The Bachelor of Arts in Geography empowers you to explore and address pressing environmental and social challenges through two focused options.
The option in environmental studies provides interdisciplinary perspectives on critical environmental issues. Drawing from the natural and social sciences, this option equips you to understand issues at a global scale while providing opportunities to engage in problem-solving at the local level. You explore topics such as environmental policy, planning, stewardship, applied conservation, restoration, ecological sustainability, and global climate change. Through hands-on experience, you gain knowledge and skills to understand and intervene in urban, rural, and regional processes. Graduates contribute to the creation of livable communities, regenerative economies, and sustainable places.
The option in landscape studies explores cultural and physical landscapes and the natural processes and diverse cultures that have shaped them. You learn to examine landscapes from the perspectives of physical and human geography at scales that range from local to global. Topics include climate patterns, vegetation, and landforms, combined with an understanding of societal trends such as urban expansion and migration, to demonstrate how landscapes are a synthesis of human and natural environments of the past, present, and future. Field-based learning strengthens your ability to observe, interpret, and engage with real-world environmental and social issues. You learn to recognize and draw from the knowledge of diverse communities and places to guide thoughtful stewardship and planning.
Advising Requirement
Advising is mandatory for this program. Consult your department advisor or program coordinator for information.
E-advising Tools
Use the interactive e-advising tools designed to help students graduate within four years. These tools can be accessed through the Student Center in the Portal.
Grading Requirement
All courses taken to fulfill program course requirements must be taken for a letter grade except those courses specified by the department as credit/no credit grading only.
Some courses require a minimum grade to progress in the program. Minimum grade requirements, including those listed on course requisites, are considered graduation requirements.
Course Requirements for the Major: 46 units
Completion of the following courses, or their approved transfer equivalents, is required of all candidates for this degree. Courses in this program may complete more than one graduation requirement.
Select courses not taken to satisfy the core requirements.
Geography and Economics Double Major
Students may take two geography and two economics courses from the following list. All 12 units will count toward both majors (geography courses will count toward 100-level electives in the economics major).
Students may elect a geography and history double major. Up to nine units of appropriate upper-division History (HIST) courses may be applied to the geography major. Prior approval by a department advisor and the chair is required.
Electives Requirement
To complete the total units required for the bachelor's degree, select additional elective courses from the total University offerings. Consult with an advisor to help select courses that provide breadth to your University experience and possibly help satisfy credential, professional, or graduate school prerequisites or support completion of a minor.
Honors in the Major
Honors in the Major is a program of independent work in your major. It requires six units of honors coursework completed over two semesters.
The Honors in the Major program allows you to work closely with a faculty mentor in your area of interest on an original performance or research project. This year-long collaboration allows you to work in your field at a professional level and culminates in a public presentation of your work. Students sometimes take their projects beyond the University for submission in professional journals, presentation at conferences, or academic competition. Such experience is valuable for graduate school and professional life. Your honors work will be recognized at your graduation, on your permanent transcripts, and on your diploma. It is often accompanied by letters of commendation from your mentor in the department or the department chair.
Some common features of Honors in the Major program are:
You must take six units of Honors in the Major coursework. All six units are honors courses (marked by a suffix of H), and at least three of these units are independent study (399H, 499H, 599H) as specified by your department. You must complete each course with a minimum grade of B.
You must have completed 9 units of upper-division coursework or 21 overall units in your major before you can be admitted to Honors in the Major. Check the requirements for your major carefully, as there may be specific courses that must be included in these units.
Your cumulative GPA should be at least 3.5 or within the top 5% of majors in your department.
Your GPA in your major should be at least 3.5 or within the top 5% of majors in your department.
Most students apply for or are invited to participate in Honors in the Major during the second semester of their junior year. Then they complete the six units of coursework over the two semesters of their senior year.
Your honors work culminates with a public presentation of your honors project.
Honors in the Major is not part of the Honors Program. Each department administers its own program. Please contact your major department or major advisor to apply.
See Bachelor's Degree Requirements for complete details on general degree requirements. A minimum of 39 units, including those required for the major, must be upper division.
General Education Requirements: 43 units
See General Education and the Class Schedule for the most current information on General Education requirements and course offerings.
General Education Courses Suggested for Geography Majors
The following General Education courses are recommended to support the student in either of the options for the geography major:
American Institutions Course Requirements: 6 units
The American Institutions graduation requirement, as mandated in Title 5, Section 40404, requires that students satisfactorily complete courses in United States history, the US Constitution, and government and American ideals (including California state and local government). At Chico State, HIST 130 meets the US history requirement (US-1), and POLS 155 meets the US Constitution and government requirement (US-2) and the California state and local government requirement (US-3). POLS 155 also fulfills three units of GE Area 4, Social and Behavioral Sciences. See Bachelor’s Degree Requirements for more information.
Diversity Course Requirements: 6 units
You must complete a minimum of two courses that focus primarily on cultural diversity. At least one course must be in US Diversity (USD) and at least one in Global Cultures (GC). See Diversity Requirements for a full list of courses. Many courses taken to satisfy these requirements may also apply to General Education.
Upper-Division Writing Requirement
Writing Across the Curriculum (EM 17-009) requires you to take four Writing (W) courses, two of which are upper-division courses designated for your major. Specifically, you must:
Take one Writing (W) course.
Take one Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GW) course.
Complete a GE English Composition (1A) course before taking the GW course.
Earn a grade of C- or higher to receive GW credit.
See Writing and Math Requirements for details on additional writing requirements you need to complete for graduation.
Major-Designated Courses
Writing (W) Course
Option in Environmental Studies: ERTH 330W Environmental Science (W)
Option in Landscape Studies: GEOG 439W American Cultural Landscapes (W)
GWAR (GW) Course
GEOG 407W Earth Systems Analysis of Global Change (W)
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) are clear, measurable statements that describe how students demonstrate mastery of the knowledge, skills, and values of the discipline as appropriate to the degree. Graduates of this program are expected to achieve the following PLOs:
Demonstrate technological capabilities related to geographic data interpretation and their spatial representation.
Demonstrate an awareness and appreciation of global, regional, and local scales and the interdisciplinary nature of geography in the physical and social worlds.
Demonstrate an awareness of environmental and social diversity, human-environmental interaction, and environmental values.
Demonstrate commitment to experiential learning and service to the community and the environment.
Demonstrate proficiency in written and spoken communication.
