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Geography

Concentration Chairman: Marvin Mikesell, P 323, 702-8313
Committee Secretary: Natalia Uribe, P 301, 702-8301

Program of Study

The discipline of geography contributes to an understanding of society by exploring the earth's environment and its interactions with human life, by inquiring into cultures and societies from the perspective of area study, and by investigating problems of spatial organization. The Bachelor of Arts program in geography offers a distinctive focus for general education and provides a background both for advanced specialization in the discipline and for study in other fields. Solid grounding in modern geography can lead to careers in government service, environmental consulting, marketing, publishing, planning, and teaching at all levels.

Program Requirements

The B.A. degree in geography calls for the satisfactory completion of eleven courses, at least eight of which must be in geography. These include the orientation course (Geography 200), an introduction to maps and mapping (Geography 282), the senior seminar (Geography 299), and at least eight additional geography courses, up to three of which may be in approved related fields. A bachelor's thesis is prepared in connection with the senior seminar.

Summary of Requirements

Concentration
1 Geog 200

1 Geog 282

8 additional geography courses; up to three

may be in approved related fields

1 Senior Seminar (Geog 299)

- B.A. paper

11

Grading.
All courses counting toward the geography concentration are taken for letter grades. A minimum of a C average is expected.

Special Honors.
Special honors in geography are awarded to students with an overall grade point average of 3.0 or better who submit a bachelor's thesis judged to be outstanding.

Awards.
Each year the Committee on Geographical Studies nominates outstanding senior geography concentrators for an Outstanding Senior in Geography Award from the Illinois Geographical Society and an Award for Excellence from the National Council for Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers.

Joint B.A./M.A. Program.
This program permits qualified students to enter upon a course of graduate study before completion of their work in the College. Approval and supervision is in the hands of a faculty committee, acting in consultation with the dean of students in the College. Students must apply for the B.A./M.A. program in geography by April 1 of their third year in the College. They are admitted to candidacy for the master's degree during their fourth year in the College. In recognition of the advanced level of performance attained by these students, up to three courses taken as part of the College concentration in geography may be counted toward the nine-course master's requirement. Both a bachelor's thesis and a master's paper are required.

Faculty

MICHAEL P. CONZEN, Professor, Committee on Geographical Studies and the College; Chairman, Committee on Geographical Studies

NEIL HARRIS, Preston and Sterling Morton Professor, Department of History, Committees on Geographical Studies and General Studies in the Humanities, and the College

DORIS B. HOLLEB, Professorial Lecturer, Committee on Geographical Studies and the College

MARVIN W. MIKESELL, Professor, Committee on Geographical Studies and the College

PAULA REBERT, Professorial Lecturer, Committee on Geographical Studies

GERALD D. SUTTLES, Professor, Department of Sociology, Committee on Geographical Studies, and the College

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