Are you passionate about environmental sustainability? Are you curious about what a socially just world might look like? Do you find physical landscapes inspiring? Are you interested in the analysis and visualization of data? Are you intrigued by the diversity of people and places around the world? Do you find the social life of cities fascinating? Are you kept up at night wondering why some places are rich while others are poor? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, but especially more than one, Geography could be a great fit for you. Geography is especially ideal for individuals who have a wide range of interests spanning the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and data sciences.
Geography is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand patterns and interrelationships on Earth. These range from humans' relationships with the environment and the interactions of earth systems to the social worlds and built environments that different societies build to mapping and spatial analysis of big data. It is a rich and vibrant discipline that is essential to understanding the world and many of its problems. Geography thus offers a unique lens through which to illuminate the intertwined places, societies, and ecologies that comprise our diverse world.
How to Get in
Exploring the field of geography at UW–Madison is easy. Interested students are strongly encouraged to take introductory courses in the field. The Department of Geography offers four intro courses, each of which surveys one of the four major subareas that comprise the discipline:
- human geography;
- people–environment geography;
- physical geography; and
- cartography and geographic information science.
The four intro classes are:
- GEOG 101 Introduction to Human Geography;
- GEOG/ENVIR ST 120 Introduction to the Earth System;
- GEOG/ENVIR ST 139 Global Environmental Issues; and
- GEOG 170 Our Digital Globe: An Overview of GIScience and its Technology (online).
Students who intend to declare their major in geography must schedule an appointment with the geography undergraduate advisor.
University General Education Requirements
All undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are required to fulfill a minimum set of common university general education requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of an undergraduate education. This core establishes a foundation for living a productive life, being a citizen of the world, appreciating aesthetic values, and engaging in lifelong learning in a continually changing world. Various schools and colleges will have requirements in addition to the requirements listed below. Consult your advisor for assistance, as needed. For additional information, see the university Undergraduate General Education Requirements section of the Guide.
| General Education |
* The mortarboard symbol appears before the title of any course that fulfills one of the Communication Part A or Part B, Ethnic Studies, or Quantitative Reasoning Part A or Part B requirements. |
College of Letters & Science Degree Requirements: Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Students pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in the College of Letters & Science must complete all of the requirements below. The College of Letters & Science allows this major to be paired with either a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science curriculum.
Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements
| Mathematics | Complete the University General Education Requirements for Quantitative Reasoning A (QR-A) and Quantitative Reasoning B (QR-B) coursework. |
| Language |
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| LS Breadth |
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| Liberal Arts and Science Coursework | Complete at least 108 credits. |
| Depth of Intermediate/Advanced work | Complete at least 60 credits at the intermediate or advanced level. |
| Major | Declare and complete at least one major. |
| Total Credits | Complete at least 120 credits. |
| UW-Madison Experience |
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| Quality of Work |
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Non–L&S students pursuing an L&S major
Non–L&S students who have permission from their school/college to pursue an additional major within L&S only need to fulfill the major requirements. They do not need to complete the L&S Degree Requirements above.
Requirements for the Major
Students must declare one of the major options below, complete Core Requirements common to each option, and also the specific requirements for their declared option.
Core Requirements
30 credits the major, to include these core requirements:
Breadth
3 courses, 1 each from these areas:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Human Geography (1 course) | 3 | |
| Introduction to Human Geography | ||
| Introduction to Human Geography | ||
| Making the American Landscape | ||
| Weird Geographies | ||
| Revolutions and Social Change | ||
| Economic Geography: Locational Behavior | ||
| Introduction to the City | ||
| International Migration, Health, and Human Rights | ||
| Latinx Feminisms: Women's Lives, Work, and Activism | ||
| The Global Game: Soccer, Politics, and Identity | ||
| Universal Basic Income: The Politics Behind a Global Movement | ||
| Introduction to Geopolitics | ||
| World Regions in Global Context | ||
| Geography of Wisconsin | ||
| Africa, South of the Sahara | ||
| Human Geography of Southeast Asia | ||
| Critical Indigenous Ecological Knowledges | ||
| Space and Place: A Geography of Experience | ||
| Researching the City: Qualitative Strategies | ||
| Feminist Geography: Theoretical Approaches | ||
| Urban Spatial Patterns and Theories | ||
| Waste Geographies: Politics, People, and Infrastructures | ||
| Economic Geography | ||
| Critical Social Theory | ||
| Feminist Geography: Methodological Approaches | ||
| Power, Place, Identity | ||
| History of Geographic Thought | ||
| People–Environment (1 course) | 3 | |
| Global Environmental Issues | ||
| Making the American Landscape | ||
| People, Land and Food: Comparative Study of Agriculture Systems | ||
| Global Warming: Science and Impacts | ||
| Green Urbanism | ||
| Nature, Power and Society | ||
| Environmental Biogeography | ||
| Environmental Conservation | ||
| World Regions in Global Context | ||
| Changing Landscapes of the American West | ||
| Caring for Nature in Native North America | ||
| Australia: Environment and Society | ||
| Critical Indigenous Ecological Knowledges | ||
| People, Wildlife and Landscapes | ||
| US Environmental Policy and Regulation | ||
| American Environmental History | ||
| Human Transformations of Earth Surface Processes | ||
| Environmental Governance: Markets, States and Nature | ||
| Culture and Environment | ||
| The Humid Tropics: Ecology, Subsistence, and Development | ||
| Development and Environment in Southeast Asia | ||
| Physical Geography (1 course) | 3 | |
| Introduction to the Earth System | ||
| Physical Systems of the Environment | ||
| Geomorphology | ||
| Polar Regions and Their Importance in the Global Environment | ||
| Landforms and Landscapes of North America | ||
| Global Warming: Science and Impacts | ||
| Climatic Environments of the Past | ||
| Environmental Biogeography | ||
| Geography of Wisconsin | ||
| Changing Landscapes of the American West | ||
| Glacial and Pleistocene Geology | ||
| Advanced Paleoecology: Species Responses to Past Environmental Change | ||
| Soil Geomorphology | ||
| Human Transformations of Earth Surface Processes | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Capstone
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Complete one of: | 3-6 | |
| Colloquium for Undergraduate Majors | ||
| Senior Honors Thesis and Senior Honors Thesis | ||
| Senior Thesis and Senior Thesis | ||
| Total Credits | 3-6 | |
Major Options
Declare one of these major options:
Residence and Quality of Work
- 2.000 GPA in GEOG and major courses
- 2.000 GPA on 15 upper-level credits, taken in residence 1
- 15 credits in GEOG, taken on the UW–Madison campus
- 1
GEOG courses designated Intermediate/Advanced are upper level in this major.
Honors in the Major
Students may declare Honors in the Geography Major in consultation with the Geography undergraduate advisor.
Honors in the Major Requirements
To earn a BA or BS with Honors in the Major in Geography students must satisfy both the requirements for the major (above) and the following additional requirements:
- Earn a 3.300 University GPA
- Earn a 3.300 GPA in all GEOG courses and major courses
- At least 1 Advanced level major course or 6 credits in major courses numbered 300 and higher, taken for Honors
- Complete a two-semester Senior Honors Thesis (GEOG 681 & GEOG 682) for a total of 6 credits.
University Degree Requirements
| Total Degree | To receive a bachelor's degree from UW–Madison, students must earn a minimum of 120 degree credits. The requirements for some programs may exceed 120 degree credits. Students should consult with their college or department advisor for information on specific credit requirements. |
| Residency | Degree candidates are required to earn a minimum of 30 credits in residence at UW–Madison. "In residence" means on the UW–Madison campus with an undergraduate degree classification. “In residence” credit also includes UW–Madison courses offered in distance or online formats and credits earned in UW–Madison Study Abroad/Study Away programs. |
| Quality of Work | Undergraduate students must maintain the minimum grade point average specified by the school, college, or academic program to remain in good academic standing. Students whose academic performance drops below these minimum thresholds will be placed on academic probation. |
Learning Outcomes
- Explain patterns and relationships that result from human societal dynamics, Earth systems processes, and the interaction of these dynamics and processes at a range of spatial and temporal scales.
- Analyze the interdependencies within and among human societal dynamics, people and environment relations, and Earth systems.
- Employ appropriate theories, methodologies, technologies, and ethical frameworks to design and conduct research, and analyze and assess research findings.
- Critically interpret theoretical texts and empirical materials from a wide range of sources using appropriate ethical practices, theories, methods, and GIS tools from the humanities, social sciences, and Earth systems sciences.
- Apply geographic concepts, information, approaches, and technologies to inform community-engaged discussions, policy debates, and public and private sector planning efforts about the Earth, people and environment relations, and human geographies.
- Present complex geographic concepts and information using written, oral, and visual forms of communication effective for disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and general public audiences.
Four-Year Plan
This Four-Year Plan is only one way a student may complete an L&S degree with this major. Many factors can affect student degree planning, including placement scores, credit for transferred courses, credits earned by examination, and individual scholarly interests. In addition, many students have commitments (e.g., athletics, honors, research, student organizations, study abroad, work and volunteer experiences) that necessitate they adjust their plans accordingly. Informed students engage in their own unique Wisconsin Experience by consulting their academic advisors, Guide, DARS, and Course Search & Enroll for assistance making and adjusting their plan.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Communication A | 3 | Ethnic Studies (e.g., GEOG 305) | 3 |
| Quantitative Reasoning A | 3 | Quantitative Reasoning B | 3 |
| Foreign Language | 4 | Introductory GEOG | 3 |
| Biological Science Breadth | 3 | Foreign Language | 4 |
| Introductory GEOG | 3-4 | Literature Breadth | 3 |
| 16 | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Communication B (e.g., GEOG 101) | 4 | Humanities Breadth | 3 |
| Humanities Breadth | 3 | Social Science Breadth | 3 |
| Major course: Human Geography | 3-4 | Major course: Physical Geography | 3 |
| INTER-LS 210 | 1 | Major course: People-Environment | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| 14 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Social Science Breadth | 3 | Literature Breadth | 3 |
| Natural Science Breadth | 3 | Major course: Mapping | 3-4 |
| Humanities Breadth | 3 | GEOG 365 | 3 |
| Intermediate-Level Geography in Subarea | 3-4 | Electives | 6 |
| STAT 301 | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| GEOG 565 | 3 | Advanced-Level Geography Elective in Subarea | 3-4 |
| Intermediate-Level Geography Elective in Subarea | 3-4 | Electives | 10 |
| Electives | 8 | ||
| 15 | 14 | ||
| Total Credits 120 | |||
Advising and Careers
Advising
Students with questions about the major, courses, and careers are encouraged to contact the geography undergraduate advisor, Joel Gruley, at jgruley@wisc.edu.
Careers
Given its interdisciplinary nature, Geography prepares students for employment in a wide variety of fields spanning the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, both domestically and abroad. Fields where geographers commonly find employment include, but are not limited to: ecological restoration; urban planning; economic development; human rights; corporate sustainability; immigration advocacy and refugee resettlement; environmental consulting; social movements and community organization; national security; data analysis and visualization; risk assessment; public health; journalism; diplomacy; transportation; sustainable agrifood systems. Moreover, geographers trained in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and cartography are in high demand from governments, businesses, and nonprofits for their spatial data analysis and visualization skills.
L&S Career Resources
Every L&S major opens a world of possibilities. SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science helps students turn the academic skills learned in their major, certificates, and other coursework into fulfilling lives after graduation, whether that means jobs, public service, graduate school or other career pursuits.
In addition to providing basic support like resume reviews and interview practice, SuccessWorks offers ways to explore interests and build career skills from their very first semester/term at UW all the way through graduation and beyond.
Students can explore careers in one-on-one advising, try out different career paths, complete internships, prepare for the job search and/or graduate school applications, and connect with supportive alumni and even employers in the fields that inspire them.
- SuccessWorks
- Set up a career advising appointment
- Enroll in a Career Course - a great idea for first- and second-year students:
- INTER-LS 210 L&S Career Development: Taking Initiative (1 credit)
- INTER-LS 215 Communicating About Careers (3 credits, fulfills Comm B General Education Requirement)
- Learn about internships and internship funding
- INTER-LS 260 Internship in the Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Activate your Handshake account to apply for jobs and internships from 200,000+ employers recruiting UW-Madison students
- Learn about the impact SuccessWorks has on students' lives