Geography Department

Advising Tips for Prospective Majors

Are you interested in the environment, digital maps, cities, or global economic change? These are the kinds of topics that geography courses at Clark focus on.

 

Q. What courses should I take to see if I’m really interested in geography or not?
 

Any 0- or 100-level course is a good place to start. We ask geography majors to take one introductory course (0- or 100-level) in each of the 4 main areas of geographic knowledge. These are:

  • Nature/society. How have societies used, shaped, and constructed nature? What are the impacts of various societies, economies, and cultures on ecological systems?

  • Society and space. How have space and location shaped economic, social, political, and cultural life? How have they shaped space and location? How is globalization changing these processes? How do these processes relate to the dynamics of urban life?

  • Earth sciences. What are the interactions involving the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere?

  • Geographic information science (GIS). GIS is concerned with the acquisition, storage, analysis and communication of geographic information. This includes applied skills in cartography, remote sensing, geographic information systems, and spatial analysis.

Courses in each of these 4 areas are offered every semester.

 
Q. What should I do if I think I might want to major in geography?
 

Come see us! The main office of the Geography Department is located in Jefferson 220 (tel. 508-793-7336) (email: shanson@clarku.edu)

 
Q. How do I get an advisor in geography?
  Once you decide to major in geography, we will make sure that you have a faculty advisor in the department.