Geography
Department of Geography
Administration
Chair: Daniel Howard Olsen
Department Information:
690 KMBL
801-422-5386
geography@byu.edu
Advisement Center:
1041 JFSB
801-422-3541
liberalarts@byu.edu
Admission to Degree Program
All degree programs in the Department of Geography are open enrollment.
The Discipline
Geography offers a variety of programs centered around spatial analysis and tailored to meet the future needs of individual students. Our modern computer laboratory allows students to gain practical experience with geographical information systems (GIS), remote sensing, cartography, and other programs in urban and regional planning, travel, and population studies.
Career Opportunities
Graduates are employed in a wide range of private and governmental positions. Job titles include geographer; teacher of geography; city or regional planner; cartographer; photo interpreter; commodities and industrial location analyst; intelligence, travel industry, or environmental and GIS specialist; and many others.
Skills in spatial analysis make geography a valuable minor or supporting field for many other disciplines.
General Information
The Department of Geography offers one major with six emphases. The emphases are designed to enable students to gain an appreciation of our world as well as prepare them for either a career or graduate school. All students are required to take a set of core courses that emphasize basic geographic concepts and ways of knowing that are common to all six emphases. These courses prepare students for specialization in upper-division courses.
Geography at Brigham Young University focuses on our interdependent world: the spatial relationships between the physical landscape, diverse societies, and current events. The major nourishes a sense of curiosity about the world around us, a desire to serve our local and global communities, and the skills necessary to solve significant problems that are inherently spatial.
Hundreds of students major in geography to prepare for a professional career, for graduate study, or because of an interest in exploring and understanding the world around them. We emphasize both technical and critical thinking skills, including geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing, statistics, data collection, interpretation, and communication using the written and spoken word and visual data display (maps, charts, and graphs).
All students admitted to one of the geography majors listed above should complete the following core courses within one year of declaring a major:
Geog 100, 101, 110, 120, 130, 211, 222.
Exit assessment: Students must complete an exit assessment during their final semester no later than one month before graduating. The assessment is meant to evaluate the department's program goals and student learning outcomes. Although the assessment is a formal requirement, the results are anonymous and will not be part of the student's academic records.
Graduation Requirements
To receive a BYU bachelor's degree a student must complete, in addition to all requirements for a specific major, the following university requirements:
The University Core, consisting of requirements in general and religious education.
At least 30 credit hours must be earned in residence on the BYU campus in Provo as an admitted day student
A minimum of 120 credit hours
A cumulative GPA of at least 2.0
Be in good standing with the Honor Code Office
Students should see their college advisement center for help or information concerning the undergraduate programs.
