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This minor may only be completed by students admitted to the Elementary Education or the Elementary Education and Special Education programs. A minor is not required to complete either program.

Minors provide a depth of study in a particular area of interest and also inform classroom instruction. The completion of a minor is required to teach middle school in some states and may benefit students particularly interested in teaching at this level.

The Department of Geography is housed in the College of Letters & Science. Students may wish to consult with academic advisor Joel Gruley, jgruley@wisc.edu, 144 Science Hall, 608-262-4438, to discuss course selection and other issues related to this field of study.

Upon completion, the subject area of the minor will be posted on the UW–Madison transcript. Students will not receive an additional certification or license in the subject area. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction does not offer content licenses in association with the Elementary Education or Special Education teaching licenses.

How to Get In

This minor may only be declared by students completing the Elementary Education or the Elementary Education and Special Education programs. To declare the minor, contact your academic advisor in Education Student Services any time after program admission.

 

Requirements

The geography minor requires a minimum of 24 credits. Beyond the required course you must select one course from each of the distribution lists. Each course may be counted in only one of the groups. Coursework must include at least two upper-level courses, numbered 300–699. 

A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 is required, based on all geography minor coursework taken on the UW–Madison campus.

Required Course

GEOG 342 Geography of Wisconsin (Or an acceptable substitute selected in consultation with the undergraduate advisor in the Department of Geography. This course may be also used to fulfill the requirement in Area Studies and Global Systems)3

Course Distribution Requirements

Complete one course from each of the six groups:

Physical Geography: Earth Systems and Environmental Processes

Courses address the locational arrangements of earth phenomena and their interaction as physical systems.

Physical Geography: Earth Systems and Environmental Processes course options
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  120 Introduction to the Earth System3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  127 Physical Systems of the Environment4
GEOG/​GEOSCI  320 Geomorphology3
GEOG/​ATM OCN/​ENVIR ST  322 Polar Regions and Their Importance in the Global Environment3
GEOG/​ATM OCN  323 Science of Climate Change3
GEOG/​GEOSCI  326 Landforms-Topics and Regions3
GEOG 329 Landforms and Landscapes of North America3
GEOG/​ATM OCN/​ENVIR ST  332 Global Warming: Science and Impacts3
GEOG/​ATM OCN/​ENVIR ST/​GEOSCI  335 Climatic Environments of the Past3
GEOG/​BOTANY  338 Environmental Biogeography3
GEOG 344 Changing Landscapes of the American West3
GEOG/​GEOSCI  420 Glacial and Pleistocene Geology3
GEOG 523 Advanced Paleoecology: Species Responses to Past Environmental Change3
GEOG/​SOIL SCI  525 Soil Geomorphology3
GEOG/​SOIL SCI  526 Human Transformations of Earth Surface Processes3

People–Environment Interaction

Courses examine human use, perception, and modification of environments.

People–Environment Interaction course options
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  139 Global Environmental Issues3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST/​SOIL SCI  230 Soil: Ecosystem and Resource3
GEOG/​ART HIST/​ENVIR ST/​HISTORY/​LAND ARC  239 Making the American Landscape3-4
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  309 People, Land and Food: Comparative Study of Agriculture Systems3
GEOG/​ATM OCN/​ENVIR ST  332 Global Warming: Science and Impacts3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  333 Green Urbanism3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  337 Nature, Power and Society3
GEOG/​BOTANY  338 Environmental Biogeography3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  339 Environmental Conservation4
GEOG 340 World Regions in Global Context3
GEOG 344 Changing Landscapes of the American West3
GEOG/​AMER IND/​ENVIR ST  345 Caring for Nature in Native North America3
GEOG 359 Australia: Environment and Society3
GEOG/​AMER IND  410 Critical Indigenous Ecological Knowledges3
GEOG/​C&E SOC/​ENVIR ST  434 People, Wildlife and Landscapes3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  439 US Environmental Policy and Regulation3-4
GEOG/​ENVIR ST/​HISTORY  460 American Environmental History4
GEOG/​SOIL SCI  526 Human Transformations of Earth Surface Processes3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  534 Environmental Governance: Markets, States and Nature3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  537 Culture and Environment4
GEOG 538 The Humid Tropics: Ecology, Subsistence, and Development3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  557 Development and Environment in Southeast Asia3

Human Geography

Courses examine the location and organization of human settlements and activities.

Human Geography course options
GEOG 101 Introduction to Human Geography4
GEOG 104 Introduction to Human Geography3
GEOG/​ART HIST/​ENVIR ST/​HISTORY/​LAND ARC  239 Making the American Landscape3-4
GEOG 300 Weird Geographies3
GEOG 301 Revolutions and Social Change3
GEOG 302 Economic Geography: Locational Behavior4
GEOG/​URB R PL  305 Introduction to the City3-4
GEOG 307 International Migration, Health, and Human Rights3
GEOG/​CHICLA/​GEN&WS  308 Latinx Feminisms: Women's Lives, Work, and Activism3
GEOG/​INTL ST  311 The Global Game: Soccer, Politics, and Identity3
GEOG/​INTL ST  315 Universal Basic Income: The Politics Behind a Global Movement3
GEOG 318 Introduction to Geopolitics3
GEOG 340 World Regions in Global Context3
GEOG 348 Latin America4
GEOG 349 Europe3
GEOG 355 Africa, South of the Sahara3
GEOG 358 Human Geography of Southeast Asia3
GEOG/​AMER IND  410 Critical Indigenous Ecological Knowledges3
GEOG 501 Space and Place: A Geography of Experience3
GEOG/​URB R PL  503 Researching the City: Qualitative Strategies3
GEOG/​GEN&WS  504 Feminist Geography: Theoretical Approaches3
GEOG/​URB R PL  505 Urban Spatial Patterns and Theories3
GEOG/​URB R PL  506 Historical Geography of European Urbanization3
GEOG 507 Waste Geographies: Politics, People, and Infrastructures3
GEOG 510 Economic Geography4
GEOG 511 Critical Social Theory3
GEOG/​GEN&WS  514 Feminist Geography: Methodological Approaches3
GEOG 518 Power, Place, Identity3
GEOG 566 History of Geographic Thought3

Area Studies and Global Systems

Courses focus on the ways in which regions, places, and landscapes have acquired distinctive characteristics and problems as a result of their locations and resource potentials, and of their settlement, appraisal, and use by particular peoples and cultures.

Area Studies and Global Systems course options
GEOG/​ASIAN/​HISTORY/​POLI SCI/​SOC  244 Introduction to Southeast Asia: Vietnam to the Philippines4
GEOG/​HISTORY/​POLI SCI/​SLAVIC  253 Russia: An Interdisciplinary Survey4
GEOG/​AFROAMER/​ANTHRO/​C&E SOC/​HISTORY/​LACIS/​POLI SCI/​SOC/​SPANISH  260 Latin America: An Introduction3-4
GEOG/​AFRICAN/​AFROAMER/​ANTHRO/​HISTORY/​POLI SCI/​SOC  277 Africa: An Introductory Survey4
GEOG 342 Geography of Wisconsin3
GEOG 348 Latin America4
GEOG 355 Africa, South of the Sahara3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST  557 Development and Environment in Southeast Asia3

Cartography and Geographic Information Science

Courses examine the creation and use of maps.

Cartography and Geographic Information Science course options
GEOG 170 Our Digital Globe: An Overview of GIScience and its Technology3
GEOG 370 Introduction to Cartography4
GEOG/​ENVIR ST/​F&W ECOL/​G L E/​GEOSCI/​LAND ARC  371 Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST/​F&W ECOL/​G L E/​GEOSCI/​LAND ARC  372 Intermediate Environmental Remote Sensing3
GEOG/​CIV ENGR/​ENVIR ST  377 An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems4
GEOG 378 Introduction to Geocomputing4
GEOG 379 Geospatial Technologies: Drones, Sensors, and Applications3
GEOG/​ENVIR ST/​LAND ARC/​URB R PL  532 Applications of Geographic Information Systems in Planning3
GEOG 572 Graphic Design in Cartography3-4
GEOG 573 Advanced Geocomputing and Geospatial Big Data Analytics4
GEOG 574 Geospatial Database Design and Development4
GEOG 575 Interactive Cartography & Geovisualization4
GEOG 576 Geospatial Web and Mobile Programming4
GEOG 578 GIS Applications4
GEOG 579 GIS and Spatial Analysis4

Methodology

Courses examine the skills, techniques and methodology necessary to conduct geographic investigation.

Methodology course options
GEOG 170 Our Digital Globe: An Overview of GIScience and its Technology3
GEOG 365 Geographical Traditions and Practices3
GEOG 370 Introduction to Cartography4
GEOG/​CIV ENGR/​ENVIR ST  377 An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems4
GEOG 500 Qualitative Strategies in Geography3
GEOG 560 Advanced Quantitative Methods3
GEOG 565 Colloquium for Undergraduate Majors (offered only in fall)3
STAT 301 Introduction to Statistical Methods3
STAT 324 Introductory Applied Statistics for Engineers3
STAT 371 Introductory Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences3