Department website: https://www.geo.wvu.edu/
Degree Offered
- Bachelor of Arts
Nature of the Program
Geography teaches you how the world works. Geographers use spatial concepts and tools to examine problems that face communities around the world, such as protecting vulnerable landscapes and species, the local and global effects of climate change, and the connections between people across the globe.
Our students study aspects of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities while developing skills in spatial investigation and problem-solving that are valuable assets in a variety of careers. Geography graduates are qualified for many careers in both the private and public sectors. In industry, geographers are hired as geographic information system analysts, business location researchers, environmental impact consultants, market analysts, and cartographers. In government, geographers work as local urban planners, regional and state economic development specialists, environmental and resource development analysts, land-use planners, international development agency advisors, teachers and trainers, researchers, cartographers, as well as geographic information system analysts. Some graduates may also use their training to pursue careers as environmental or community activists in non-profit organizations. Finally, many geography students go on to graduate school to obtain further training, most commonly in geography or planning but also in fields as diverse as law, information science, and environmental studies.
Geography students receive specialized training in areas such as:
- Geographic Information Science (GISc)
- Globalization and Development
- Global Environmental Change
Students who earn a degree in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences must complete the University requirements, the College requirements for their specific degree program, and their major requirements.
Internship
An internship is a field-based academic option that uses the workplace as an extended classroom/laboratory. As part of the internship, students usually spend summer months or a semester working at a public agency, private business, or non-profit organization where they are supervised by experts in such areas as GIS, planning, the physical environment, international affairs, or economic development. The professional learning experience is recommended for majors in geography with at least forty-five total credit hours and twelve credit hours in geography. See the geography internship advisor for additional information.
Honors Program
Qualified students in geography are encouraged to participate in the University’s honors program. Geography honors students in their senior year are encouraged to take Honors Thesis.
Minors
All students have the possibility of earning one or more minors; follow the link for a list of all available minors and their requirements. Please note that students may not earn a minor in their major field.
Faculty
Chair
- Brent McCusker - Ph.D. (Michigan State University)
Associate Chair
- Jaime Toro - Ph.D. (Stanford University)
Professors
- Kathleen Benison - Ph.D. (The University of Kansas)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Sedimentary Geology - Planetary Geology - Dengliang Gao - Ph.D. (Duke University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Exploration Geophysics, Petroleum and Structural Geology - Amy Hessl - Ph.D. (University of Arizona)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Biogeography, Forest Ecosystems, Climate Variability - Brent McCusker - Ph.D. (Michigan State University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Land Use Change, Africa, Policy Making - Shikha Sharma - Ph.D. (University of Lucknow)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Isotope Geochemistry - Jaime Toro - Ph.D. (Stanford University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Structure and Tectonics - Dorothy Vesper - Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Aqueous Geochemistry, Hydrogeology
Associate Professor
- Jamison Conley - Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Spatial Analysis, Geocomputation, Health Geography - Karen Culcasi - Ph.D. (Syracuse University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Geopolitics, Identity, Middle East - Cynthia Gorman - Ph.D. (Rutgers University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Gender, Migration, Human Rights, Refugee Communities - James Lamsdell - Ph.D. (The University of Kansas)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Paleobiology, Arthropods, Macroevolution, Heterochrony, Paleoecology, Phylogenetics - Joseph Lebold - Ph.D. (West Virginia University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Paleoecology, Paleontology, Regional Geology - Brenden McNeil - Ph.D. (Syracuse University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, GIS, Environmental modeling, Forest Ecosystem Services - Maria Alejandra Perez - Ph.D. (University of Michigan)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Cultural Geography, Science & Technology Studies, Speleology, Latin America and the Caribbean - Amy Weislogel - Ph.D. (Stanford University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Sedimentology - Bradley Wilson - Ph.D. (Rutgers University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Social Movements, Local/Global Food Systems, Food Justice
Assistant Professor
- Vikas Agrawal - Ph.D. (West Virginia University)
Associate Graduate Faculty, Chemical Hygiene Officer, Isotopic and Biogeochemical Characterization of Geological Materials, Energy and Environment - Michael Harman - Ph.D. (West Virginia University)
3D visualization, modeling complex landforms and processes, GIS - Aaron Maxwell - Ph.D. (West Virginia University)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Geospatial Instruction, Remote Sensing, Image Analysis, Spatial Modeling - Charles Shobe - Ph.D. (University of Colorado - Boulder)
Regular Graduate Faculty, Geomorphology, Earth Surface Processes, Landscape Evolution, Rivers, Source-to-Sink, Numerical Modeling
Professor Emeriti
- Robert Behling - Ph.D. (The Ohio State University)
- Timothy Carr - Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin - Madison)
- Joe Donovan - Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University)
- Greg Elmes - Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University)
- Trevor Harris - Ph.D. (University of Hull)
- Thomas Kammer - Ph.D. (Indiana University)
- Steven Kite - Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin)
- Kenneth C. Martis - Ph.D. (Michigan University)
- Henry Rauch - Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University)
- Robert C. Shumaker - Ph.D. (Cornell University)
- Richard Smosna - Ph.D. (University of Illinois)
- Timothy Warner - Ph.D. (Purdue University)
- Thomas Wilson - Ph.D. (West Virginia University)
Admissions
- First-Time Freshmen are admitted directly into the Geography major.
- Students transferring from within WVU to the Geography major must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.0.
- Students transferring from another institution must have a minimum GPA of a 2.0.
Admission Requirements 2024-2025
The Admission Requirements above will be the same for the 2024-2025 Academic Year.
Major Code: 1444
Click here to view the Suggested Plan of Study
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
General Education Foundations | ||
F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
Total Hours | 31-37 |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Degree Requirements
Students must complete WVU General Education Foundations requirements, College B.A. requirements, major requirements, and electives to total a minimum of 120 hours. For complete details on these requirements, visit the B.A. Degrees tab on the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences page.
Departmental Requirements for the B.A. in Geography
- Capstone Requirement: The university requires the successful completion of a Capstone requirement. In GEOG, students will take GEOG 496 simultaneously with either GEOG 491 or any GEOG 400 level course.*
- Writing and Communication Requirement: Geography Bachelor of Arts students fulfill the Writing and Communication Skills requirement by completing ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 (or ENGL 103), and two additional SpeakWrite Certified CoursesTM: GEOG 496 and a 2nd course selected from GEOG 205, GEOG 243, GEOG 300, GEOG 302, GEOG 303, GEOG 307, GEOG 393, GEOG 412, GEOG 415, GEOG 443, GEOG 452, GEOG 454, GEOG 455, GEOG 462.
- Calculation of Major GPA: A minimum GPA of a 2.0 is required in all courses applied to major requirements. If a course is repeated, all attempts will be included in the calculation of the GPA, unless the course is eligible for a D/F repeat.
Curriculum Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
University Requirements | 76 | |
ECAS B.A. Requirements | 12 | |
Geography Major Requirements | 32 | |
Total Hours | 120 |
University Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
General Education Foundations (GEF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (31-37 Credits) | ||
Outstanding GEF Requirements 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 | 27 | |
GEOG 191 | First-Year Seminar | 1 |
General Electives | 48 | |
Total Hours | 76 |
ECAS Bachelor of Arts Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Fine Arts Requirement | ||
Foreign Language | 12 | |
Global Studies and Diversity Requirement | ||
Total Hours | 12 |
Geography Major Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
CORE COURSES: | 10 | |
World Regions | ||
or GEOG 108 | Human Geography | |
Global Climate System and Global Climate System Laboratory | ||
Select one of the following: | ||
Digital Earth and Digital Earth Laboratory | ||
Climate and Sustainability | ||
Economic Geography | ||
GEOSPATIAL TECHNIQUES REQUIREMENT: | 3 | |
Select one of the following: | ||
Geographical Data Analysis | ||
Geographic Information Systems and Science | ||
Introduction to Remote Sensing | ||
Open-Source Spatial Analytics | ||
Digital Cartography | ||
UPPER-DIVISION ELECTIVES: | 12 | |
Select 4 courses from the following list. A minimum of 6 credits must be in GEOG. | ||
Any GEOG course at the 300 level or above * | ||
Social Movements | ||
Environmental Anthropology | ||
Global Ecology | ||
Environmental Criticism | ||
Foundations of Applied Geographic Information Systems | ||
Practice of Land Use Planning | ||
Women in International Development | ||
GEOGRAPHY ELECTIVE: | 3 | |
Any additional GEOG course | ||
CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE: | 4 | |
Senior Thesis | ||
Select one of the following: | ||
Professional Field Experience | ||
OR | ||
Any GEOG course at the 400 level * | ||
Total Hours | 32 |
- *
GEOG course(s) selected to fulfill this requirement should not already fulfill another GEOG requirement and also exclude 490, 492, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499.
Suggested Plan of Study
First Year | |||
---|---|---|---|
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
GEOG 191 | 1 | ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 |
Foreign Language 101 | 3 | Foreign Language 102 | 3 |
GEOG 102 or 108 (GEF 7) | 3 | GEOG 107 & 107L | 4 |
F8 Course 1 | 3 | F8 Course 2 | 3 |
General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
General Elective | 3 | ||
16 | 16 | ||
Second Year | |||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 | Foreign Language 204 | 3 |
Foreign Language 203 | 3 | GEF 5 | 3 |
GEF 3 | 3 | ECAS Fine Arts Requirement (GEF 6) | 3 |
GEF 4 | 3 | GEOG Elective | 3 |
Final GEOG Core Course | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
15 | 15 | ||
Third Year | |||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
GEOG Geospatial Techniques Requirement | 3 | GEOG Upper-Division Elective 2 | 3 |
GEOG Upper-Division Elective 1 | 3 | GEOG Upper-Division Elective 3 | 3 |
GEF 8 Course 3 | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
15 | 15 | ||
Fourth Year | |||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
GEOG Capstone Requirement (1 credit in 496 + additional 400 level course)* | 4 | GEOG Upper-Division Elective 4 | 3 |
General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
General Elective | 1 | General Elective | 2 |
14 | 14 | ||
Total credit hours: 120 |
- *
GEOG course(s) selected to fulfill this requirement should not already fulfill another GEOG requirement and also exclude 490, 492, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499.
Degree Progress
- Geography majors are expected to maintain 2.0 GPA overall and in geography courses.
- All majors must meet with Geography adviser each semester.
Students who do not meet these benchmarks may be removed from their major.
Major Learning Outcomes
Geography
Upon successful completion of the B.A. degree, Geography majors will be able to use key geographic concepts to critically analyze diverse topics and processes. Specifically, geography graduates will be able to:
- Define the range of issues and topics relevant to geographic inquiry and analysis.
- Apply qualitative and quantitative geographic analytical methods.
- Collect, organize, summarize, and synthesize geographic information.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the geographic nature and complexity of human environment relationships, environmental systems, and the patterns of human activities.
- Apply geospatial technologies, and critically explain their role in modern society.
- Connect everyday issues to geographic concepts, and situate these issues within the local to global continuum of scales.
- Present geographic ideas and concepts effectively in oral, written, cartographic and other visual forms.