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Home , Environmental science

& Earth

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND HEALTH

Undergraduate Programs Department Overview

Majors: Geography is the science of place and space. Geographers ask where • Geography* with concentrations in: things are located on the surface of the earth, why they are located where • Environmental Science they are, how places differ from one another, and how people interact with • Geographic the environment. There are three main branches of geography: , and environmental geography. Human Minors: geography is concerned with the spatial aspects of human existence - • * how people and their activity are distributed in space, how they use and • Geographic Information Science perceive space, and how they create and sustain the places that make • Geography* up the earth’s surface. Human geographers work in the fields of urban • Geoarchaeology and , transportation, marketing, real estate, tourism, and international business. Physical geographers study patterns of climates, *Teacher certification available land forms, vegetation, soils, and water. They forecast the weather, manage land and water resources, and analyze and plan for forests, rangelands, and wetlands. Environmental geographers examine the linkages between Sample Courses human activity and natural systems, how humans impact the and what actions we can take to reduce our footprints. • Earth Environments • of the Environmental geographers work as habitat and endangered species • World Cultural Regions Environment conservationists, land preservation managers and analysts. • Conservation of Global • Environmental Hazards Geographers have skills in and Geographic Information Environments • Weather & Climate Systems (GIS). • Web Mapping • • Unmanned Aerial Systems and Conservation Students who are considering studying geography and earth science will (drones) • Transportation Geography probably answer yes to one or more of the following questions: Are you • Maps & Society • Earth’s Polar Regions curious about places? Do you like to study maps? Are you interested in • Global Warming & Climate • Map Design and the constantly changing pattern of human activity and natural phenomena Change Geovisualization on the landscape? Are you interested in foreign areas? Do you like • Contemporary Global Issues • Earth Surface Processes to work outside? Are you a problem solver? Are you good at seeing • Spatial Data Analysis • RiverSystems connections among seemingly unrelated processes? Can you adapt to • Geography of Europe rapid technological change? Do you try to see the bigger picture? Are you • Economic & Political interested in connections between humans and the environment? Geography • • Maps and GIS • Geographic Information Systems, Intro & Advanced

Geography & Earth Science Department 2004 Cowley Hall 608.785.8333 www.uwlax.edu/geography

View degree requirements: www.uwlax.edu/catalog Geography & Earth Science

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND HEALTH

Department Features Occupational Outlook

The department has dedicated instructors, willing to devote considerable Geography is an attractive major for students. Its theories and amounts of their time to individual students in order to enhance their educational methods provide analytical techniques applicable to a wide range of experience at UWL. There are opportunities to work with faculty members on questions asked over a broad spectrum of occupations. The potential undergraduate research projects, or to participate in small group extended field for practicing geography in private enterprise and government has trips to selected parts of the United States and abroad. The department has grown considerably in recent years, although few such positions its own well-equipped laboratories for instruction in GIS, remote sensing and are designated with the title of geographer. Career opportunities unmanned aerial vehicle systems (UAVs), as well as a soil laboratory and an on- exist in areas where the spatial perspective and the facility of using campus weather station. maps, aerial photographs, and satellite images are especially useful. Included are such areas as city and regional planning, environmental INTERNSHIPS management, market research, map design and publication, The Geography & Earth Science Department encourages, promotes, and international business, and many state and national governmental assists students to seek internship opportunities in the private sector as well agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey, the Natural Resources as all levels of government agencies. There are a wide variety of organizations Conservation Service, the National Weather Service, the National within the La Crosse area that provide geography internships. These include Park Service, and the National Biological Survey. grass-root non-profit organizations, private companies, and city, county, state, Graduating majors have not had difficulty obtaining employment and federal government offices. because of the variety of jobs available to people with geographic Program Features training. Most recently, the need for environmental planners in both government and industry has resulted in tremendous demand for our The geography major is designed to provide students with a strong, broad graduates with applied geography skills. The long-term opportunities background in geography and earth science and GIS while offering them for geographers and earth are the brightest they have been flexibility in choosing relevant electives in geography and in related support in years, given the needs our society has placed on understanding areas. The goal of this curriculum is to prepare students for (1) entry-level our environment and for careful planning of our land, both locally and positions in business and government, and (2) graduate programs in geography internationally. and earth science. The program also encourages and provides ample opportunity for students to participate in internship programs and to conduct JOB TITLES OF GRADUATES undergraduate research. • Business Trade Area Analyst • State Park Service Naturalist Career Opportunities • Cartographer, Department of • Transportation Research and Defense Planning For students planning to end their formal education with the bachelor’s degree, • Educational Media Specialist, • US Army Corps of Engineers a geography major provides marketable skills and the broad perspectives on National Geographic Society • Water Resources Planner environment and society that enable graduates to move beyond entry-level • GIS, Soil Conservation Service • Cartographer, Garmin, USA positions. For similar reasons, geography provides a sound foundation for • GIS Technician, Department of • Environmental Analyst, State students who plan to enter graduate work in a variety of fields. Transportation Highway and Transportation • Business Site Selector • GIS Technician • GIS Technician, Wisconsin Dept., Arkansas • Cartographer • Land Use and Urban Planner Department of Administration • Researcher/GIS Specialist, • Demographer • Control Specialist • GIS Technician, private Historical Information Gathers, • DNR Resource Planner • Satellite and Air Photo Image development company Inc., MN • Field Technician Interpreter • GIS, Wisconsin Department of • City Planner, Onalaska, WI • Foreign Service Officer • UAV Specialist Natural Resources • GIS Lab Manager, USGS, La • Instructor, U.S. Military Crosse, WI GRADUATE EDUCATION Academy, West Point • IT/GIS Security, Gundersen, While there is not a graduate program in geography or earth science at UWL, • Meteorologist, National La Crosse, WI the undergraduate program is of such breadth that a well-qualified graduate Weather • GIS Analyst, SYNCADD would find no difficulty being accepted into graduate school. Students seeking • Planner, Department of Natural Systems, Inc, USA advanced degrees frequently have college or university teaching as a career Resources goal, but may also be seeking additional training in an applied geography or • Soil Conservationist earth science field.