General Catalog 2001-2002
Posted April 9, 2001

Department Office: 270 Orson Spencer Hall, 581-8218 

Web Address: www.geog.utah.edu. 

Department Chair, Thomas M. Kontuly, Ph.D. 

Faculty

Professors. D. Currey, P. Emmi, G. Hepner, T. Kontuly, C. Lee, M. Ridd. 

Professors Emeritus. A. Fisher, R. McCoy, L. Wullstein. 

Associate Professor. H. Miller. 

Associate Professor Emeritus. J. King. 

Assistant Professors. T. Cova, R. Forster, K. Moser. 

Professor-Lecturer. S. Hampson. 

Assistant Professor-Lecturer. T. Davis. 

Assistant Research Professor. G. Nash. 

Adjunct Professors. R. Becker, E. Carr, J. Keaton, T. Ross. 

Adjunct Associate Professors. K. Bartholomew, J. Degiorgio, W. Harrison, E. Lips, F. May. 

Adjunct Assistant Professors. P. Perlich, S. Swaner, P. Thompson. 

Adviser. Spike Hampson, 585-5698. 

Director of DIGIT Lab. G. Gault. 

Geographers study the causes, processes, and spatial distributions of human activities such as population migration, urbanization, and economic endeavors. Equally important to geographers is the study of the processes and spatial patterns of various components of the physical environment such as landforms, aquatic systems, the atmosphere, plants, and animals. Tools utilized by geographers for gathering and analyzing data include cartography, geographic information systems, aerial photography, satellite imagery, statistics, and mathematical models. Graduates with a B.A. or B.S. degree from the Geography Department may find positions with state or federal agencies, private business, or with proper certification, in teaching. The Geography Department also administers an undergraduate program in urban planning. In addition to excellent classroom facilities, the department has a well-equipped cartography, GIS, and remote sensing laboratory, environmental research laboratories, and multivariate analysis facilities. The department houses and operates the Digitally Integrated Geographic Information Technologies Laboratory (DIGIT), a major research and production facility serving interests on and off campus. DIGIT is equipped with systems for automated cartography, remote sensing and geographic information processing, including Arc/Info, ArcView, ENVI, ERDAS/Imagine, SDE, Oracle, DMBS software. The department also houses the Center for Natural and Technological Hazards (CNTH), the Environmental Change Observatory (ECO), and Mudcore Facility. Emphasis is placed on field and laboratory techniques and quantitative methods. At the ECO, biological, chemical, and physical “signatures” of past environmental conditions are used to study global environmental change. The department maintains a growing library of computer mapping, GIS, image processing, and statistical programs. 

Undergraduate Program

Degrees. B.A., B.S. in geography. 

For information about the Urban Planning major, see the end of this section. 

Geography Major. A minimum of 30 credit hours in Geography and a minimum of 13 credit hours in allied courses are required. Each student plans a program with an adviser and completes the following required core curriculum courses: 

GEOGR 1000, 1400, 1800, 3020, and 3040. Students also must complete at least one 5000-level three-credit hour geography or urban-planning course. Students are strongly advised to complete the geography core requirements by the end of their sophomore year. All geography courses must be taken for a letter grade of C- or better. 

Human Geography. Students desiring an emphasis in economic, population, and international or transportation geography may construct an individual program with an adviser. The program must include the geography core requirements. 

Urban Geography. Students desiring a specialization in urban studies should consult an adviser in arranging a program in urban social, physical, economic, or demographic geography. The program must include geography core requirements, and students are strongly encouraged to complete GEOGR 3330 or 3480. 

Environmental Geography. Students desiring a strong background in environmental geography, which includes options in paleoenvironmental studies and the geography of natural and technological hazards, are urged to consult with an adviser. 

Geographic Information Analysis. Students desiring analytical and production skills in demand in a variety of applied geography fields should consult an adviser in designing a program with emphasis on techniques such as quantitative methods, aerial photo interpretation, remote sensing, cartographic production, computer mapping, geographic information systems (GIS), and field methods. The program must include the geography core requirements. 

Geography Minor. Students who want to minor in geography must complete the following requirements: GEOGR 1000, 1400, 1800, 3020, and 3040 and six additional credit hours of upper division geography coursework.

Teaching majors and teaching minors must confer with an adviser in geography before beginning the program. 

Requirements for the Major

Students must complete 15 credit hours of Geography required courses (see below) plus a minimum of 15 credit hours of Geography elective courses. One 5000-level course must be included in the elective courses. Students choose their elective courses according to their interest/emphasis area. A maximum of two Urban Planning courses may count toward electives. See the department for a list of all Geography courses. There are five (5) required Geography courses: GEOGR 1000 (Global Change and Mountain West Environments, 3 cr. hrs.); GEOGR 1400 (Humans in an Uncertain World, 3 cr. hrs.); GEOGR 1800 (Intro to Quantitative Methods, 3 cr. hrs.); GEOGR 3020 (Spatial Data Analysis, 3 cr. hrs.); GEOGR 3040 (Principles of Cartography, 3 cr. hrs.). 

Allied Courses. 13 credit hours in allied courses are required. These will generally be in the student's interest/emphasis area and may be taken in any SBS department, Biology, Geology, Meteorology, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, or Parks, Recreation & Tourism. Students should meet with the Geography undergraduate adviser who can help them select classes. 

Program of Study

GEOGR 1000 Global Change and Mountain West Environments (3) 
GEOGR 1400 Humans in an Uncertain World (3) 
GEOGR 1800 Intro. to Quantitative Methods (3) 
GEOGR 3020 Spatial Data Analysis (3) 
GEOGR 3040 Principles of Cartography (3) 
Elective/Emphasis Study Courses (15 minimum) 
Must include one 5000-level course. A maximum of two Urban Planning courses may count toward electives. 
Total Hours (min. 30) 
Allied Courses 
Total Hours (min. 13) 

The Geography Minor

Requirements

Departmental Minor. Students must complete the required courses below plus 6 hours of upper division (3000 or above) Geography elective courses with a grade of C- or better. Resident requirement: Students must complete at least 15 hours in the Department of Geography. 

Program of Study

Required

GEOGR 1000 Global Change and Mountain West Environments (3) 
GEOGR 1400 Humans in an Uncertain World (3) 
GEOGR 1800 Intro. to Quantitative Methods (3) 
GEOGR 3020 Spatial Data Analysis (3) 
GEOGR 3040 Principles of Cartography (3) 

Elective
3000 level or above (6) 
Total Hours: min. 21 

Note: Check the University of Utah Bulletin (General Catalog) for course prerequisites when choosing electives. 

Teaching Major, Minor, Certification. Please refer to Education in the Colleges section for information on teaching major and minor course requirements and state secondary teacher certification. 

Graduate Program

Degrees. M.A., M.S., Ph.D. in geography. 

For additional information, see the Graduate Information section of this catalog. 

Areas of systematic, regional, and technical fields. Prospective master's and Ph.D. candidates are urged to assess the congruence of their interests with departmental specializations. 

Urban Economic: human geography sub-emphasis which links research in facility locational analysis, population migration, urban land use, and transportation with the undergraduate urban planning program and the institutional mission of the University of Utah as the urban university in Utah. 

Environmental Geography/Earth System Science: research and instruction in global change, environmental geography, earth system science and including environmental impact assessment and policy, limnology, paleolimnology, geomorphology, biogeography, paleobiogeography, biogeochemistry, hydrogeography, land management, landscape, ecology, earth system process modeling and hazards analysis. 

Geographic Information Analysis: geographic information systems, satellite-based remote sensing, computer cartography, automated decision-support systems, and methodologies for spatial analysis as well as other areas of geographic inquiry. 

Admission. Students should contact the department or refer to the department Web site at www.geog.utah.edu for admission procedures and materials. 

Initial enrollment in the master's program only occurs in fall semester. 

Enrollment in the Ph.D. program can occur in fall and spring. To be considered for admission and financial assistance, completed applications, including all supporting documentation, must be received no later than February 1 of the year in which initial enrollment is anticipated. Accordance of students' interests with those of prospective faculty advisers is a condition for acceptance into the program. 

Master's Degree Requirements. All graduate students are expected to have acceptable courses or proficiency in basic calculus, Spatial Data Analysis (GEOGR 3020) and Cartography (GEOGR 3040) and must be completed prior to admission or by the end of the first year of graduate work. Courses or proficiencies used to fulfill these requirements do not count toward graduate credit and should originally be fulfilled as part of the undergraduate program. 

Thesis, technical-report, and professional options are available. All master's students are required to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours, which includes a minimum of 6 credit hours of thesis research. Master's students are required to take GEOGR 6961, GEOGR 6000, GEOGR 6010, and one GEOGR 6960 seminar, plus a minimum of 12 elective credit hours of course work. Elective courses are selected by the student with the assistance of the student's Supervisory Committee and in accordance with the Graduate School requirements. A grade point average of 3.0 or higher in course work is required. No graded work below a B- is acceptable toward the degree. 

Ph.D. Degree Requirements. All graduate students are expected to have acceptable courses or proficiency in basic calculus, Spatial Data Analysis (GEOGR 3020) and Cartography (GEOGR 3040) and must be completed prior to admission or by the end of the first year of graduate work. Courses or proficiencies used to fulfill these requirements do not count toward graduate credit and should originally be fulfilled as part of the undergraduate program. 

All doctoral students are required to complete a minimum of 31 credit hours, which includes a minimum of 14 credit hours of dissertation research. Doctoral students are required to take GEOGR 6961, GEOGR 6000, GEOGR 6010, and two GEOGR 6960 seminars, and WRTG 6000. Additional course work and research are designed on an individual basis with the student's Supervisory Committee and in accordance with the Graduate School requirements. A grade point average of 3.0 or higher in course work is required. No graded work below a B- is acceptable toward the degree. 

GEOGR Course Descriptions