Geography
Undergraduate degrees: B.A, B.S.
Undergraduate minor
It's More Than Maps; It's A Perspective
Home to a number of amazing geographic landforms from the Cascade Range to the McKenzie and Rogue rivers, the scenic heart of the Willamette Valley is an exciting place to study geography. But geography is about so much more than mountains and rivers and maps. It’s about how natural surroundings affect cultures and societies and how human beings, in turn, enact change in the world around them.
Geography is really a way of looking at the world and the way we fit into it, a mix of the physical and the human, and how the two interact to produce spacial context. Through the understanding of place, one comes to understand the history of a culture within a society. As geographers often say, "place matters."
Because geography is a way of collecting, analyzing, and presenting an endless supply of data pertaining to both the human and physical worlds, geography majors at the UO often choose to specialize their studies in one of five areas: physical geography; environmental geography; culture, politics, and place; geographic education; or geographic information science (GIScience).
The environmental geography option focuses on human interaction with the physical environment. Culture, politics, and place examines cultural and political influences on geographical patterns, and geographic education prepares undergraduates to teach social studies in grades K-12. GIScience focuses on the tools and technology used to handle geographic information, namely data about places, activities, and phenomena commonly presented as maps or images.
As a geography major at the UO you’ll come to understand why certain areas of the world have long been contested; the significance of resource abundance and resource shortage; why particular regions contribute more to environmental issues than others; how climate change affects plants, animals and water resources; and much more.
Points of Interest
- Dramatic features such as the Cascade Range and the Rogue River make Oregon an ideal setting for studying natural and cultural landscapes
- Geography majors can choose to specialize in physical geography; environmental geography; culture, politics, and place; geographic information science; or geographic education
- Undergraduate geography students helped develop The Atlas of Oregon and The Atlas of Oregon CD-ROM, two award-winning atlases created in the UO Geography Department's InfoGraphics Laboratory in collaboration with the UO Press
- Geography faculty members approach the subject from physical, cultural, social, and political perspectives, allowing students to sample a wide variety of disciplines
Sample Courses
- The Natural Environment focuses on the earth’s physical landscapes, vegetation patterns, weather, and climate, with an emphasis on the dynamic interactions among climate, landforms, vegetation, and soils
- Cartographic Methods involves theory and laboratory production of thematic maps. Students study the nature of map data, symbols, design, layout, and the history of cartography
- Population and Environment examines the patterns of population growth over history and place, current policies and programs, and impacts and trends in the United States and throughout the world
- Biogeography looks at the relation of plants and animals to the environment, the distribution of individual species, and historical changes in plant distribution
- Introductory Geographic Information Systems covers fundamental topics in data management including sources, input, manipulation, analysis, output, and product generation
- Climatology examines energy and moisture in the atmosphere, atmospheric circulation, controls of regional and microclimates, applied climatology, climatic variations, and past and future climates
- Global Environmental Change is an exploration of the natural and human-induced
environmental changes and their effects on different environmental systems
Hands-on Learning
Undergraduates have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills while earning academic credit in internship positions set up through the department. Interns use geographic techniques in the service of government, private industry, or non-governmental organizations.
Cartography and GIScience students gain hands-on learning experience in the InfoGraphics Lab. Faculty and students work on projects for campus offices and government agencies such as atlas design and production, agency reporting and mapping support, multimedia and dynamic presentation design, and campus publications. The integration of GIS and graphic design tools with carto-graphic design is a focus of the lab’s work.
Interdisciplinary Opportunities
Geography is an interdisciplinary subject by its nature, and can be easily incorporated into other areas of study. You can use it to convey cultural or physical concepts in anthropology and sociology. You can combine it with history to show the effects of war, migration, and political changes.
If you’re interested in physical applications, you can integrate geography with architecture; landscape architecture; or planning, public policy, and management.
Student Work
Weston Brinkley first came to the UO from Seattle because Eugene was far enough from home to allow him to “go away” for school, but also because UO was big enough to have so many learning opportunities that he could study anything he wanted.
He ultimately decided on a double major in economics and geography in order to delve into the world and the circumstances that define a location. “I thought it would be a good background [that] could be applied in a variety of ways in many fields,” he says.
“I have always been interested in geography,” Brinkley says. “I love places and maps and facts.”
Brinkley worked as a research assistant for Professor Don Holtgrieve on a series of professional and academic projects. Brinkley was also an assistant for Professor Susan Hardwick, where he did original research, worked with Hardwick on a paper that they published together, and finally presented the final paper at the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers annual meeting.
It was the prospect of finding a major that would let her be outside as much as possible that drew Katie Argo to geography at the UO. “I knew about the program,” she says. “It’s a great program.”
Argo worked in Assistant Professor Daniel Gavin’s lab as a research assistant for one term. She collected, measured and then cross-dated tree-ring samples, which aided Gavin’s research on forest response to climate change.
“It was a great experience,” she says. “It let me create my own project.” Her research project, which she is working on as a part of her honors program in geography, focuses on tree rings and how they are affected by climate and environmental changes. She completed her research in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest near the Blue River in Oregon.
“I like geography because it teaches you to question the world in ways other (courses) don’t,” says Alexandra Marcus. “It’s so inclusive and is very interdisciplinary.”
During her three years at the UO, Marcus has spearheaded the formation of an on-campus section of Gamma Theta Upsilon, the international geography honors fraternity. In addition, she helped set up and facilitate a series of movie nights—but instead of simply watching a movie, these groups watch a disaster movie, then have it dissected by a guest speaker. Movies like The Day After Tomorrow and Dante’s Peak were discussed last year, with each guest speaker explaining why events would or would not occur in the way the movie suggested.
“You can do all sorts of things with geography,” Marcus says. She explains that you are not limited: If you are interested in science, geography offers you plenty of opportunity to delve into the lab and research. Or, if you are interested in human interaction, you can explore international conflict, mediation, and the migration of people. “It depends on what you want to do,” Marcus says. “You can relate geography to anything.”
Selected Faculty Work
Associate Professor Peter Walker focuses on social, political, and economic factors that shape human relationships with the environment and landscapes. His regional interests are in the western U.S. and southern Africa.
Assistant Professor Amy Lobben’s research interests include behavioral geography, cartographic research methods, and visualization. She investigates spatial abilities, tasks, strategies, and processes affecting and used in navigational map reading and use. She hosts a weekly Spatial Cognition Research Group where students discuss their own current and future research and writing projects.
Career Opportunities
Geography has many applications in the real world. You might decide to do research or become a teacher. You might decide to apply your mapping skills to a career in architecture, city planning, or environmental activism. The knowledge you will have gained is valuable in the travel industry as well as politics. Your background will allow you to evaluate polls, demographic studies, and other geographic data. Geography touches upon so many different fields it can lead you places you never would have imagined.
Contact Information
(541) 346-4555
(541) 346-2067 fax