Undergraduate Degrees

Geography undergraduate program

The Department of Geography offers four undergraduate programs. They are:
1. Bachelor of Arts in Geography
2. Bachelor of Science in Geography
3. Minor in Geography
4. Minor in Geographic Information Science

Courses in the Geography Department are part of many of the University Studies Junior - Senior Clusters.
Non-majors may combine work in their Junior - Senior clusters with a Geography Minor.


Geography Major

  For information on the difference between the B. A. and B. S. degrees at PSU and for the University requirements for University Studies please check the Bulletin
http://www.pdx.edu/registration/bulletin.html  or
http://www.sba.pdx.edu/registration/course_info/0304_gen.pdf

Please note:  the B. S. in Geography requires STAT 243 and STAT 244 OR GEOG 497 (Spatial Quantitative Methods)
  Physical Geography 12 credits
  Geographic Techniques 12 credits
  Regional Geography 12 credits
  Human Geography 12 credits
  Geography Electives 12 credits
   
  Printable PDF of major requirement
  Catalog copy of course descriptions
  The 60 credits of course work in Geography must include a minimum of 16 credits at the 400-level

Geog 210, 230 and 380 are required. Geog 230 may be taken for either human or regional geography, but not both.
Courses used to satisfy the departmental major requirements must be graded A. B, or C (with no grade below C-)

Geography Minor

Requirements for a Minor. To earn a minor in geography a student must complete a minimum of 29 credits in geography (at least 12 credits of which must be taken in residence at Portland State University, and 16 of which must be upper division), to include the following:
  GEOG 210 Physical Geography 4
  GEOG 230 Environment & Society: Global Perspective 4
  GEOG 380 Maps & Geographic Information 5
  Geography electives (upper division) 16
  Total Minimum 29 Credits
  Minor in Geography (pdf)  

Minor in GIS.

Requirements for a minor in GIS. To earn a minor in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) a student must complete a minimum of 29 credits in geography (at least 16 credits must be taken in residence at Portland State University), to include the following:

  GEOG 210 Physical Geography or GEOG 230 Environment and Society 4
  GEOG 380  Maps and Geographic Information 5
  GEOG 488/588  GIS I:  Introduction 4
  GEOG 492/592 GIS II: Advanced GIS 4

Plus three additional courses from the list of electives: (12 credits)

  GEOG 490/500 GIS Programming 4
  GEOG 475/575 Digital Compilation and Database Design 4
  GEOG 480/580 Visual Image Analysis 4
  GEOG 481/581 Satellite Image Processing 4
  GEOG 482/582 Satellite Image Classification and Change Detection 4
  GEOG 485/585 Map Design & Production 4
  GEOG 489/589 Building a GIS Database with GPS 4
  GEOG 494/594 GIS for Water Resources 4
  GEOG 495/595 Maps, Models, and GIS 4
  GEOG 496/596 Visualization of Spatial Data 4
  GEOG 497/597 Spatial Quantitative Analysis 4
  Total (minimum)       29 Credits

  All courses submitted to satisfy requirements for the minor in GIS must be graded and passed with a C or better. At least 16 credits must be taken in residence at PSU.  Students who are also working toward the major in Geography must take (in addition to the core courses for the GIS minor) at least 12 credits from the list of electives that will be uniquely applied to the GIS minor.  Students considering the GIS minor are strongly encouraged to meet with a geography advisor to work out an instructional program that best meets their needs.
  Minor in Geographic Information Science (pdf)
  All courses used to satisfy the department minor requirements, whether taken in the department or elsewhere, must be graded C- or above.
Last Modified November 3, 2008