Geography Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to define geography and be able to describe in good detail the
major subdivisions of the field of geography; explain what geographers do; and how
geography relates to a variety of real-world jobs (all majors).
- Students will gain factual knowledge about the world and its regions focusing on the
diversity of natural and cultural landscape features, and they will know some basic
principles, definitions, and themes in the subject matter of geography (all majors).
- Students will attain increased global awareness and become more geographically-
informed people. They will attain one of the goals of a liberal arts education, which is to
produce an enlightened citizenry capable of appreciating the special role of geographical
factors in the political, economic, and social life of other countries. They will be able to
use geographical analysis to help explain some of the great regional issues of the
present time, particularly geopolitical, economic, social, and environmental problems
and issues (all majors).
- Students will know the history and development of urbanization in the United States
and the need for urban and regional planning in the United States in recent times.
Students will be familiar with the variety of issues and problems studied by urban and
regional planners and how they apply their expertise to resolve these issues and
problems in modern urban America (Environmental Studies and Sustainability).
- Students will have an effective understand and an applied knowledge of the variables as
they apply to environmental and land use planning matters and be able to effectively
express their opinions both written and orally after critically analyzing an issue
(Environmental Studies and Sustainability).
- Students will be able to apply their understanding of land use and planning principles in
a manner that will allow them to elicit and formulate an effective plan. Students will be
able to effectively articulate their proposals both written and orally and be capable of
advocating on behalf of their plan, as well as to negotiate with those who may oppose
their plan (Environmental Studies and Sustainability).
- Students will have a basic knowledge of the theoretical and applied realms of
geographic information science (GIS). Within the theoretical domain of GIS, students will
have knowledge of the standard principles of managing spatial data in a GIS, including
geographic referencing systems, data input, analysis, and output. After acquiring
practical applications of this technology, students will be able to apply GIS to manage
and solve geographic and non-geographic problems using spatial analysis (all majors,
especially GIS and Spatial Analysis concentration).
- Students will acquire a comprehensive understanding of the economic landscape, at the
local, regional, and worldwide scale, in terms of where goods and services are produced,
exchanged, transported, and consumed, while also recognizing the sharply unequal
geographical patterns observed in the indicators of economic performance and the
standard of living. Students will grasp how the rapidly globalizing market, global
competition, technological innovations, the rise of knowledge-intensive activities, new
manufacturing and corporate management concepts, and improving communications
and transportation are drastically shifting the competitive positions of different
geographic areas and their industries. Anchored in theory and analytical techniques,
students will have the ability to translate these changing dynamics into effective roles in
policy analysis and practical decision-aiding planning tasks for stimulating economic
development, creating jobs, promoting trade and investment, redeveloping urban and
brownfield zones, and selecting optimal locations for retail and manufacturing activities
(all majors).
- Students will gain a liberal arts education rooted in an understanding of critical global
themes. These include contemporary economic, political, cultural, and environmental
issues. The objective is to provide theoretical analyses and empirical evidence that make
students aware of the complexities and realities of the world in which we live. Critical
concepts like globalization, development, interconnection, spatial inequality, and global
governance are introduced, defined, explained and discussed. Students will become
more globally aware, producing a more astute global citizen, ready for contemporary
opportunities, yet also aware of global constraints (all majors).
- Students will learn and understand the interplay of humans and the environment, and
the effects of humans on the environment. This includes not only the distributions of
environmental features, conditions, and resources, but also where people live and how
they use the environment. Students will know how to apply environmental planning and
analysis methods and technologies such as GIS, remote sensing, and mapping to analyze
and assess environmental situations and conditions. Students will understand and
appreciate current problems, trends and significant issues in environmental affairs
locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. Students will know how to integrate the
physical/nature science aspects of geography with the social, cultural, economic, and
political aspects to gain a better understanding of complex environmental issues and
problems such as global warming, acid precipitation, depletion of the ozone layer,
hazardous waste generation, treatment and disposal, wetlands and wildlife habitat
destruction, and various other natural and man-made hazards. Students will understand
the purposes of and be familiar with the major environmental agencies, laws, and
regulations, and how they are applied – NEPA, EPA, MEPA, FEMA, MEMA, and Army
Corps of Engineers (Environmental Studies and Sustainability).
