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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.   

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: (1) human geography; (2) people–environment geography; (3) physical geography; (4) and cartography and geographic information science. The four intro classes are:

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
  • Breadth—Humanities/Literature/Arts: 6 credits
  • Breadth—Natural Science: 4 to 6 credits, consisting of one 4- or 5-credit course with a laboratory component; or two courses providing a total of 6 credits
  • Breadth—Social Studies: 3 credits
  • Communication Part A & Part B *
  • Ethnic Studies *
  • Quantitative Reasoning Part A & Part B *

* 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 Science (B.S.)

Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science 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 the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Science degree requirements.

Bachelor of Science DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Mathematics Complete two courses of 3+ credits at the Intermediate or Advanced level in MATH, COMP SCI, or STAT subjects. A maximum of one course in each of COMP SCI and STAT subjects counts toward this requirement.
Foreign Language Complete the third unit of a foreign language.
L&S Breadth Complete:
• 12 credits of Humanities, which must include at least 6 credits of Literature; and
• 12 credits of Social Science; and
• 12 credits of Natural Science, which must include 6 credits of Biological Science and 6 credits of Physical Science.
Liberal Arts and Science Coursework Complete at least 108 credits.
Depth of Intermediate/Advanced Coursework 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 Complete both:
• 30 credits in residence, overall, and
• 30 credits in residence after the 86th credit.
Quality of Work • 2.000 in all coursework at UW–Madison
• 2.000 in Intermediate/Advanced level coursework at UW–Madison

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:

Human Geography (1 course)3
Introduction to Human Geography
Introduction to Human Geography
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
The Making of the American Landscape
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
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
Managing 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
The Making of the American Landscape
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
Past Climates and Climatic Change
Total Credits9

CAPSTONE

Complete one of:3-6
Colloquium for Undergraduate Majors
Senior Honors Thesis
and Senior Honors Thesis
Senior Thesis
and Senior Thesis
Total Credits3-6

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 B.A. or B.S. 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.
  1. A broad spectrum of geographical knowledge and skills, as well as a degree of expertise in a specific sub-field of the discipline (Human, People-Environment, Physical, Cart/GIS).
  2. Skills in developing and implementing research plans.
  3. Critical reasoning and analytical skills.
  4. Communication skills - both written and oral.

Sample Four-Year Plan

This Sample Four-Year Plan is a tool to assist students and their advisor(s). Students should use it—along with their DARS report, the Degree Planner, and Course Search & Enroll tools—to make their own four-year plan based on their placement scores, credit for transferred courses and approved examinations, and individual interests. As students become involved in athletics, honors, research, student organizations, study abroad, volunteer experiences, and/or work, they might adjust the order of their courses to accommodate these experiences. Students will likely revise their own four-year plan several times during college.

First Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
Communication A3Ethnic Studies (e.g., GEOG 305)3
Quantitative Reasoning A3Quantitative Reasoning B3
Foreign Language4Introductory GEOG3
Biological Science Breadth3Foreign Language4
Introductory GEOG3-4Literature Breadth3
 16 16
Second Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
Communication B (e.g., GEOG 101)4Humanities Breadth3
Humanities Breadth3Social Science Breadth3
Major course: Human Geography3-4Major course: Physical Geography3
INTER-LS 2101Major course: People-Environment3
Elective3Elective3
 14 15
Third Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
Social Science Breadth3Literature Breadth3
Natural Science Breadth3Major course: Mapping3-4
Humanities Breadth3GEOG 3653
Intermediate-Level Geography in Subarea3-4Electives6
STAT 3013 
 15 15
Fourth Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
GEOG 5653Advanced-Level Geography Elective in Subarea3-4
Intermediate-Level Geography Elective in Subarea3-4Electives10
Electives8 
 15 14
Total Credits 120

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.

Professors Burt, Cadwallader, Cronon, Downey, Kaiser, Knox, Mason, Naughton, Olds, Ostergren, Turner, Williams, Zhu

Associate Professors Alatout, Dennis

Assistant Professors Baird,  Gibbs, Marin-Spiotta, Ozdogan, Robertson, Roth, Schneider, Woodward, Young