Minors
The Department of Geography offers two options for the minor: the geography minor and the GIS minor. Students may also pursue the university's interdisciplinary sustainability minor. Each track includes a variety of electives and research opportunities.
Minor in Geography
Graduates with a minor in geography can bring expertise to a variety of careers, from market researchers to health services officials.
The minor may be combined with many Columbian College majors, making it an ideal option for students interested in studying issues as diverse as geopolitics, migration and language, community planning and climate change.
Students complete 19 credits for the general geography minor, drawing from across four geographical subject areas. Elective topics include water resources, military geography, sustainability and cartography.
"I got involved with the environmental nonprofit Clean Water Action [in my junior year]. A lot of the folks who I was training to canvass had little background knowledge about water resources. Knowing many of the issues was incredibly helpful; I felt as though I was one step ahead."
Lucy Hummer
BA ’20
Minor in Geography Course Requirements
Minor in GIS
The minor in geographic information systems (GIS) covers geographic data acquisition, geospatial database construction and management, spatial analysis and geovisualization. Students complete 18 credits in geography courses for the minor.
GIS-trained professionals are sought after across the private and public sectors. Federal government agencies such as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency and NASA routinely recruit geography graduates with strong GIS backgrounds.
