One of the following: GEOG 270, GEOG 271, GEOG 343, GEOG 370, GEOG 371, GEOG 372, or GEOG 380.
3. Research Methods (5 credits): One of the following: GEOG 367, GEOG 425, GEOG 426, GEOG 440, GEOG 445, GEOG 458, GEOG 460, GEOG 461, GEOG 465, GEOG 471, GEOG 480
4. Concentration (15 credits): Students may choose from among five concentrations (GIS; economic geography; urban/social/political geography; development studies; society and environment), or customize their own hybrid focus along more thematic or issue-driven lines, such as migration studies, globalization, geography and health, sustainability, inequality, race/class/gender studies, etc. See advisers for details. Three upper-division (300- and 400-level) geography courses are required for this concentration, at least two of which must be at the 400 level.
5. Electives (10 credits): 10 credits of GEOG electives at the 200 level or above; 300- and 400-level courses preferred.
6. Additional Degree Conditions and Program Features
   1. Transfer students must complete a minimum of 25 upper-division credits (300 and 400 level) in geography in residence at the University of Washington.
   2. Individual geography course grades must be 2.0 or above to count toward major requirements; overall 2.50 GPA in geography courses counted toward the major required;
   3. 5 credits of internship (GEOG 496) or independent study (GEOG 499) may apply toward the required 60 credits.

Minor

Minor Requirements: 30 credits in geography, including 15 upper-division geography credits with at least 5 credits at the 400 level. No more than 5 credits applied to the minor may be from 100-level classes. Independent learning and internship credits (GEOG 494, GEOG 496, GEOG 497, GEOG 499) may not be counted as part of the 30 credits. A minimum grade of 2.0 for each course counted toward the minor. At least 15 credits of upper-division geography courses must be taken at the UW.

Student Outcomes and Opportunities

• Learning Objectives and Expected Outcomes: The study of geography emphasizes both technical and critical thinking skills. Geographers' skill sets include the ability to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to produce maps; advanced technical skills in statistical analysis; the ability to use census and other demographic data; sophistication in locating data and interpreting it to help make an argument; sophistication in visual techniques for displaying data, including maps, charts, and graphs; advanced use of such software as spreadsheets, relational data bases, and Web page design; and the ability to present multiple models of land-use patterns for analysis in environmental and economic decision making. Graduates have pursued careers as urban planners, environmental planners and land-use analysts, GIS analysts, economic analysts (marketing, location, geo-demographics), public health researchers, NGO specialists in developing nations, airline route analysts, import-export/international-trade specialists, real estate valuation specialists, economic development specialists, social studies teachers, and college professors.
• Instructional and Research Facilities: A map center in Suzzallo Library houses atlases, sheet maps, and aerial photographs. Departmental facilities include the Edward L. Ullman Geography Collaboratory and the John C. Sherman Laboratory, which houses a variety of computer workstations connected to the campus computer network. The Ullman Collaboratory in 415 Smith provides a unique collaborative classroom with networked computer work stations. The Geography Commons also provides computer work stations for students. The Department of Geography is a member of the Center for Social Science Computation and Research, which maintains an extensive data archive and offers many statistical and software consulting services.
• Honors Options Available: With College Honors; With Distinction (Departmental Honors). See adviser for requirements.
• Research, Internships, and Service Learning: More than 125 geography students participate each year in internships. For lists of these opportunities, see the department's career site.
• Department Scholarships: None offered.
• Student Organizations/Associations: The Undergraduate Geography Association (UGA) organizes field trips, alumni career panels, public-service projects, and social gatherings.

Of Special Note: Students planning to study economic, transportation, or urban geography are advised to take ECON 200, ECON 201 as early as possible. For those interested in international or area studies, foreign-language competence (i.e., at a level sufficient to be useful for elective, course-related reading and research) is highly desirable (Russian, Chinese, or Spanish). A working knowledge of a region's or nation's history, landscapes (including physical, urban, and cultural), and current role in world economics and politics is also of great benefit. Students interested in GIS are encouraged to learn a high-level programming language such as C, C++, Java, or Visual Basic.

Graduate Program

Graduate Program Coordinator

rroth@u.washington.edu

415B Smith, Box 353550
206-543-3246

The Department of Geography has flexible programs of graduate study leading to the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The aspirant to the master's degree is expected to complete all work for the degree in four to six quarters. The aspirant to the doctoral degree is expected to undertake two years of post-master's study and must take a departmental diagnostic examination upon entry, pass the general examination, attain an appropriate level of competence in a foreign language or cognate field, and successfully complete a dissertation. Normally, doctoral program students complete all degree requirements in three to four years.

Master of Arts

Admission Requirements

Admission to the graduate program normally requires a minimum GPA of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale), or "B." Students holding a master's degree must meet this minimum scholastic requirement, but also should have achieved a GPA higher than 3.00 for graduate studies completed. All applicants must take the Graduate Record Examination. Specific information regarding application procedures may be obtained by writing to the Graduate Program Adviser.

Degree Requirements

45 credits, to include:

1. GEOG 512 (5)
2. One of the following 400-level courses in analytical methods: GEOG 425 (5), GEOG 426 (5), GEOG 440 (5), GEOG 460 (5), GEOG 461 (5), or GEOG 471 (5).
3. At least three quarters of GEOG 598 (1, max. 3), the departmental colloquium, usually taken during the first year in the program
4. GEOG 597 (2). At the conclusion of GEOG 597, the student must write a revised statement of academic objectives.
5. The completion of at least two departmental research seminars numbered 500 and above, but not including GEOG 502, GEOG 5l2, GEOG 513, GEOG 515 or other non-specialized seminars.
6. Remaining credits to be determined in consultation with adviser.

Doctor of Philosophy

Admission Requirements

Admission to the graduate program normally requires a minimum GPA of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale), or "B." Students holding a master's degree must meet this minimum scholastic requirement, but also should have achieved a GPA higher than 3.00 for graduate studies completed. All applicants must take the Graduate Record Examination. Specific information regarding application procedures may be obtained by writing to the graduate program adviser.

Degree Requirements

90 credits, to include:

1. Core requirements:
1. GEOG 515 (5). Post-master's students who have not previously completed a course on the history of geographic thought (GEOG 512) must complete such a course before taking GEOG 515.
2. At least three quarters of GEOG 598 (1, max. 3), the departmental colloquium, usually taken during the first year in the program
3. GEOG 597. At the conclusion of GEOG 597, the student must write a revised statement of academic objectives.
4. Two of the following 400-level courses in analytical methods: GEOG 425 (5), GEOG 426 (5), GEOG 440 (5), GEOG 460 (5), GEOG 461 (5), or GEOG 471 (5).
5. Entering post-master's students who have already completed one of these courses or their equivalents need complete only one additional analytical methods course, subject to the approval of the Graduate Program Coordinator.
6. The completion of at least two departmental research seminars numbered 500 and above, but not including GEOG 502, GEOG 5l2, GEOG 513, GEOG 515 or other non-specialized seminars. This requirement may be satisfied if the two seminars were taken while earning an M.A. degree in this program.
7. Submission of a scholarly article to a professionally-reviewed academic journal; or successful application for research support from external agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the Ford Foundation, or the Fulbright Commission. Additional writing credits may be earned by registering for GEOG 599. The publication may be jointly authored with a faculty member or other graduate student.
2. A minimum grade of 3.0 must be earned in all geography courses, and a grade of 2.7 or higher must be obtained in all courses in related fields used to satisfy the doctoral degree credit requirement.
3. Evidence of reading competence in one foreign language, or a sound level of competence in one cognate field of concentration as determined by the student's Supervisory Committee.
4. A departmental written and oral preliminary examination, normally by the end of the third quarter in residence. Post-master's students seeking entry into the Ph.D. program must take the departmental preliminary examination during their first year of enrollment. The preliminary examination, or designated parts, may be retaken once.
5. Successful completion of a Graduate School general examination, normally held at the end of two years (six quarters) of study. The Supervisory Committee examines the student's qualifications and competency to undertake dissertation research, and evaluates the student's general training in geography and in the field of specialization. Normally, the oral examination is preceded by a written examination.
6. Preparation and acceptance by the Dean of the Graduate School of a dissertation. The candidate is expected to register for a minimum of 27 credits of dissertation (GEOG 800) over a period of at least three quarters.

Financial Aid

The department usually awards approximately 15 to 20 teaching assistantships for the academic year. Most of the assistantships are for teaching quiz sections for a larger lecture class. A few of the more advanced doctoral candidates may teach a class. Normally several research assistantships are also available. In recent years, approximately 85 percent of the department's graduate students have been funded by internal or external sources.