Introduction

Please click here to see Geography and Environmental Sciences department information.

The Geography program (within the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences) offers a BA degree that includes a full range of courses in the fundamentals of geography taught mainly by full-time faculty.

Geography and urban planning share a common concern for the spatial configuration of the places we inhabit and enjoy. In recognition of this close association, there is currently an articulation agreement between the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences and the College of Architecture and Planning that provides students with a mechanism for acceleration through the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) degree program. Students completing the requirements for an undergraduate planning minor may also be eligible to pursue an accelerated MURP degree. Interested students should work closely with the option advisor in selecting coursework. (Please see the Graduate Catalog for more information on this graduate program).

These degree requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions and substitutions as judged necessary in individual cases. Therefore, the College strongly urges students to consult regularly with their major advisor and CLAS advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

Program Delivery

• This is an on-campus program.

Declaring This Major

• Click here to go to information about declaring a major.

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the three areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

• CU Denver General Graduation Requirements
• CU Denver Core Curriculum
• College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Graduation Requirements
• Click here for information about Academic Policies

Program Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 39 credit hours from GEOG, GEOL and ENVS courses.
2. Students must complete a minimum of 24 upper division (3000-level and above) credit hours from GEOG, GEOL and ENVS courses.
3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the major and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.0. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to program requirements.
4. Students must complete a minimum of 15 GEOG, GEOL or ENVS credit hours with CU Denver faculty.

Program Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations

1. Only three credits of Travel Study may be counted toward graduation requirements.
2. Undergraduate students may count up to 6 credit hours of independent study or internship (any combination of GEOG 3840 Independent Study: GEOG, GEOG 4840 Independent Study: GEOG, GEOG 4880 Directed Research, or GEOG 3939 Internship) towards elective credit in the major as approved by the undergraduate coordinator. Students may not receive more than three credit hours per independent study section. No more than three credit hours of independent study may be taken with the same instructor or in the same term. 
3. This option has an articulation agreement with the Masters in Urban and Regional Planning.  If interested, students should check with the option advisor early in the program. 
4. GEOG 3939 Internship: Community/Professional Experience optional, but highly recommended.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete all of the following required courses:		24-25
ENVS 1044 & ENVS 1045	Introduction to Environmental Sciences and Introduction to Environmental Sciences Laboratory
or GEOG 1202	Introduction to Physical Geography
GEOG 1102	World Regions Global Context
or GEOG 1302	Introduction to Human Geography
GEOG 1602	Urban Studies and Planning
GEOG 2080	The Power of Maps: Introduction to Geospatial Sciences
GEOG 3232	Weather and Climate
GEOG 3412	Globalization and Regional Development
GEOG 4640	Urban Geography: Denver and the U.S.
GEOG 4680	Urban Sustainability and Resiliency: Perspectives and Practice
Complete four of the following Urban Studies or Planning elective courses:		12
GEOG 3501	Geography of Health
GEOG 4230	Hazard Mitigation and Vulnerability Assessment
GEOG 4265	Sustainability in Resources Management
GEOG 4450	Urban Food and Agriculture: Perspectives and Research
GEOG 4460	Sustainable Urban Agriculture Field Study I
GEOG 4757	Urban Climate and Air Quality
Students can select up to three of the four elective courses from the following: 3
URPL 3000	Planning the Built Environment
URPL 4000/5000	Planning History and Theory
URPL 4010/5010	Planning Methods
URPL 4550	Transportation, Planning and Policy
URPL 4555/6555	Transportation, Land Use and the Environment
URPL 4600/6600	Regional Growth and Equity
Complete one of the following Techniques for Urban Analysis courses:		3
GEOG 4060	Remote Sensing I: Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing 1
GEOG 4080	Introduction to GIS 2
GEOG 4085	GIS Applications for the Urban Environment
GEOG 4091	Open Source Software for Geospatial Applications
GEOG 4095	Deploying GIS Functionality on the Web
Total Hours		39-40

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pre-req for Remote Sensing II

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pre-req to most of the advanced GISci courses

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Students who desire to take URPL 4000-level courses need a 3.0 GPA or higher, be in their senior year, and have permission from the instructor and CAP to register.  Students should meet with the GES department advisor before registering for courses.

To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website. 

To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.